When you enroll your elderly loved one in a nursing home, you do so with the expectation that they will be well taken care of in a safe environment. Unfortunately, nursing home abuse is a very sad, yet fairly prevalent occurrence, as greater than 30 percent of nursing homes deal with some form of abuse of their residents. If your loved one happens to experience abuse during their stay, you need to respond vigilantly. To do so, you need to learn a bit about the signs of abuse, how to hire a lawyer for your case and other important information. 

Signs Of Nursing Home Abuse

There are a number of factors that you need to key in on if you want to figure out whether your loved one has been abused. Elderly people are sometimes physically, sexually and psychologically abused while under the care of a nursing home, so you need to pay close attention to pinpoint the symptoms of these forms of abuse. Some signs of abuse include broken bones, lack of appetite or a flat denial to eat, emotional turbulence, a stark loss of weight, uncleanliness and bed sores. When you have strong reason to believe that your loved one has been abused, you will need to reach out to a lawyer who can handle the case. 

Hiring A Lawyer For Your Nursing Home Abuse Case

Any time you have a potential nursing home abuse case on your hands, you will need to do all that you can to hire the help of a lawyer. The first thing you need to be aware of is how long they have been practicing, since the stakes are high in winning your case. Make sure that they specialize in nursing home abuse cases as well, so that you get the targeted legal help that you need. 

Paying For Legal Representation

It is very important that you factor in the cost for hiring an attorney. Since a nursing home abuse case is a personal injury situation, you will typically be charged a contingency fee by one of these attorneys. A contingency fee in such a case will usually range between 33 percent and 40 percent, so make sure you get this agreement in writing to compare prices and get the best rate. 

Consider these three guidelines so that you can protect your loved one. For more information, contact The Jaklitsch Law Group or a similar firm.