Nursing Home Abuse

Abuse of the elderly or infirmed in nursing homes is perhaps one of more challenging types of cases our firm handles. As we see in medical malpractice cases, accurate documentation of the abuse is rare and, unfortunately, state investigations of reported abuse are often inadequate due to lack of resources for conducting the investigation, a willingness on the part of investigators to accept the nursing home’s documentation of what occurred without further scrutiny, and an unwillingness on the part of the staff to honestly report what occurred out of fear for losing their jobs (and licenses).

Our firm has successfully represented many victims of nursing home abuse by exploring beyond the documentation and obtaining witness statements, under oath, from those involved. The death of the abuse victim often complicates our investigation. However, through the use of expert witnesses and a detailed and comprehensive investigation, we have been able to successfully resolve many nursing home cases even when the facility’s records do not honestly or accurately report what occurred and the victim has deceased. Our in-house private investigator and nurse specialize in obtaining the information necessary for Attorney Thompson to prove his case.

Our firm uses the very best experts to determine the nature and extent of our clients’ injuries. Frequently the most difficult issue that we face in injury cases is how the injuries will affect our clients in the future—at work, at home, etc. Treating physicians generally are willing to provide some information about our client’s future restrictions and the future impact of his/her injuries. However, because treating doctors often do not have the time or inclination to provide a thorough analysis of the future impact of injuries on work activities and other activities of daily living, we use the best experts in the field to provide more comprehensive analysis of these issues in order to prove our cases. We find that, by providing this type of detailed and comprehensive analysis to insurance companies, we are able to settle cases favorably without having to go to court over 98 percent of the time. Insurance companies know Attorney Thompson’s reputation in court and, in the vast majority of cases, chose to settle rather than risking an unfavorable result at trial and having to pay the high the costs associated with trial.