Over 7 million people in the U.S. have an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. As the American population ages, this number will likely grow. These patients often require comprehensive assistance from caregivers and skilled nurses. Unfortunately, the symptoms produced by Alzheimer’s disease make these patients vulnerable to mistreatment, abuse, and neglect.
Alzheimer’s mistreatment in Las Vegas, Nevada, can provide a basis for a nursing home abuse claim. This claim can compensate your loved one for the economic and non-economic losses they suffered. A Las Vegas Alzheimer’s mistreatment lawyer from De Castroverde Accident & Injury Lawyers fights for justice when your loved one experiences mistreatment. Schedule a free consultation today at (702) 222-9999.
How De Castroverde Accident & Injury Lawyers Can Help After Alzheimer’s Mistreatment in Las Vegas, NV
De Castroverde Accident & Injury Lawyers has fought for injured clients in Las Vegas, NV, for decades. Since its founding, the firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation for injured people, including abused and neglected seniors.
After your loved one experiences mistreatment in a residential facility, our Las Vegas nursing home abuse lawyers provide the following assistance:
- Reviewing your loved one’s case to identify potentially liable parties
- Gathering evidence, such as medical records and witness statements
- Filing an insurance claim against the provider’s liability insurer
- Pursuing litigation if we cannot negotiate a fair insurance settlement
Your loved one deserves justice after suffering mistreatment due to their Alzheimer’s symptoms. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation to learn how we fight for neglected and abused seniors.
Forms of Alzheimer’s Mistreatment
Nevada estimates that about 64,000 seniors will live with Alzheimer’s disease in 2025. However, this number represents all levels of progression, from relatively mild symptoms to severe dementia.
Alzheimer’s is a progressive, degenerative, and incurable disease. As a result, most seniors with the condition will eventually need a caretaker, such as a relative, certified nursing assistant, or registered nurse. Additionally, Alzheimer’s can rob the patient of their ability to live independently. As a result, the patient may need to live in a residential facility.
Unfortunately, relying on others puts patients in a vulnerable position. Caretakers can mistreat Alzheimer’s patients in the following ways:
Abuse
Abuse includes physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Physical abuse involves unwanted and unjustified bodily harm. Hitting and pushing would qualify as physical abuse. Emotional abuse occurs when someone controls or manipulates an elder using psychological tactics, such as insulting them, yelling at them, or humiliating them.
Sexual abuse happens when a senior is subjected to sexual contact without their consent. It might occur due to their inability to understand what is happening. They might also be targeted because the perpetrator assumes they will forget the abuse.
Exploitation
Exploitation, particularly financial exploitation, happens when the senior is manipulated into giving their possessions or money to the abuser. Due to memory lapses, Alzheimer’s patients are often subjected to financial exploitation by caregivers, relatives, and residential facilities.
Neglect and Abandonment
Neglect and abandonment happen when a caretaker or the facility fails to meet the senior’s needs. Depriving the senior of food, water, or medical care can be fatal. However, neglect can also involve isolating the senior from others, leaving them unattended to develop bedsores, or abandoning them without attention and care.
Liability For Alzheimer’s Mistreatment In Las Vegas
The liability for Alzheimer’s mistreatment often falls on the caretaker’s employer under a doctrine called respondeat superior. Under this doctrine, an employer receives the benefit of its workers’ labor. With these benefits, the employer also bears the liability if those workers negligently or intentionally harm others.
Additionally, an employer may be liable for its own acts.
Some grounds for holding a facility liable for the intentional acts of its caretakers include the following:
- Negligent hiring, if the worker had a checkered past and was hired anyway
- Negligent retention, if the facility kept the worker despite suspected mistreatment
- Cover-up of the mistreatment
- Negligent supervision by allowing the worker the time and space to mistreat residents
- Negligent training of the worker or those who should have watched them
- Negligent security, if the facility lacked cameras or other security measures to detect mistreatment
When your loved one pursues a claim against a facility, their lawyer will gather evidence to support the case. This evidence might include security video, testimony from your loved one and other residents, and medical records. The lawyer files a claim with the facility’s liability insurer.
If the insurer agrees that the facility is liable for the mistreatment, it will settle the claim by paying your loved one for their medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other losses. If they dispute liability, the lawyer may need to file a lawsuit.
Contact Our Las Vegas Alzheimer’s Mistreatment Lawyers for a Free Consultation
Nursing homes and caretakers owe your loved one fair and reasonable treatment. Contact De Castroverde Accident & Injury Lawyers for a free consultation with a Las Vegas Alzheimer’s mistreatment attorney to discuss your loved one’s case and the compensation we can seek for the mental, physical, and financial losses they suffered.
