Elder Law Report
Elder Law Report
Standing Up Against Nursing Home Abuse: Litigation, Advocacy, and Family Support
Nursing home abuse is a harsh reality that we cannot ignore, and understanding the gravity of this issue is crucial. Join us, Brenton Begley and Greg McIntyre, as we share saddening tales of neglect that highlight the urgent need for accountability in nursing home facilities. From falls due to inadequate supervision to severe injuries from improper care, we explore the devastating impact these events have on families. Navigating the complexities of these cases, which often straddle the realms of personal injury and medical malpractice, requires seasoned litigators who can cut through the finger-pointing and fight for justice. Our experience in elder law not only equips us to advocate fiercely when harm occurs but also to safeguard family assets through thoughtful estate planning.
We’re also announcing upcoming discussions on pressing nursing home litigation issues. Whether you're confronting these challenges yourself or supporting a loved one, our firm is here to help with a free consultation to explore the actionability of your case. Simply reach out via 1-888-999-6600 or use our online scheduling tool at mcelderlaw.com/scheduling to secure this opportunity. We express our heartfelt gratitude for your trust and encourage you to leverage these resources for the legal support you deserve. Don’t miss this chance to gain valuable insights and learn how we can stand by you in these trying times.
I'm Greg McIntyre with my law partner and litigator Brenton Begley, hey, Brenton.
Brenton Begley:Hey.
Greg McIntyre:Brenton, you handle a lot of litigation in our firm for many different practice areas. Today, we're really talking about something that's extremely important and, I think, more pervasive than people know, and it's a huge issue, which is nursing home abuse. And people know, and it's a huge issue, which is nursing home abuse, nursing home abuse, which really we're talking about nursing home injury and what that means and what the recourse for the individual who's injured, their representatives, which is their family a lot of times. Britton, what are some of the horror stories that you've seen in nursing home abuse cases?
Brenton Begley:Oh man, yeah, it can run the gamut. Then there is a level of likelihood that something could go wrong. Some type of negligence or wrongful act, whether it's intentional or not, could befall your loved one and cause them injury. So some of the things we've seen is, you know, leaving somebody alone in a room when they're a fall risk letting them get up and wander and fall down and hurt themselves. We've seen straight up neglect allowing people to get bed sores, things like that. We've seen, you know, wrongful action taken with respect to procedures. We've seen, my God, we've seen straight up abuse of people.
Greg McIntyre:Broken bones, cracked skulls.
Greg McIntyre:Yeah, Broken bones cracked skulls yeah, not pretty things that not necessarily are always intentional, but sometimes neglectful. I mean, if I know you're a fall risk, I've rated you, I've gone through a scoring chart and a standard procedure and I don't follow those procedures and I let you continually go in the shower and fall right and hit your head. That is a situation that then at some point hey, I know these things I've got to put in place. I'm charged with this person's care, and not that this is super prevalent, that we don't work with nursing homes every day that do a great job, because we do. However, there are situations where action needs to be taken and standards improved, and we see a lot of that ugly all the time.
Brenton Begley:Yeah, and while it may not be able to fully compensate you or your loved one for something that happened, I mean there are cases where people you know will pass away because of neglect or action that's taken at a facility and you know it requires special care. A lot of people go through facilities for rehab or even a short-term stay, even though it's typically thought of as long-term care. You know, sometimes when they go through there they're not treated as they should be. If they've had a stroke, if they've had a major event that took them from the home to the facility, they may not be treated like they went through that major event.
Brenton Begley:I had a story recently where a lady had a stroke. She hit her head pretty bad. She went to a facility and they treated her just like it was a leg injury, not a major brain injury, and you know she's very dehydrated, had a lot of had a lot of issues just because they didn't take the level of care that they they should have. So it doesn't necessarily have to be an event that happens in the facility. It's also the level of care, attention that is provided to your loved one.
