Wisconsin nursing home abuse and nursing home neglect lawyers

When we place our loved ones in nursing homes and adult care facilities, it is with our best intentions in mind. We believe that the best environment for our elderly or aging relatives is one that offers the constant care, controlled environment, medical support, and safety that we cannot give them ourselves. However, not all nursing homes provide the care that they promise, and others are simply negligent.

At Atterbury, Kammer & Studinski, S.C., we want to hear your nursing home abuse or nursing home neglect story and take on your case. With offices in Madison and Stevens Point, Wisconsin, we believe that everyone should be treated with care, respect, and responsibility, especially in their final years. We also believe that those who mistreat or harm the elderly in their care should be held accountable.

Here are just a few of the nursing home abuse and neglect situations that our law firm has had experience with in recent years:

• Bedsores and pressure ulcers. Bedsores are not a normal part of nursing home life - they are easily preventable with attentive care, regular nursing, and a healthy diet. Pressure sores can be a sign of many different forms of neglect, including physical or chemical restraints, malnutrition, and general negligence.
• Dehydration and malnutrition. Two very basic needs of all humans are food and water - but not all nursing home residents are fed a healthy diet. Especially in the elderly, dehydration and malnutrition can lead to serious health concerns and even death if not treated immediately.
• Improper use of restraints. In nursing homes that are overcrowded or simply negligent, residents can be left restrained in their bed or wheelchairs for hours or days at a time. While this means less for attendants to worry about, it may lead to bedsores, infections, asphyxia, mental illness, and untold pain and suffering. Improper restraints can include anything from leg and arm straps to a tightly tucked in sheet that prevents movement.
  
• Chemical restraints. Another way for negligent adult care facilities to lighten their workload and shrug off responsibility is to restrain residents with high doses of drugs. Especially those suffering from mental illness or other behavioral problems may be drugged into a stupor instead of cared for. Chemical restraints greatly lower quality of life and can lead to overdose deaths.
  
• Positional asphyxia. While restraining nursing home patients, nursing home staff may use excessive or unneeded force - and act that can lead to positional asphyxiation. In other cases, a resident may be placed in a position where they cannot move or breathe. In both cases, the nursing home may be responsible and find themselves faced with a wrongful death lawsuit. 
  

In addition to nursing home abuse and neglect cases, we have represented clients who have been mistreated or harmed in mental health facilities, drug treatment facilities, and facilities for the developmentally disabled.

Contact us today with your Wisconsin nursing home abuse case

Your loved one may not be able to stand up for themselves or even make their case clear to others. But you can act on their behalf to stop the abuse and negligence and receive just compensation for your loss. Even if you aren't sure whether or not you have a nursing home abuse case, we can listen to your story and help you better understand your situation. To make an appointment, please call us toll-free at (800) 817-3729 or fill out the quick contact form to the right of this page.

Atterbury, Kammer & Studinski, S.C., has offices in Madison and Stevens Point, and serves clients throughout the state of Wisconsin. 

Counties: Dane County, Rock, County, Green County, Jefferson County, Dodge County, Richland County, Iowa County, Lafayette County, Grant County, Walworth County, Portage County, Wood County, Marathon County, Columbia County, Waupaca County, Sauk County, Outagamie County, Calumet County, Winnebago County, and Brown County.

Cities:  Madison, Middleton, Janesville, Richland Center, Stoughton, Monroe, Darlington, Lodi, Dodgeville, Fitchburg, Sun Prairie, Beaver Dam, Portage, Montello, Green Lake, Westfield, Baraboo, Reedsburg, Jefferson, Watertown, Lake Mills, Stevens Point, Wisconsin Rapids, Marshfield, Waunakee, Waupaca, Sauk City, Appleton, Green Bay, and Oshkosh. 

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Blog for Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

• Pressure Ulcers – Avoidable vs. Unavoidable?
• How Do I Find A Geriatrician And Why Aren’t There More?
• Another Case Striking Down An Arbitration Clause
• New Website Compares Quality of Nursing Homes
• Why Don’t They Just Shut Down Bad Nursing Homes?
• April 16 Is National Healthcare Decisions Day
• AARP Spearheads Relief Effort For Haiti's Nursing Home Residents
• What Should Be Done When Felons Reside In Nursing Homes?
• Can Taking Vitamin D Reduce Falls In Nursing Homes?
• Can Regulators Keep Nursing Home Residents Safe?
• Are Antipsychotic Medications Still Used To Control Behavior In Nursing Homes?
• Senate Passes Elder Justice Act
• Lawyers Write Book In Attempt To Keep Wisconsin Nursing Home Residents Safe
• Recent Study Shows Nursing Home Residents May Be Overmedicated

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Library for Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect:

