What Laws Can Affect a Nursing Home Abuse Claim in Mississippi?
When your loved one is in a nursing home, you expect them to get the best care possible. Learning the professionals in charge of taking care of your loved one have neglected or abused them can be devastating. The first step is to get your loved one in a safe environment if this has happened. After you take care of this, you can start to explore your legal options. A trustworthy attorney from Pittman, Roberts & Welsh, PLLC can help you get justice for your loved one.
Filing a nursing home abuse claim can become complex. Our lawyers will look into the accounts of what happened to find how your loved one was abused and the injuries they suffered. To make sure your claim is as strong as possible, you may want to be aware of some laws that could affect your Mississippi nursing home abuse claim.
Nursing Home Abuse Claims
One important item to keep in mind is the statute of limitations in Mississippi. According to Mississippi Code § 15-1-36, you have two years to come forward with a claim. If you wait and this window of time passes, you may not be able to file a claim and fight for compensation.
Meeting with a lawyer as soon as possible could prevent missing the deadline. In addition, your case may have unique circumstances that may affect how the statute of limitations applies.
When you’re pursuing a legal claim for your loved one, your lawyer will look into their economic and noneconomic damages. Economic damages are the financial losses of the abuse. This can include medical expenses, money lost due to financial abuse, or what their future care will cost.
Noneconomic damages refers to the other aspects of the damage from the abuse. Your loved one may have experienced pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and their health may have severely suffered as well. While noneconomic damages may make up part of the settlement amount, Mississippi Code § 11-1-60 states that the damages cap for institutions for the aged or infirm is $500,000.
There is also a cap on punitive damages. The cap is in place because the damages are supposed to show the negligent party what they did wrong, but are not intended for emptying their bank account. Punitive damages depend on factors like the party’s net worth, the extent of their wrongdoing, and their awareness of their actions resulting in harm.
Your lawyer will break down the various aspects of your loved one’s case and will do everything to get them fair compensation for what they’ve been through.
Reporting Wrongdoing
One of the most confusing steps after learning your loved one has been abused can be figuring out where to start. Senior citizens have rights. When these rights are violated, you can file a complaint. However, depending on how the nursing home failed to protect your loved one’s rights, you make complaints to different authorities. Your lawyer will be able to help you get in touch with the right party so they are informed of what happened to your loved one.
The Mississippi State Department of Health lists the agencies and resources you can contact if your loved one has been abused.
When an elder is neglected or mistreated, you can get in touch with Adult Protective Services. Mistreatment includes physical abuse, failing to provide medicine or other care, emotional abuse, financial abuse, and sexual abuse.
There may be issues with Medicaid or Medicare providers. If they’re committing fraud and misusing funds, then many programs may not get the funding they need. Elderly Mississippi citizens will not benefit from the programs that are supposed to help them. In these cases, you should make a report to the Mississippi Division of Medicaid. While there are various ways to do this, do not give any personal or health information in an email or an online form.
Seeking Justice for Your Loved One
Mississippi citizens deserve to have people on their side when their loved ones have been abused. Pittman, Roberts & Welsh, PLLC works diligently for our clients and will assist you with your case in any way that we can. We’re prepared to get you fair compensation for your case through settlement or jury verdict.
Give our office a call today so we can schedule a free consultation. We’ll go over your case and discuss your options. We’ll answer any questions you have and find the best way for you to proceed. You’ll have peace of mind that you’re on the right path for helping your loved one.
