Atlanta Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorney

We can help you hold the nursing home accountable in Georgia

Nursing homes serve an important role in our society – they care for our loved ones when they can no longer care for themselves. That’s why nursing home abuse and neglect cases are so upsetting. Instead of making their residents’ lives better, some facilities cause serious harm that results in severe injuries or even death.

If your parent, grandparent, or someone else close to you has been injured in a nursing home, you may feel overwhelmed and confused about what to do next. The nursing home might deny any wrongdoing. Your loved one might not remember exactly what happened. In these complex cases, it’s critical to have a nursing home abuse and neglect attorney on your side who understands how the legal system works and knows how to confront nursing homes and dig for the truth.

Why you should hire our firm

You can trust our Atlanta nursing home abuse lawyers to guide you toward justice for your loved one. Our experienced attorneys have a strong track record of success and have dedicated their careers to fighting for nursing home neglect victims in greater Atlanta and communities throughout Georgia.

Many families in Atlanta and throughout Georgia choose us to represent them. We're familiar with the warning signs of nursing home abuse and neglect. We know how to investigate negligent nursing homes, what evidence to look for, and how to transform those facts into results that stop neglect and get justice for families.

Experience matters when it comes to such complex legal cases, especially if you decide to file a nursing home abuse lawsuit. But that’s not the only reason why people hire our law firm. We take the time to find out what happened. Our attorneys personally listen to clients and take their concerns seriously.

When you have our legal team on your side, your case will get the personalized attention you deserve. We'll keep you informed every step of the way. That’s why families in Atlanta and throughout Georgia choose our law firm to represent them. They know they can count on us when it matters most.

Nursing home abuse and neglect by the numbers

• More than 5 million Americans over 60 years old – about 1 in 6 – are abused or neglected every year.
• 1 in 5 nursing home residents have been abused in the past 12 months.
• 1 in 3 nursing homes in Georgia have received a “one-star” rating.
• Georgia nursing homes ranked 48^th worst nationwide.

The numbers don’t lie. Abuse and neglect are serious problems in nursing homes in Georgia and nationwide. Learn more about the issue on our nursing home abuse and neglect statistics page.

What is your question?

If you have questions and need to find out if you have a case, we're ready to meet with you and explore your options. Here are some common questions we are asked. You can also find more answers to more questions on our nursing home abuse and neglect FAQ page.

What are the types of nursing home neglect?

Neglect is any failure to meet the facility’s comprehensive responsibilities to take care of residents’ needs and protect their safety. Common types of nursing home abuse and neglect include:

• Medical neglect, such as failure to monitor residents’ medical condition, failure to appropriately treat medical conditions, such as bedsores and infections, or failure to send a resident to the hospital or refer them for other treatment if needed.
• Medication errors, such as failure to administer medications as prescribed or monitor for adverse side effects and interactions.
• Poor nutrition and diet, leading to malnutrition, starvation and dehydration.
• Other basic needs neglect, such as failure to bathe residents, leading to infections.
• Not maintaining safe and sanitary premises, such as leaving trip hazards in walkways, letting the building get overheated (a common issue in Georgia summers), or preparing food in unsanitary kitchens.
• Negligent security, such as failure to install cameras or rigorously screen and monitor visitors.
• Failure to monitor residents, creating a risk of unsafe wandering and potential physical harm.

What are the types of nursing home abuse?

• Physical abuse, such as hitting, slapping or beating residents.
• Mental and emotional abuse, such as belittling, insulting or isolating residents.
• Use of unnecessary force or restraints, whether physical or chemical.
• Financial exploitation, such as fraud, double-billing, or outright stealing residents’ money.
• Sexual abuse or assault.

Acts of abuse may be committed by staff, visitors or other residents. However, regardless of the perpetrator, long-term care facilities have a responsibility to maintain a safe environment for residents, and thus potential liability when they fail in that responsibility.

What should I do if I suspect nursing home abuse or neglect?

As soon as you see an unexplained injury, worsening symptoms, or otherwise suspect something is wrong with your loved one, we strongly recommend you take these important steps:

• Seek immediate medical attention – Your loved one’s health matters most. If something seems wrong, have a medical professional examine them right away.
• Make a report – Notify the facility’s administrators and document the notification in writing. Contact the Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman and, if you believe a crime was committed, the local police.
• Contact a nursing home neglect attorney – an experienced advocate can help stop the abuse and pursue justice for your family.

How do I report nursing home abuse In Georgia?

Some facilities have a pattern of abuse, which means the person you love may not be the only victim suffering harm. Be sure to report nursing home abuse or neglect right away,

1. Report the situation to the nursing home. Share your concerns with a supervisor or administrator at the nursing home, then document the conversation so that you have evidence showing they were made aware of the situation.
2. File a complaint with the appropriate state agency. The Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman investigates claims of nursing home abuse and neglect in the state of Georgia. To determine the community ombudsman serving your area or file formal complaint, visit their website.
3. Notify the police. Elder abuse is a very serious crime and reporting it to law enforcement is a critical step. Call the police department where your loved one’s facility is located and make a report.
4. Contact a nursing home abuse lawyer. An experienced nursing home abuse attorney will be your voice and help you get the compensation you’re entitled to.

