Litigation Protects Nursing Home Residents from Abuse and Neglect
A new report from the American Association for Justice shows trial attorneys are the most effective force in uncovering abuse and neglect by corporate nursing homes and insurance companies.
Large corporate chains run a vast majority of the nation’s nursing homes, which are struggling with pressures to cut costs and lower staffing levels. An increased emphasis on profits has led to a distressing rise in neglected and abused seniors. Researchers at the National Center on Elder Abuse estimate as many as 1.5 million senior residents are abused every year.
“Corporate nursing homes and insurance companies have continually chosen to put profits ahead of the well-being of our most vulnerable population,” said AAJ President Gibson Vance.
The report illustrates how trial attorneys across the country have stepped in where laws and regulations have failed. Litigation exposes nursing home abuse, uncovers insurance tactics to delay or cut off seniors’ claims, and allows residents and their families to hold offending corporations accountable.