Greg McIntyre:Right Based on what, the knowledge that's out there and readily available. If you know, if you come into my care, I need to know what level you're at and what care I need to give and I need to be held to the standard where I give that care. And that's not always done and in those situations, you know, tragic events can happen, even death, and it's a weird area of law. The reason I say that it's just like it's kind of in between personal injury and medical malpractice. It like is this kind of a theoretical area, this gray area or the space between that where those two litigation practices merge. And so you know you need a certain level of experience, I think, on both sides of that and in this specific area, and we have that.
Brenton Begley:And there's a lot of finger pointing. You know, if you have somebody who's under care, maybe they have some in-home care, maybe they go to the hospital for a little while and then do a rehab I mean, you know, an injury takes place or something happens, a lot of people want to point fingers at each other, saying it's not our fault, it's the facility, it's not our fault, it is the hospital, right? So it takes an experienced litigator to figure out. Okay, what's the issue here, who's liable, who's possibly liable, and what cause of action do we have to bring here?
Greg McIntyre:That's exactly right. In McIntyre Elder Law we are uniquely positioned to help families with nursing home litigation cases. Uniquely positioned because we are not toothless tigers Estate planning attorneys, elder law attorneys. On the front end we help you, try to avoid these situations as much as possible and protect your hard-earned money and property, but on the back end we don't want to be chained to our desk where we can't come out roaring and go to court and really take care of those legal needs for you. I mean, you know Britton is a phenomenal litigator and is naturally inclined to go to court and articulate really well-researched legal arguments and get behind a client's perspective. Right, britton? Wouldn't you say that? Is that a good assessment?
Brenton Begley:Yeah, and, and you know that natural inclination has led us to really wanting to be the advocate for our clients only on the front end, to figure out how to avoid, you know, very harmful situations, uh, and especially with your money and property. But on, on the back end too, I mean, things happen and you need an advocate, you need someone to look and see. Number one is this a case that could be brought? Number two what, if anything, can you get out of these potential defendants to make it worth it? And lastly, can we do this in a way that is effective and meaningful and reaches the client's goals?
Greg McIntyre:Sure, brenton, I appreciate the conversation today. I really wanted to set the tone as to the seriousness of these types of litigation cases and what our capability, mentality, our mindset is in regards to representing families in these litigation cases. I mean, you know I talked about your talents Every one of our attorneys we expect to litigate and to have you know the ability to go in court and argue cases and have experience in that way. I came out of the womb swinging, okay, and still swinging. I'll go down swinging and I really enjoy. I don't see it as really fighting either. I see it as justice and trying to seek justice to right wrongs, which improves society and helps families.
Brenton Begley:Well, the way that I put it to clients before is that facilities have all the leverage. If you go to the hospital I get hit by a car today I go to the hospital, they have to treat me Okay, and then I'll get a bill at the end, but they have to treat me. If I want to place a loved one in a facility, you got to pay up front. So the thing is is that with with respect to the facilities, they have a bar to entry, you have to pay to play, and if they do something that harms your loved one, then you want, you need somebody to help you level that playing field, because they have all the leverage and that's what we do.
Greg McIntyre:Right, and who's? Yeah, so you need somebody who's going to come in and have that weight to to to fight that type of system. Okay, and and, and. That's what we enjoy doing. The law gives everyone that right and that weight, by the way, if you're willing to step up and exercise your rights. So so you know. I mean, I'm fired up, brent. After this talk, I can't wait to do some more litigation talks regarding our other areas of litigation, which we'll bring to you as well. If you or your loved one has an issue that's a nursing home litigation issue, I want you to give us a call at our 800 number and we'll schedule you a consult, a free consult, to talk about that issue and ferret out whether that is an actionable case or not. You can schedule that consult by dialing 1-888-999-6600 or you can schedule directly on our calendars. We open that up for you as a service. Go to mcelderlaw. com that's mcelderlaw. com/ scheduling and schedule that free nursing home litigation case consult today. Okay, thank you, brenton. Thanks, all right, bye.