When a nursing home harms a resident through carelessness—which can include falls, pressure wounds / bedsores, neglect, malnutrition, dehydration, abuse or neglect, among other things—it can be held accountable through a civil lawsuit. You should have a nursing home lawyer investigate and help you file a lawsuit if one is warranted.
In Ohio, you only have a limited amount of time in which to file a lawsuit for medical claims, which time period is called the “statute of limitations.” A nursing home abuse lawyer should help evaluate that time period—do not delay in at least getting that information. Even when we reject cases, we try to help evaluate this time so you know where you stand.
Quick Nursing Home Abuse Statistics
According to a study titled: Elder Mistreatment: Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation in an Aging America, approximately 1.6 million people live in about 17,000 licensed nursing homes across the United States. The study states that, “vulnerable individuals in these settings are at much higher risk for abuse and neglect than older persons who live at home.”
The statistics stated by the study are as follows:
The probability of use increases dramatically with age, rising from 17 percent for those aged 65 to 74 to 60 percent for persons aged 85 to 94. Because women live longer than men, their relative risk of lifetime use of a nursing home is higher (i.e., 52 percent versus 33 percent). In addition, because the most rapidly growing segment of the population is those aged 85 and older, the proportion of persons estimated at risk for nursing home use at some time in their lives is expected to increase over time. Thus, while only 2.5 million elders living in a residential long-term care facility on any given day may be at risk for abuse, over their lives many elderly may be at risk during a period of long-term care facility use.
This means your loved one who lives in a nursing home is at significantly higher risk for abuse.
What Do I Do If I Suspect Nursing Home Abuse?
When you suspect that your loved one has been abused by staff at their nursing home it is easy to get caught up in emotions. You may be confused as to HOW someone could do this to your loved one. You may be angry that someone would hurt your loved one. You may feel hurt, betrayed, or feel guilt.
But it is extremely important to remember that certain things HAVE to happen in order to hold the nursing home and their staff accountable.
When considering action, the following checklist will help guide you through the process:
- Make sure your loved one is safe- if they are in immediate danger, call 911. Remove them from the home if necessary! Their safety could mean life or death!
- Begin gathering information about the abuse to be potentially used as evidence.
- Notify the facility of the abuse. File a grievance, follow up with official procedures, keep copies of ALL correspondence for your records.
- File a complaint with state agency:
- To report patient abuse or neglect to the Ohio Attorney General, click here
- To file a complaint to the Ohio Department of Health, call 1-800-342-0553.
- Hire an experienced nursing home abuse attorney.
- Work with attorney to draft complaint and give them all the evidence of abuse you gathered.
- Make sure your complaint is filed and the nursing home is served.
- Wait for response from nursing home.
- Litigation may ensue.
The following are items you may need to file a nursing home abuse lawsuit:
- Witness information, observations, and statements
- Photographic evidence
- Medical records
Does it Matter if Your Lawyer Focuses on Nursing Home Cases?
Nursing home cases are different. They pose unique challenges lawyers who do not handle them regularly–and even some who do–never recognize or address.
Nursing homes are uniquely positioned to limit or even defeat inexperienced lawyers. They tend to have significant funds for defense–especially if they are part of a national chain–and their lawyers tend to be very experienced with nursing home litigation because they see so many claims. All of the pleasant, welcoming, family-oriented personal care marketing nursing homes engage in goes ut the window when risk management and legal defense is involved.
Nursing home lawsuits also present challenges to general personal injury attorneys because of the scale of the litigation. If you’ve spent any time with a loved one in a nursing home, you know how many different caregivers you see. turnover tends to be high. So there are a lot of potential witnesses to depose, which takes a lot of time and money for the lawyer. And it might require tracking people down. For lawyers who are used to a two-party auto crash case, this is a lot of work and effort. I’ve seen lawyers who are not focused on nursing home cases have no idea what it takes to litigate these cases.
Do you have questions about a possible Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect case? Click below to start an investigation with us. We'll help you get answers.
Are we the right nursing Home Lawyers for Your Case?
Maybe. We only take select cases that fit our strengths: significant injuries or death caused by neglect or abuse. We take cases we believe we would take to trial, so that when we tell the defense lawyer or insurance adjustor “we’ll see you at trial,” they know we mean it. Not every case is like that. Many aren’t.
We also only take cases we believe are clearly meritorious. A resident can have a bad outcome without negligence. And even when a nursing home was negligent, that might have been limited or temporary, and did not cause the downturn or death that the family believes it did. That does not mean the family did anything wrong by calling us. Usually they want answers. And that’s what we try to provide.
