Nursing Home Negligence Attorney in St. Louis
Missouri Nursing Home & Elder Abuse Claims
Wrongful death, pressure sores, malnutrition, dehydration, broken bones and other injuries suffered in nursing homes may be signs of abuse, neglect or mistreatment. When nursing homes accept our loved ones - parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles - as residents, they promise to treat them with dignity, respect and compassion and agree to care for them according to proper standards of care. Unfortunately, nursing homes fail too often to live up to their responsibilities. Despite legal requirements for nursing homes to provide proper care and dignified conditions for residents, there continues to be a crisis of poor nursing home care in our country. As a result, too many of our most vulnerable citizens suffer needlessly every day.
If you are concerned about a loved one’s care in a nursing home, assisted living residence or other healthcare facility in Missouri, Illinois or Florida, contact The Mathews Law Firm. Our law practice is dedicated to protecting seniors from harm by holding nursing homes and other institutions accountable.
As our loved ones get older, their health may decline, but many injuries and deaths suffered in nursing homes are not inevitable:
- One woman called us after her father had been dropped numerous times.
- We heard from a woman whose mother developed large bedsores on her heels and on her coccyx. She was taken to the hospital, but was in such bad condition from the bedsores, dehydration, and malnutrition that she died.
- A daughter contacted us after her father fell out of bed and fractured his leg because the nursing home did not do a proper risk fall analysis and did not follow their own care plan.
- We were contacted by a nursing home resident who was sexually assaulted by another patient. The pateinet who assaulted this woman had a hsitroy of such actions and the facility took no precautions to prevent it.
We offer a free initial consultation to those who are concerned about a loved one's care. If the case passes our initial review, we begin an investigation that includes interviewing witnesses, preserving and photographing evidence, researching the nursing home, examining nursing home and hospital records, examining department of health investigations and surveys, researching previous lawsuits against the nursing home, and consulting with medical and legal experts from across the country.
Research shows that the quality of nursing home care can be terrible in America. Unfortunately, too many people believe that nothing can be done to make things better. Bad care and treatment are ‘to be expected.’ Since the Nursing Home Reform Act was passed in 1987, nursing homes are legal responsibility to provide sufficient care and services so that every single resident attains or maintains their highest practicable physical, mental and psycho-social well-being. Nursing homes are also responsible for ensuring that every resident receives “appropriate treatment and services to maintain or improve” his or her abilities in activities of daily living (such as eating on one’s own, going to the bathroom or bathing).
Nursing homes give families excuses when they fail to meet these and other legal responsibilities: “We are busy with other residents on the floor right now,” “There just isn’t enough staff to take care of that,” “I’m sorry, but the nursing home does not have enough money or resources to provide ‘special’ services.” These excuses do not relieve nursing home from the legal duties to their residents.
Holding nursing homes accountable is essential to reduce mistreatment and neglect and to improve the quality of life and care of residents. If a nursing home is providing inadequate care, action should be taken immediately. So why do we accept it when nursing homes fail to provide adequate care and decent quality of life for our most vulnerable citizens? As a community, we pour enormous amounts of money into nursing homes every day. More than twenty years ago, in the face of horrendous conditions, our country passed a strong law to ensure that every single nursing home resident in the United States is treated with dignity and receives the care they need to achieve the highest possible level of physical and psychological well-being. Unfortunately, the government is often not able (or willing) to effectively enforce the law. When that happens, it is up to us – residents, families and friends – to make sure that nursing homes follow the law and are held accountable. The lives of our nursing home residents, now and in the future, depend on it.
At The Mathews Law Firm, our legal team is dedicated to protecting the rights of the elderly. The senior members of our families and communities should be treated with respect and dignity, and our firm is here to help those who have been victimized and who need legal counsel after any form of nursing home negligence or elder abuse. We understand that these situations are sensitive and that you and your family may be experiencing a great deal of emotional trauma at this time. As such, we want to provide you with the competent, compassionate legal counsel you deserve.
St. Louis nursing home abuse lawyer Todd Mathews has over a decade of legal experience to dedicate to your case. As our founding attorney, Mr. Mathews personally meets with each client for an initial consultation and oversees all of our firm's cases. Having handled cases for over 3,000 clients and successfully recovering millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts through the years, Mr. Mathews has the knowledge and experience to offer you the level of legal representation you need. Combined with the firm's extensive resources and dedication to client service, you can rest assured that your case is in excellent hands.
The Mathews Law Firm represents clients throughout all of Missouri in nursing home negligence claims, including:
If you suspect that a loved one has been the victim of nursing home neglect or abuse,
contact St. Louis nursing home negligence attorney
Todd Mathews today for a free consultation. We are looking forward to helping you with your claim.