When you put your loved one into a nursing home or long-term care facility, you expect them to have constant and delicate care, as they may have serious physical and mental medical conditions. Unfortunately for you, your loved one and many other people, nursing homes and long-term care facilities don’t always live up to others’ expectations. As a result, many residents face elder abuse and their relatives and loved ones need to know what to do next.
Before anything can be done about recovering damages that an older loved one suffered during their time in a long-term facility, someone needs to document everything relating to their elder abuse.
Take pictures of their injuries
If you find an older loved one is injured from elder abuse, then you should consider taking picture evidence. Not only can pictures reveal just how serious these injuries are but they may be able to date when these injuries were suffered or found.
Record the abuse in action
Some people happen to witness when their loved one is being abused. If this happens to you, then you may want to record the abuse in action. This can prove who was causing the abuse and how extreme their actions were.
Get medical records
While picture and video evidence may give you the upper hand when seeking compensation for an older loved one’s injuries, you should also ensure their condition and injuries are documented by a medical expert. This may be able to prove that their injuries were suffered in the long-term care facility and weren’t induced by an unrelated accident.
When looking to do what’s right for your older loved one, you should ensure you know your legal options.