I can promise you if we review your case, we’ll be candid and honest about the investigation. Even if it means we do not think there is a viable case. We’ll tell you that, and why. In my experience, that’s exactly what people want: honest answers.
If we believe there is a case, but it is not one we would be able to handle, we try when possible to refer you to a competent attorney who may take it on.
What is the Point of a Nursing Home Lawsuit?
Often people contact us because they want answers: what happened? Was it someone’s fault? Many people would likely never call us if the nursing home was more direct and honest answering these questions. One primary reason to contact us is to answer those questions.
At the end of the day, what I can do is, at best, get compensation—money—for my clients. That’s how our civil justice system works. We don’t have duals, or burn the building down in revenge. We have lawsuits and trials over money. So what is the point?
One main reason is to change nursing home behavior. Nursing homes are businesses. They speak the language of money. If they can be careless and unsafe with residents, with the very people who need the most care, and get away with it, they’ll keep doing it. If, on the other hand, the community holds them accountable, and makes them pay full compensation for the harm that results, they’ll change their behavior.
Another reason is that the compensation that is paid can do good for the community and family directly related to the person injured or killed by negligence. Money can be used for nonprofits or public service groups that support resident safety, nursing training, or issues related to their memory, like veterans, pet lovers, or the like. It can also act as a way to keep the person in mind, such as education funds for a grandchild who may not have had the time with their grandparent they should have had due to negligence.
We can also insist on change at a facility in return for a lower settlement amount. Many nursing homes are not prepared for this type of negotiation, but some consider it and make changes.
While not a traditional part of an injury lawyer’s “job,” discussing these possibilities with a family has been very beneficial. If there is a recovery, they feel empowered in using it for good.
Do you have questions about a possible Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect case? Click below to start an investigation with us. We'll help you get answers.
How Much Does a Nursing Home Lawsuit Cost?
This is a question that has two answers. If we take on your case, it will not “cost” you any money, because we advance the costs of litigation. But the lawsuits can cost tens of thousands of dollars, especially if it goes to trial. And all of those expenses do get paid back if there is a recovery.
So even though you pay nothing out of pocket, and do not get a bill if there is no recovery, it does “cost” you out of the recovery. That is why managing expenses is an important part of these cases. You want an attorney who is willing to spend money in order to increase the value of the case—taking efficient and effective depositions, hiring strong experts—but also careful about not wasting money. That’s why we treat expenses as your money, and act accordingly. If I’m wasting money that will mean a significantly limited recovery to the clients, I’m not doing a good job for the clients.
What are Nursing Home Lawsuits “Worth”?
There are also issues with how to evaluate case value. Some people–even some personal injury attorneys–think nursing home cases cannot have much value because they always involve older people, sick people, people who do not have much life left, don’t earn money, and are going to die eventually anyway.
I believe the older we get, the more help and assistance we need, the more vulnerable we are, the greater the level of care our caregivers need to provide. And the less time we have left, the more valuable every moment becomes. How dare someone–or more likely, some corporation–be careless with someone’s safety, when the person is more delicate, or unable to protect themselves?
When we tried a case to a jury in 2016, a 74 year old woman’s death led to a $4.4 million dollar verdict. She had a number of illnesses–who doesn’t as they age?–and the nursing home’s position was that her medical conditions killed her, not the fact that they rolled her out of bed and broke her leg. The jury saw through that argument, and showed that our community values the life of older people.
A large part of the verdict was to punish the nursing home for disregarding her rights and safety, showing that our community expects better from those caring for the most vulnerable among us. It was a long fight, a long trial, and an expensive process. And these results won’t happen in every case. But it is clear that if you investigate and prosecute a nursing home case, and trust the community to value older peoples’ lives, you may get results that can help change and improve the industry.
Do you have questions about a possible Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect case? Click below to start an investigation with us. We'll help you get answers.
What is the Statute of Limitations for Nursing Home Lawsuits? (Or, how Much Time Do You Have to File Lawsuit?)
For every type of civil claim there is a period of time in which you can file a lawsuit, called the “statute of limitations.” After that time is up, you’re generally out of luck and any claim filed after that date will be dismissed.
In general—although not always—nursing home injury claims are “medical claims,” meaning you only have one year in which to file the lawsuit from the date of injury.
Besides the injury claim—the claim the resident has (even if they’ve died) for their injuries, pain, and suffering—if negligence caused injuries that led to the resident’s death, their family has a claim for their loss, called a “wrongful death” claim. These claims must be filed within two years of the date of death.
