Nursing Home Neglect Macon GA
Nursing home neglect is more common than previously thought possible. Thousands of cases are registered against medical facilities in the USA for neglect and abuse. Congressional reports indicate that one in every three nursing homes in America violate the rights of residents and engage in patient neglect.
The State of Georgia offers a redressal mechanism for people who have been neglected and/or abused in nursing homes in the State. Read on to learn about Nursing Home Neglect Macon GA.
What constitutes nursing home neglect and abuse according to Nursing Home Neglect Macon GA law?
Neglect:
- Not feeding on time or starving residents for days.
- Not providing access to hot baths, clean clothes, and clean living conditions.
- Not providing healthy and sanitary meals.
- Keeping restraints on when they are unnecessary.
- Not cleaning the residents’ living quarters regularly.
- Not providing medication on time or providing the wrong medication/dosage.
- Ignoring and not treating injuries, infections, and illnesses developed by patients.
- Not keeping an eye on patient safety, despite poor safety measures in the facilities.
Abuse:
- Physically harming residents – pinches, cuts, bites, scratches, blows, slaps and so on.
- Emotionally abusing the patients – threats and taunts.
- Sexual abuse and/or rape.
- Deliberately isolating the residents from each other for days.
- Denying access to fresh air and exercise for days.
- Deliberately under or over-medicating the resident.
- Consciously tightening the restraints to induce pain.
- Promoting ill-health in the patient to keep them in the facility longer.
- Abusing the power of attorney the resident has to access their finances.
Under the Nursing Home Neglect Macon GA law, either the patient or a relative/friend of the patient has the right to initiate legal proceedings against the nursing home and to seek redressal and claim damages from them for neglect and abuse.
What can victims do to initiate a lawsuit against the nursing home?
Nursing home neglect strips a resident of his/her fundamental rights to:
- Privacy
- Healthy food
- Non-discrimination
- Freedom of choice
- Freedom from restraints
In Georgia, the claimant can provide either a written or an oral complaint against the nursing home to the police or a lawyer. The Nursing Home Neglect Macon, GA law allocates the institution three working days to get their defense ready or plead guilty and provide the damages. If the nursing home refuses to cooperate, the case moves on to the Georgia State Ombudsman specially hired to oversee these types of cases. From here, the case will go to court and a hearing will be held.
Georgia uses grand juries in court cases. Both the victim (or his/her representative) and the nursing home will be allowed to make a case, and the jury will decide the verdict. The nursing home is allocated 72 hours post-decision to follow the instructions of the verdict; failing which, they can be held in contempt of court.
Just as with many other Georgian laws, the Nursing Home Neglect Macon, GA law has a statute of limitations of two years. Any person wishing to file a complaint of nursing home neglect must do so within this time. It’s best to consult a Nursing Home Neglect Macon, GA lawyer for assistance.
