If your elderly relative has been neglected or abused by nursing home staff, you may be wondering how to hold those caregivers and the facility accountable. Although taking legal action won’t undo the trauma your loved one has experienced, it may yield the compensation needed to arrange for much better long-term care, and it might inspire changes that save other nursing home residents from the same mistreatment.

Before commencing the proceedings, it’s wise to hire a nursing home abuse attorney. A well-credentialed lawyer can help you avoid mistakes, gather evidence, calculate a fair settlement amount, and negotiate with the opposing party.

Let’s explore a few reasons to hire a nursing home neglect lawyer to assist with your claim:

1. The Nursing Home Administrators Are Not On Your Side
As soon as the administrators learn about the abuse or neglect, they’ll likely reach out to you and offer to handle the matter internally. Regardless of how compassionate and helpful they seem, it’s important to remember that the interests of nursing home administrators are in direct conflict with your own. At the end of the day, it’s in their best interests to pay as little as possible for the damages your loved one has incurred and to avoid bad press. But if you accept an unfair settlement and sign a release, you won’t be able to pursue further compensation.

2. Gathering Evidence Could Pose A Challenge
To prevail in a nursing home abuse case, you’ll need strong evidence of the mistreatment your family member has suffered and the resulting damages. Overlooking just one piece of critical evidence could make it difficult to win a fair settlement. An attorney with the right experience will know the kinds of evidence to gather and how to obtain evidence that’s being withheld by the nursing home.

3. It’s Easy To Jeopardize A Nursing Home Abuse Claim Inadvertently
By letting a seasoned nursing home abuse lawyer handle the logistics of your case, you’ll be far less likely to make a costly mistake. Below are just a few errors that could hurt your chances of recovering a fair payout:

* Letting critical deadlines pass;
* Posting about the case on social media;
* Failing to track or account for certain damages; and
* Commencing negotiations before your loved one has reached maximum medical improvement.

4. No Two Claims Are Exactly Alike
You may have found online resources that offer insights into the laws and procedures that pertain to nursing home abuse lawyer claims, but at the end of the day, each case is different. For example, there’s no one-size-fits-all formula for calculating a fair settlement, and the types of evidence needed to strengthen one claim could be very different from the next. A seasoned attorney will know the best approach to take given the specific facts of your case.