There are exceptions, ways to extend the time limits, and other complicated factors that make each case’s statute of limitations potentially unique. The most important thing to do is have a qualified nursing home abuse lawyer evaluate the statute of limitations as early as possible, to be sure you do not miss (or have not already missed) the cutoff date. You can still decide not to file a lawsuit, but at least you will have the option.
The statute of limitations only requires you to file a lawsuit. After that, there is no time limit by law for the time to complete the case.
If I File a Lawsuit, Can we Settle the Case, or Do We Have to Go to Trial?
Anyone with a claim against a nursing home can settle their claim—before, during, even after a lawsuit (such as after a jury verdict)—if the nursing home or their insurance company offers a reasonable amount to compensate them for their harms and losses. Most cases settle.
Having said that, whether you receive full and fair compensation will depend on whether the nursing home lawyers and insurance company believes they are at risk of a jury verdict. That can depend on the facts of the case but, just as importantly, whether they believe your lawyer is prepared and willing to take them to trial.
You want to have an attorney eager to go to trial. Most are not. Not even close.
We try cases, we like trying cases, but more importantly we like to help empower clients to feel confident and comfortable exercising their constitutional right to a jury trial. When you and your lawyer are prepared and ready for trial, you’re in the driver’s seat and in control.
Settlement does offer benefits: by eliminating risk of a jury trial, you know exactly what will happen. You can also save time, energy, and money, meaning a dollar in settlement is often worth more than a dollar at trial. Although we cover case expenses for nursing home cases, the expenses are repaid out of a recovery. So if I can get clients significant, fair compensation early on in a case, before spending tens of thousands of dollars on experts, depositions, exhibits, and the rest, that might be a better outcome than trial.
Lawyers are obligated to work in your interest. If a lawyer is afraid of trial, or does not want to invest the time, energy, and money getting the case ready, they may be tempted to encourage settlement at an unreasonably low level. I’m afraid that happens a lot more than it should.
Why We Don’t Believe in Confidential Settlements.
Defense lawyers, insurance adjusters, even some judges assume “everyone” will sign a confidentiality agreement because, well, doesn’t everyone?
No, and the one’s that do probably shouldn’t.
Here’s why confidentiality agreements do not make sense to me in nursing home abuse and wrongful death cases:
How do I Make a Complaint about Ohio Nursing Home Abuse or Neglect?
In addition to a lawsuit—or instead of one—you can file a complaint to the State about suspected nursing home abuse or neglect. This is not the same as filing a lawsuit. It can result in an investigation and (hopefully) positive change. But it will not result in direct compensation to a resident or their family for injury or death. And that means the nursing home not having the financial incentive to change.
Some people who care for nursing home residents or have a legal duty must report suspected abuse by law, including doctors, nurses, lawyers, physical therapists, social workers, and law enforcement.
To file a complaint with the Ohio Department of Health, you can fill out their online form:
You can leave your name out to remain anonymous. The downside of this is that the Ohio Department of Health will not be able to contact you for follow up questions. The Ohio Department of Health has a Guide to Filing a Complaint you can review. We have the form here, but check out the rest of the below section, first!
If you prefer, they also allow you to call or a COMPLAINT HOTLINE number at 1-800-342-0553, which is available from 8:00am to 5:00 pm. At other times, you can leave a message. The information they ask you to have for a complaint includes:
- Complainant information (your full name, address, and telephone number);
- Facility name, address and telephone number;
- Individuals involved and affected, witnesses and accusers (names, room number and title if known);
- Narrative/specifics of your complaint;
- Date/time/frequency of incident;
- Do you believe this in an isolated event or a systemic problem;
- Why you believe the incident occurred;
- Has the facility tried to address the situation;
- Whether or not you initiated other courses of action, including contacting other agencies, response/resolution obtained if any.
If you hire a lawyer and file a lawsuit based on abuse, Ohio law says you cannot use the reports generated from these investigation as evidence (which is called being “inadmissible” as evidence). Even so, such reports can contain valuable information to help in the lawyer’s investigation. We always pull complaint investigation reports for a facility for the prior few years to see the types of issues they’ve had.
What type of things happen as a result of the investigation depends on the severity of the complaint, circumstances of any abuse and/or neglect, and any planned correction by the nursing facility. The facility director or administrator is usually alerted as to complaints. I recommend if you have significant ongoing concerns about abuse or neglect, or whether a loved-one’s medical needs are being met, that you arrange to have the resident seen by a doctor or hospital not affiliated with the nursing home.
If you would like to discuss your loved one’s situation, injuries, or death at a nursing home, call us at 216-777-8856, or fill out the contact form on this page (or here). Inquiries are confidential, cost nothing, and we will take the time to answer your questions.