• What Document Should You Never Sign When Admitting Your Loved One To A Nursing Home?   
  Description: The admissions process at a nursing home can resemble a real estate closing in many respects. Potential nursing home residents or their representatives are ushered into an unfamiliar room by someone they have never met before to sign a stack of lengthy technical documents. It is a small wonder that most don’t know what they have signed after such a meeting.
• 8 Common Warning Signs of Nursing Home Abuse And Neglect   
  Description: The following eight, often interrelated, warning signs provide an introductory framework from which to detect outward signs of nursing home abuse and neglect.
• 5 Steps To Take If You Believe Your Loved One Is Not Getting Proper Care In A Nursing Home   
  Description: If you suspect your loved one is not getting proper care there are a variety of important steps. In brief, you should consider taking the following steps.
• 10 Rights Nursing Home Residents' Rights You Need To Know   
  Description: Your loved one has rights granted by federal law. Your loved one has similar rights under Wisconsin law, regardless of whether he or she is a resident of a nursing home or another long-term care facility such as a community based residential facility or adult family home. In other words, much of our state law is similar the federal law noted below.
• How Can I Learn More About A Nursing Home/Assisted Living Facility's Track Record?   
  Description: Facilities are surveyed (investigated) by the State of Wisconsin on a regular basis. In addition to these regular survey visits, the state also does additional investigations to look into specific complaints, especially complaints of poor care, abuse, or neglect of residents.
• What Is The Difference Between An Assisted Living Facility And A Nursing Home?   
  Description: Today, there are more options than ever concerning various types of facilities that may be available to you and your loved one. We are not attempting a technical legal definition of the various types of facilities, but rather a broad explanation of the various options.
• 10 Steps To Selecting A Safe Nursing Home   
  Description: We have outlined ten steps that you can take to help select an appropriate nursing home placement for your loved one. We have arrived at these steps after years of handling nursing home abuse and neglect cases. We are not doctors, nurses, or other medical professionals. But, we have heard families talk about “what they wish they had known” and “what went wrong”.
• Can Regulators Keep Nursing Home Residents Safe?   
  Description: You be the judge. The state and federal governments regulate nursing homes. As part of this regulation, the state conducts surveys, which are essentially investigations to make sure that the nursing home is following state and federal regulations.
• Bedsores, Pressure Ulcers and Nursing Home Neglect   
  Description: Bedsores are not a normal part of getting older or being bed bound or wheelchair bound. In fact, pressure ulcers could be signs of nursing home neglect. With offices in Madison and Stevens Point, Wisconsin, Atterbury, Kammer & Studinski, S.C., are respected Wisconsin nursing home abuse lawyers who focus in bedsore and pressure ulcer neglect cases.

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Frequent Questions for Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect:

• How Do I Find A Geriatrician And Why Aren’t There More?
• What is nursing home arbitration and why do I want to avoid it?
  
• Can a nursing homes reduce care for Medicaid (instead of Medicare) residents?
• What records in my loved one's nursing home chart are especially important?
• How do I get my loved one's nursing home records?
• What are some of the common warning signs of nursing home abuse and neglect?
• What do I do if I am concerned about the care that my loved one is getting in a nursing home or other long-term-care facility?
• What are my loved one's rights in a Wisconsin nursing home?
• How can I find learn more about a long-term care facility's track record?
• What is the difference between an assisted living facility and a nursing home?
• How do I select a safe nursing home for my loved one?

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Case Results for Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect:

• Group Home Resident Suffers Burn Injuries
• Nursing Home Resident Neglected – Suffers Pressure Ulcers and Burn Injuries Leading to Death
• Death Due to Positional Asphyxia
• Death From Choking Incident
• Overfeeding Leading to Aspiration
• Fall Down Staircase Leading to Death
• Failure to Connect Bed Alarm Led to Undetected Fall
• Elopement From Facility Leading to Death
• Preventable Stage IV Pressure Ulcers
• Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act

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Web Resources for Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect:

• The AGS Foundation for Health in Aging

  Description: The AGS Foundation for Health in Aging is a national non-profit organization established in 1999 by The American Geriatrics Society. The Foundation's aim is to build a bridge between the research and practice of Geriatrics and the Public, and to advocate on behalf of older adults and their special health care needs.
  

• The American Geriatrics Society

  Description: The American Geriatrics Society is a not-for-profit organization of over 6,400 health professionals devoted to improving the health, independence and quality of life of all older people. The Society provides leadership to healthcare professionals, policy makers and the public by implementing and advocating for programs in patient care, research, professional and public education, and public policy.

• Alzheimer's Association

  Description: The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer care, support and research.

• Alzheimer's Association - Greater Wisconsin Chapter

  Description: The Greater Wisconsin Chapter is one of over 70 Alzheimer's Association chapters serving communities across the United States.

• National Senior Citizens Law Center

  Description:

  The National Senior Citizens Law Center advocates before the courts, Congress and federal agencies to promote the independence and well-being of low-income elderly and disabled Americans.

• National Nursing Home Survey

  Description:

  The National Nursing Home Survey (NNHS) is a continuing series of national sample surveys of nursing homes, their residents, and their staff. Although each of these surveys emphasized different topics, they all provided some common basic information about nursing homes, their residents, and their staff. All nursing homes included in this survey had at least three beds and were either certified (by Medicare or Medicaid) or had a state license to operate as a nursing home.

• Medicare
• HealthGrades

  Description: HealthGrades is the leading healthcare ratings organization, providing ratings and profiles of hospitals, nursing homes and physicians to consumers, corporations, health plans and hospitals.

• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

  Description: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the United States government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves.

• National Center on Elder Abuse

  Description: The National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) serves as a national resource center dedicated to the prevention of elder mistreatment.

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