When you place your loved one in Myrtle Beach Manor nursing home, you expect them to receive the best possible care. If you’re like many families, nursing home care isn’t optional. As your loved one ages, they need medical treatment and constant personal care that most busy families can’t provide.
Nursing homes fill that critical need. Sadly, some of the most vulnerable residents become abuse victims while in their care.
State and federal laws acknowledge a range of abuse issues. In a nursing home, they occur when a caregiver inflicts physical, financial, or emotional damage. If you believe that your loved one sustained abuse while in Myrtle Beach Manor, you need a legal advocate to protect their legal rights. You need someone who has already successfully pursued claims against Myrtle Beach Manor and can quickly identify the mistakes they made that led to your loved one’s injuries. You need the Hughey Law Firm.
We Hold Nursing Homes Responsible
At Hughey Law Firm, we have always worked hard to make negligent nursing homes pay—including Myrtle Beach Manor. We have seen far too many cases where a vulnerable person becomes injured due to negligence, neglect, or abuse. Our attorneys have worked closely with traumatized families. We have dealt aggressively with negligent nursing homes and held them accountable for our clients’ physical, emotional, and financial damages.
Hughey Law Firm’s Case Results
Since establishing Hughey law firm in 2007, we have recovered over $165 million in damages for our injured clients as of November 2021. When possible, our attorneys have settled claims informally, through aggressive negotiation. We have also resolved cases through mediation, pre-trial conferences, and other Alternative Dispute Resolution methods.
Our attorneys have understood that sometimes a trial would provide the best potential for recovering our clients’ damages. In acknowledging this, we have begun preparing our cases during the early investigative stages. This has enabled us to transition smoothly through evaluation, negotiation, litigation, discovery, and, if necessary, courtroom presentation.
Nursing home cases include too many variables, so it’s not possible to guarantee a specific settlement or trial outcome.
Nevertheless, our case results confirm our commitment and dedication.
- Nursing Home Negligence Settlement, $1,375,000: Our client sustained pressure sores while living in a nursing home.
- Assisted Living, Wrongful Death Settlement, $1,375,000: Our young autistic client escaped his assisted living facility, and a drunk driver fatally injured him.
Nursing Home Facility Abuse and Neglect
Except for their caregivers, many elderly people spend much of their time alone. Instances of abuse often remained unrecognized until social service organizations and government agencies adopted uniform standards.
Agencies now classify and explain the predominant types of abuse by using these categories.
- Physical: Abusers cause a variety of physical trauma, often causing pain, illnesses, sickness, or impairments.
- Sexual: Sexual abuse includes any type of sexual contact that’s non-consensual or for which a victim is incapable of giving permission.
- Emotional or Psychological: Victims sustain emotional trauma due to humiliation, threats, or verbal attacks.
- Neglect: Neglect often involves lack of sanitation, inadequate food or water, improper medical treatment, bedsores due to improper care, and overmedication.
- Financial: Financial losses usually involve unauthorized use or theft of a vulnerable person’s money or assets, often by deception
When the Department of Justice investigated elderly abuse, they published their findings in the report,” An Examination of Resident Abuse in Assisted Living Facilities.” They determined that abusive caregivers often targeted victims who were vulnerable due to cognitive, physical, and behavioral impairments. Often, they don’t recognize abuse as it occurs. Sometimes memory and speech issues prevent them from recalling and explaining the details.
Nursing home facilities must comply with South Carolina’s Title 43 – Social Services Codes and Federal Public Health Regulations, 42 CFR §483. Medicare Certified nursing homes must also meet Medicare’s guidelines for “Rights and protections in a nursing home.“ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) enforce federal guidelines and regulations through local agencies.
Who is Responsible for Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect?
Nursing homes provide care, housing, medical treatment, and nourishment. On a day-to-day basis, staff control every aspect of a vulnerable resident’s life. When they endure abuse or neglect, the element of control makes it simpler to prove the facility’s negligence.
Several agencies investigate abuse and neglect allegations in South Carolina.
Their reports document nursing home issues and shortcomings.
- The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control conducts CMS and State surveys through monitoring, random surveys, and complaint investigations. They track violations and assess penalties.
- The Department of Social Services Adult Protective Services investigates non-criminal complaints.
- The Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program investigates non-criminal complaints.
- The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Vulnerable Adults Investigative Services evaluates criminal complaints.
Although some nursing home abuse incidents occur due to intentional or criminal acts, others occur because of neglect or negligence. These incidents often happen due to nursing home employment practices. Administrators hire unqualified people, and they don’t always provide adequate training and supervision. When abuse or neglect occurs, in most situations, the administration is ultimately responsible.
What Damages Can a Resident Recover?
A nursing home settlement usually recovers Economic (Special) Damages and General Damages. Juries sometimes also award Punitive Damages.
Economic Damages
Economic or special damages include total out-of-pocket costs incurred during your treatment and recovery.
- Hospital expenses
- Doctor expenses
- Physical and psychological therapy
- Prosthetics and mobility equipment
- Relocation costs
- Funeral and burial expenses
General Damages
General damages pay for psychological, emotional, and other abuse-related trauma.
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of spousal relationship
- Diminished family relationships
- Lost bodily functions
- Scars and disfigurement
- Wrongful death
Punitive Damages
Juries also consider punitive damages. As described in SC §15-32-510, a plaintiff must produce “clear and convincing evidence [that a nursing home’s acts involved] willful, wanton, or reckless conduct.”
How Do Nursing Homes Defend Themselves?
As with many residential care facilities, nursing homes rarely acknowledge abusive or neglectful acts. They often maintain this position, regardless of adverse CMS surveys or investigations.
Nursing homes often defend themselves by protecting in-house evidence. Despite incident notification requirements, they don’t necessarily report abuse or neglect to the authorities or family members. Nursing home administrators and owners realize that some families won’t undertake the necessary steps to prove their case.
When a resident informs their family about an abuse incident, the nursing home usually has sole possession of the proof. To hold a nursing home accountable, a family must recognize that abuse has occurred, determine the cause, and take steps to protect the vulnerable residents. They must obtain the nursing home’s records and any additional documentation in their possession.
At Hughey Law Firm, we have successfully proven our cases despite complex nursing home avoidance and defense strategies. Our attorneys have evaluated the evidence and begun preparing our cases early on. We have spent our time and energy developing winning strategies that produce the best possible results.
Myrtle Beach Manor Abuse and Neglect Attorneys
Contact us if your family member sustained injuries due to abuse or neglect in a Myrtle Beach Manor nursing home. Our attorneys have successfully represented vulnerable people in residential facilities throughout the area, including Myrtle Beach Manor. Call us at (843) 881-8644, click our chat window, or complete our contact form at Hughey Law Firm online. We’ll talk to you about your case and determine if we can help you.
Client Testimonial
“Thank you Hughey Law Firm! It was a pleasure to work with you on my case! From the beginning, every contact I had with your firm was professional, kind, helpful, and painless! I always felt kept in the loop, and important to you as a client. If you are looking for a personal injury attorney with integrity, I would highly recommend Hughey Law Firm!”
Rating: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Karen C.
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