Nursing Home Abuse and Injury Lawsuit Articles
Patient Dies After Nurse Illegally Prescribes Wrong Medication, Lawsuit Claims
When Philip Woodruff entered the assisted living facility, it was to be a short stay. Philip suffered from Parkinson’s disease and was in the early stages of dementia, and his wife was in the process of moving them to a new house that would be safer for him. When their new home was ready, Philip was to return to his wife’s loving care.
Two months later, Philip was dead.
When you stay at an assisted living facility, you expect expert care. You expect the facility to provide professional-level services and in-depth knowledge. When it comes to Bickford of Rocky River, though, we believe the opposite proved to be the case: we believe a nurse gave Philip a high dosage of a drug that is well known to increase mortality in Parkinson’s patients, without so much as a doctor’s signature on the order.
Eadie Hill is proud to be bringing justice to the memory of Philip Woodruff.
***
On April 18, 2022, Eadie Hill had the honor of filing a lawsuit against Bickford of Rocky River and Brian Woods on behalf of the estate of Philip Woodruff.
When Philip Woodruff entered Bickford of Rocky River on March 30, 2021, he suffered from Parkinson’s disease, and was in the early stages of dementia. According to Bickford’s initial assessment of Philip, he was able to communicate freely, he was alert and ambulatory, and he was independent with his eating and drinking.
There was every reason to believe that Philip would live for much longer. In fact, his life expectancy was 7.8 years from the time he was admitted according to government produced life tables. Unfortunately, according to the complaint, Bickford ...
Read More
Lawsuit Against Takoda Trails Intermediate Care Facility Alleges Years of Abuse & Neglect of a 35-Year-Old Developmentally Disabled & Legally Blind Woman
The cut on her throat was hard for anyone to explain. The police couldn’t identify any object that could have caused the laceration, but they did notice signs that blood had been cleaned up from the floor.
And neither could anyone explain how she had gone to bed in one set of pajamas, but woke up in a different set. And why the pajamas she had gone to bed in were freshly laundered by the time she woke up in the morning.
No, even her caretaker—who, coincidentally, had a history of violent conduct—was unable to explain the circumstances of the evening.
And, being non-verbal, the patient couldn’t explain what had happened, either…
But the complaint alleges this: her throat had been cut while under the care of the Takoda Trails intermediary care facility. She needed 12 sutures to close the wound. And, we do not believe that this was the first time she had suffered neglect at the hands of this care facility.
Eadie Hill is proud to give this victim the voice she so desperately needs.
***
On November 30, 2022, Eadie Hill had the great honor of filing a lawsuit against Takoda Trails, Empowering People, Inc., and Creative Learning Workshop on behalf of Lauren Carter, and her father, Greg Carter.
Lauren is a 35-year-old developmentally disabled woman who suffers from cerebral palsy and cortical blindness. Due to her disabilities, she requires around-the-clock care. However, despite her reduced mental capacity, she is a normal 35-year-old woman in ...
Read More
Eadie Hill Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Villa St. Joseph for Edward Kothera’s Family
Image: Villa St. Joseph via LinkedIn
This is a wrongful death and negligence case involving Villa St. Joseph's substandard care, which resulted in physical injuries, pain and suffering, and wrongful death for one of their residents, Edward Kothera, after he fell several times and suffered multiple injuries, including a broken hip and a brain bleed.
Mr. Kothera died on December 24, 2019, according to the lawsuit, and his death was caused by "blunt strikes to the head with subdural hematoma" caused by falls on December 11, 2019, and December 13, 2019, at Villa St. Joseph. The Medical Examiner's decision is the legally recognized cause of death, and it creates a rebuttable presumption in court. R.C. 313.19.
According to the filed complaints, Defendants are Ohio corporations responsible for providing care and services to residents of Villa St. Joseph (the "Facility"). The defendants hired the caregivers who were in charge of Edward Kothera's care and safety. The nursing staff at the Facility is managed, controlled, and/or employed by the defendants. Defendants are vicariously liable for the negligent acts of their employees and agents (respondeat superior and agency liability) and/or independent contractors (Clark v. Southview agency by estoppel), including visiting physicians and nurse practitioners contracted with any of Defendants and/or provided to residents as default or house care providers.
The lawsuit alleges that:
The for-profit business model of the defendants indicates that their primary purpose is to maximize profit, as measured by revenues (from residents and patients) minus expenses (the largest of which is staffing costs).
Residents (filling beds) are ...
Read More
Akron Family Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Communicare, Copley Health Center for Resident’s Death
Neglect and abuse causing death at an Ohio nursing home? That’s what the family of Susan Birch believe. Susan Birch was a resident in the short-term rehab section at Copley Health Center. She died from infected bedsores she acquired at Copley Health Center.
