Lawsuits Involving Elder Abuse In Texas

Mar 16, 2010

When we’re young, we want nothing more than to grow up so that we get more freedom and the ability to make our own decisions. As an adult we’re able to do that, but then, as time continues to pass, we eventually become elderly, and many times the elderly are not able to take care of themselves. This is why loving families often engage the services of a nurse to take care of their loved one in the home, or they place their loved one in a nursing home so that they can rest knowing that their family member is taken care of as much as possible. But these caretakers aren’t always what we need them to be, and more often than we’d all like to believe, our loved family members suffer from elder abuse.

What is Elder Abuse? 

Elder abuse is surprisingly like child abuse. With child abuse cases, the person who is responsible for the child, such as a babysitter, is the one who is often found to be physically or sexually abusing the child, or sometimes is abusing them due to negligence. The same holds true for elderly abuse. Elders are often not able to defend themselves, and people who take care of them can take advantage of them, and that is when injuries occur.

There are many types of common injuries that occur in elderly patients, especially ones who are in a nursing home. These injuries include dislocations, bedsores, overdoses on medication, injuries that result from wrong medications that are dispensed, strains, and broken bones.

What to Do

If you have a loved one who you suspect is suffering from elder abuse, the first thing that you should do is to report the abuse to the police or to an appropriate social services agency. They can then make sure that the proper measures are taken to get your loved one out of the hands of the person who is injuring them. You may actually want to engage the services of a lawyer to help you with this part, and if you are interested in getting justice for your loved one, you may also want to use the lawyer to help you to file a lawsuit against the person who has committed the abuse.
Lawsuits for elderly abuse are much more well received now than they were years ago. For a long time judges and juries had a hard time believing that people were abusing the elderly, and favorable judgments for the plaintiffs were a bit rare. Now, however, thanks to national publicity about elderly abuse, it is much easier for people to believe that elders are getting abused, allowing people who are getting abused, and their loved ones, to get a favorable judgment against the defendant. If your loved one is suffering elderly abuse at the hands of their caretaker, make sure you contact a lawyer, and the authorities, right away.
During the process, you may need access to lawsuit funding to help pay for some of the bills. Contact LawCapital, a leader in lawsuit funding, to learn more about the process.