How do you prove nursing home abuse?

One of the main challenges of investigating nursing homes is that residents with dementia or Alzheimer’s may not remember what happened. Residents may also struggle to communicate or live in fear of abusive staff. Proving nursing home abuse may involve talking to multiple witnesses and cross-referencing their stories, reviewing documentation, securing camera footage, and collecting physical evidence. These are intensive investigations that should be carried out by an experienced attorney.

Can I sue a nursing home for abuse and neglect?

Yes. Facilities are responsible for residents’ health and safety, and they can be held legally liable through the civil justice system when they don’t meet that responsibility. Filing a nursing home abuse lawsuit may be the way to pursue justice for your family. However, only an experienced attorney can determine whether that is the right option for you.

What’s the legal cause of action in a nursing home neglect case?

Depending on the facts of the case, any of the following causes of action may apply:

• Professional negligence, which commonly applies in cases of medical neglect by a nurse or other trained medical care provider.
• Ordinary negligence, for claims arising from trip and fall injuries, fires, poor maintenance of the facility or other hazards on the premises.
• Negligence per se, if the nursing home violated the standards of care guaranteed by the Long Term Care Patients Bill of Rights or another applicable law or regulation.
• Third-party injuries, such as injuries caused by other residents, because Georgia courts have held that long-term care facilities have a special duty of supervision to protect their residents.
• Breach of contract, depending on the specific standards laid out in the residential care contract.

How can a nursing home abuse and neglect lawyer help me?

A lawyer specializing in nursing home abuse and neglect cases knows the statutes, rules and regulations that apply to elder care facilities and knows how to fight to hold them accountable. An experienced attorney can also take legal action to prevent a cover-up by the facility and advise you of any applicable statutes of limitations (legal deadlines) that may affect your legal rights.

Contacting law enforcement, state agencies and other investigative bodies is important, but you must remember that those agencies are primarily focused on determining whether abuse or neglect occurred, not whether your family is compensated for the injuries sustained by your loved one. An attorney is your advocate, focused on your family’s interests.

How much does a nursing home abuse and neglect lawyer cost?

We work on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay nothing out of pocket. Our firm will advance the costs to investigate and move your case forward. If we win your case, our fee will be a percentage of the money we recover for your family; if we don’t win, there is no fee. In other words, it costs you nothing out of pocket to hire a nursing home abuse and neglect attorney.

How much is my case worth?

There’s no set dollar amount when it comes to nursing home abuse or neglect cases in Georgia. Some might be worth a few thousand dollars. Others might be worth significantly more. The bottom line is your family should be financially compensated for all of your expenses, including:

• Medical treatment.
• Lost income and the cost of in-home services.
• Prescription medications to treat your loved one.
• Pain and suffering in certain circumstances.

Don’t underestimate the financial impact of your loved one’s injury. Your pain is real. The situation is serious. You deserve to be financially compensated for all your losses. An experienced Georgia nursing home abuse attorney can help you fight for the money you rightfully deserve, whether it’s a negotiated settlement or a jury verdict in response to a nursing home abuse lawsuit.

Get the Atlanta nursing home abuse lawyer who gets results

Johnson Greer Law Group will be your advocate, seeking justice for your family. We'll conduct our own investigation and fight for the compensation and closure you need. We understand how the legal system works in Georgia when it comes to such cases, including liability in nursing home injury claims. We can also advise you on whether or not you might have a nursing home premises liability case and what’s the best strategy in your particular situation.

One of our attorneys can:

• Make sure your loved one gets medical attention.
• Demand that appropriate government agencies officially investigate your case.
• Help move your loved one to another facility, if necessary.
• File a nursing home abuse or neglect lawsuit, if necessary.

We’re here for you when you need us most. That’s because we believe in fighting for justice for families and restoring dignity to injury victims. Contact our law firm and find out how we can help your family.

Seeking justice and dignity for victims and their families

The financial impact of abuse and neglect can be significant. Medical expenses can quickly add up to tens of thousands of dollars. Your loved one might also need additional surgical procedures or physical therapy. Without proper legal representation, your family could be forced to pay the bills related to the abuse or neglect.

That’s not right, but our law firm can help you avoid such financial hardship. Our legal team understands that many people spent their lives carefully planning for their retirement. Now, a major crisis could suddenly derail all those plans.

Your case is about more than just money. It’s about preventing elder abuse from happening again at your loved one’s facility. It’s about holding abusers accountable and making our elders safer. Contact our law firm right now. You need an Atlanta nursing home abuse attorney dedicated to protecting the rights of injury victims and their families throughout Georgia.