Nursing home abuse lawsuits can take anywhere from a couple of months to over 2 years to settle. If the insurance company makes a fair settlement offer before the lawsuit is filed, it can end quickly. If no fair offers are made, the case can go to trial and take much longer.
What is a nursing home abuse lawsuit?
A nursing home abuse lawsuit is a legal claim for compensation against the nursing home where the victim was abused.
That abuse can happen in a variety of ways. It can be:
- physical abuse,
- sexual abuse,
- neglect or abandonment,
- financial exploitation, and/or
- emotional abuse, like isolation.[1]
Lawsuits can generally be filed by the:
- senior who suffers the abuse,
- abused non-senior citizen who is institutionalized and is dependent on the institution’s care, or
- victim’s loved one or family member, often through a power or attorney or a court-appointed guardianship.[2]
Criminal charges may be filed in the most extreme cases.
What is the process for resolving a nursing home abuse case?
Nursing home neglect cases follow the same general process:
- evidence of elder abuse or nursing home negligence is discovered,
- the victim or their loved ones hire a personal injury lawyer,
- after gathering more evidence, a demand letter is sent,
- settlement negotiations begin,
- a personal injury lawsuit is filed and the discovery process begins, and
- if no fair settlement offer has been made, the case goes to trial and is resolved in the verdict.
1. Evidence of abuse is discovered
Nursing home abuse cases begin with the discovery of evidence that abuse or neglect has occurred. That evidence can be:
- signs of physical trauma, like bruises or broken bones,
- evidence of sexual abuse, like injuries to genitalia,
- indications of neglect, like bedsores or malnourishment,
- symptoms of financial abuse, like unexplained bank withdrawals or suspicious expenses, or
- behavioral changes that indicate emotional or psychological mistreatment.
The evidence can also include testimony from the victim.
2. A lawyer is hired
The next step should be to consult with an experienced nursing home abuse lawyer from a reputable law firm. They will have represented clients who were in similar predicaments before. By establishing an attorney-client relationship with a lawyer, you can tap into that prior experience and explore your legal options.
3. Evidence is gathered and a demand letter sent
The next step is generally to gather more evidence of the abuse.
Once you and your legal team are convinced that abuse took place, the next step is to send a demand letter to the nursing home and its insurance company. This letter includes a:
- general description of your findings regarding the abuse,
- depiction of the losses sustained, and
- demand for financial compensation.
The facility and insurance company will investigate your allegations. Based on the findings of that internal investigation, the insurance company may make an initial settlement offer. It may also deny everything in the letter and not make an offer to settle.
If the initial settlement offer is a good one and you accept it, the case can end after only a few months. When you sign the settlement agreement, you agree to give up your right to take legal action against the assisted care facility. In exchange, you receive the settlement amount.
4. The negotiation process
What follows is the settlement negotiation process. Your lawyers will advocate for the compensation that you are entitled to receive. The insurance company will try to negotiate the amount down.
Throughout, both sides gather evidence and other information about what actually happened.
At this point, over a year may have passed since the abuse.
5. A personal injury lawsuit is filed
If there is no fair offer made when the statute of limitations approaches – or before then, if the negotiation is not productive – the next step is to file a personal injury lawsuit. This is a formal demand for compensation. It is filed in court and served on the defendants and their insurers.
A trial date will be set and discovery will begin.
Discovery is when your lawyer demands documents and other evidence from the defendant. The court oversees the discovery process to ensure nothing is withheld. This time-consuming process can produce evidence that you may not have had access to before, such as:
- surveillance footage of the incident,
- personnel records of nursing home staff, and
- medical records kept by the facility.
Depositions can provide important evidence as well. These are recorded interviews with, for example:
- eyewitnesses to the abuse,
- important healthcare professionals at the assisted living facility, and/or
- other nursing home residents who experienced abuse.
The disclosure of this evidence usually spurs settlement negotiations.
6. Trial and verdict
If a fair settlement offer is still not made, the case will go to trial. There, your legal team will present your case for compensation. The defendant’s attorney will argue why you should not have it. The judge or jury will listen to the evidence, determine what you should receive, and issue a verdict to that effect.
If a trial is necessary to resolve the lawsuit, it can take over 2 years.
What is a fair nursing home lawsuit settlement?
A settlement to a nursing home lawsuit is one that fully compensates the victim for his or her losses. In these types of injury cases, those losses are:
- medical bills for the medical care that has been received, as well as what will likely be needed in the future,
- pain and suffering,
- emotional distress,
- costs of other medical expenses, like those for therapy or psychological counseling, and
- attorneys’ fees for filing the lawsuit.
Because the victim in these cases will rarely be earning an income, compensation for lost wages is rare.
In negotiating a settlement, lawyers generally try to predict the jury’s verdict, should it go to trial. If the abuse was intentional or amounted to a crime, punitive damages may be possible in the verdict. This can increase the nursing home abuse settlement amount.
The best way to make an informed decision about whether the settlement is fair or not is with the legal advice of a nursing home abuse attorney. An experienced attorney will have helped others through the legal process of nursing home litigation. They will know what you deserve and how to get it.
If the abuse was fatal would it be a wrongful death claim?
Yes. If the nursing home abuse caused fatal injuries, the lawsuit would be one for wrongful death.
What is the statute of limitations for these claims?
The statute of limitations is the period of time that victims have to invoke their legal rights. It is generally a couple of years after the incident. In California, for example, you have 2 years to file the lawsuit.[3]
Note that this is the amount of time to file the lawsuit. You need to initiate the case by filing the demand letter much sooner than that.
There are a few exceptions to the statute of limitations. Most importantly for nursing home abuse cases, the discovery rule tolls, or delays, the start of the time period to file the lawsuit until the point where you reasonably should have discovered the abuse.
If the nursing home abuse case turns into a wrongful death case or involves medical malpractice, the statute of limitations may change as well in some states.
Legal References:
[1] See California Welfare and Institutions Code 15610.07 WIC.
[2] See California Welfare and Institutions Code 15610.23 WIC.
[3] California Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 CCP.