An Akron family has come forward to make sure that Copley Health Center and the parent company that owns it, Communicare, are held responsible for what they believe was neglect and abuse causing their mother, Susan Birch, to die from infected bedsores.
Susan was a 69-year-old woman who entered Copley Health Center on July 23, 2019 for short term rehab after being hospitalized for 5 days with a urinary tract infection. She was dead less than 4 months later. The official cause of death was listed as “septic shock” due to “decubitus ulcer non-healing.” A decubitus ulcer is better known as a bedsore. Sepsis is a severe inflammatory response to an infection that can cause multi-organ failure and death.
Copley Health Center, a 130-bed rehabilitation and skilled nursing facility located at 155 Heritage Woods Drive, Copley, OH 44321. It is owned and operated by Communicare Family of Companies, a for profit corporation managing nursing homes throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Indiana, and Missouri. According to its website, CopleyHealth Center is specialized in wound care, including having an on-staff RN and surgeon.
According to the lawsuit:
When Copley Health Center accepted Susan into their care, they knew she was at risk of developing skin breakdowns. Despite this knowledge, Copley’s staff allowed Susan to ...
Read More
How Do I Find Out The Names of Caregivers for my Loved One in a Nursing Home?
(A) The rights of residents of a home shall include, but are not limited to, the following: * * * (6) The right to obtain from the home, upon request, the name and any specialty of any physician or other person responsible for the resident's care or for the coordination of care;Under this law, every Ohio nursing home resident has the right to know the identity of their care providers. If you are the power of attorney or guardian for a loved one, I would suggest writing a letter to the facility Administrator (the legal executive of the facility, sometimes called "Executive Director"), saying something to the effect of:
I am writing pursuant to Ohio's Residents' Rights law guaranteeing nursing home residents the "right to obtain from the home, upon request, the name and any specialty of any . . . person responsible for the resident's care or for the coordination of care." (Ohio Revised Code section 3721.13(A)(6). As you know, as [name of resident]'s sponsor [and power of attorney or guardian if appropriate], I am empowered to "act on a resident's behalf to assure that the home does not deny the residents' rights under sections 3721.10 to 3721.17 of the Revised Code." Specifically, provide me with the full name of [description of person they should be able to use to identify them] within the next 10 days via an email to [your email address].The term "Sponsor" means "an adult relative, friend, or guardian of a resident who has an interest or responsibility in the resident's welfare." This is according to Ohio Revised Code section 3721.10(D) ...
Read More
How do I Find the Right Nursing Home Lawyer for My Case?
- has experience with nursing home cases, not just "personal injury";
- has taken a nursing home case to trial, and won;
- understands the state and federal nursing home rules and regulations governing resident care in your state;
- is licensed in your state;
- won't stick you with the bill if the case is not successful;
- believes in your case; and
- you like and trust.
Read More
The Nursing Home Systems Case, By The Numbers
You’ve probably heard, “Truck crash cases aren’t just big car crash cases.” Why? Because of federal regulations governing trucking companies, and the big corporate, unsympathetic, insured defendants. Nursing home cases are the same: they’re not just medical negligence cases with older people. Nursing home cases are against big, dangerous, greedy, and insured (or asset-rich) corporations who put their profits ahead of resident safety in a way that would make the most cut-throat, for-profit hospital chain blush. So if you’re litigating the occasional nursing home case focusing on a particular nurse or aide, or even a particular facility, you’re missing all the fun--and the case value, and the chance to make a big impact--by focusing on the wrong people. We’ve never had a nursing home case that wasn’t a “systems” case. If you have, you likely either missed it, or you had a mediocre case.This is just a small portion of the recent article by nursing home abuse lawyers Michael Hill and William Eadie published by the Ohio Association for Justice (OAJ). You can continue reading and download ...
Read More
Our No Fear Guarantee
Our No Fear Guarantee 
You’ve probably seen the lawyer ads: “No Fee Guarantee!” “No Fees if We Don’t Win!”
Guess what? That’s true for just about any plaintiff’s lawyer. It’s what a “contingency fee” means. It doesn’t mean they’ll work hard. Or get a good result for you. It doesn’t mean much at all.
What we promise you is a NO FEAR guarantee.
What does that mean? For 99% of our clients, a medical injury caused by negligence is new. The medical malpractice lawsuit process is new. Depositions, discovery, trial . . . everything is new.
New can be scary. Especially when it involves having to testify under oath.
We’ve developed systems that let you address and move past the fear. Through education and information about the process. Role-playing and other preparation techniques. We empower you to be fearless. Because this process is hard enough.
