Elder abuse is so excessive that, for those with even a little empathy, the prospect of nursing home abuse seems beyond the realm of possibility. Tragically, abuse is not only possible—it happens daily. Those living in Kansas City nursing homes are not safe from abuse, particularly when negligence allows that abuse to occur.
If your loved one suffered any form of mistreatment in an elder care facility, Bruning Law Firm wants to hear from you. A Kansas City nursing home abuse lawyer will demand justice.
Call Bruning Law Firm today at (816) 370-5384 for your free, no-risk consultation.
Table of Contents
- Why Hire Your Kansas City Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer From Bruning Law Firm
- Types of Nursing Home Abuse That Always Warrant a Claim or Lawsuit
- What Our Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Will Do for Your Loved One in Kansas City
- We Don’t Ask for Any Out-of-Pocket Compensation from You, Ever
- The Cost of Elder Abuse and the Damages You May Get Compensation For
- Expect Liable Parties to Fight Your Claim in Multiple Ways
- Call Bruning Law Firm Today for Your Free Consultation
Why Hire Your Kansas City Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer From Bruning Law Firm
Our team knows the immense value we bring to nursing home abuse cases, and you should, too. Some of the notable reasons why those grappling with a loved one’s mistreatment hire Bruning Law Firm are:
Our History of Success (or Of Getting Justice for Abuse Victims)
Bruning Law Firm is proud of the results we’ve achieved for clients, including those affected by abuse.
These are life-changing results:
- Hold liable parties accountable for their negligence (which, in this case, may include both perpetrating and allowing the abuse)
- Ensure our clients can cover their financial damages (such as the cost of relocating your loved one to a new, safe facility)
- Ensure our clients can cover the non-economic cost of their damages (in this case, pain and suffering)
Recoveries of $24 million, $4.75 million, $4.5 million, and $3.2 million show what our attorneys are capable of. “Unproven” is not a term that applies to Bruning Law Firm.
Our Extensive Ties to Missouri, Which Makes Your Case Personal
We are a law firm by Missourians for Missourians (and guests in our state). Our investment in the state reflects how much we care for our fellow residents and anyone else who suffers harm within state lines.
Our strong ties to the state mean we take elder abuse extremely seriously—even personally. Everyone deserves to be safe in Missouri, especially the most vulnerable. We will work tirelessly to see justice done for your loved one’s mistreatment.
More Than 40 Years Fighting for Victims of Abuse
Our Kansas City nursing home abuse attorneys have more than 40 years of experience advocating for victims and their families.
When a team of attorneys has this degree of experience, it means:
- A few challenges catch them by surprise
- They have many proven strategies at their disposal
- They do not back down from challenging cases or bad-faith tactics by the opposing insurance company or counsel
- Their clients can sleep soundly knowing their attorneys know what they’re doing
Inexperienced is another term you cannot apply to the lawyers at Bruning Law Firm.
Our Embrace of the Latest Legal Tools, Resources, and Strategies
Our firm is constantly evolving to deliver the most effective representation. We are constantly researching cases, honing our legal strategies, adopting the latest technology, hiring innovative experts, and doing everything else we can to be better lawyers for you.
Types of Nursing Home Abuse That Always Warrant a Claim or Lawsuit
Anyone can abuse the elderly. Once you recognize that your loved one has faced neglect or abuse, you need a lawyer to investigate exactly what happened.
You should also know the types of elder mistreatment that warrant legal action against a nursing home (and possibly others). Five general types of elder mistreatment include:
Physical Abuse
If a caregiver does not fully grasp their emotions, they should not be a caregiver.
In other words, there’s no excuse to abuse an elder by:
- Punching
- Slapping
- Pinching
- Burning
- Tripping
- Throwing down
- Pulling hair
- Engaging in any other harmful or distressing physical act
If physical abuse happens, the victim is also suffering emotionally and psychologically.
Emotional and Psychological Abuse
Emotional and psychological abuse may stand on their own or accompany other forms of abuse.
This kind of mistreatment can include:
- Screaming at or raising one’s voice without reason
- Name-calling
- Threatening
- Refusing to assist is a form of abuse
- Ignoring
- Any other intentional infliction of emotional or psychological distress
When someone in a nursing home is consistently frightened or distressed in other ways, their mental and physical health can deteriorate rapidly. This is one reason that makes elder mistreatment so intolerable, as it can contribute to the victim’s early demise.
Sexual Abuse
If someone mistreated your loved one in any way, call us. This is an egregious form of abuse with severe ramifications for the victim.
Neglect
Neglect is one of the most common forms of elder mistreatment. In some cases, the neglect is intentional or results from laziness by caregivers. In others, understaffing, poor training, and other systemic failures lead to neglect.
Neglect can include:
- Failure to maintain the resident’s hygiene
- Abandonment for long periods
- Failing to help the resident socialize
- Failing to assist the residents when they need to move
- Failure to assist with medication consumption, eating, and drinking
Not rotating someone who spends significant time in bed can cause bedsores, and this is another common form of neglect.
Financial Exploitation
If a nursing home’s collective staff or an individual exploits a nursing home patient or their family, this is grounds for appropriate legal action.
What Our Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Will Do for Your Loved One in Kansas City
Rates of elder abuse are shockingly high. Although you may not want to accept that a loved one might have faced neglect or abuse, you should hire a lawyer to conduct a thorough investigation. Let us help you.
Investigating suspected or known abuse is one of many ways we will serve you and your loved one. Our process in cases like yours generally includes:
Obtaining Evidence of the Abuse
Our Kansas City nursing home abuse lawyers often document evidence by:
- Interviewing witnesses to the abuse
- Securing any available video of abuse
- Photographing injuries and any other visible proof of abuse
- Hiring professionals to testify about the likelihood of abuse
We may need to file a letter of spoliation. This letter requires the nursing home (or another target of the letter) to preserve and provide any relevant evidence, like video or incident records. Your lawyer will file any such letter as soon as possible.
Determining Fault and Liability
Two key concepts in any elder abuse case are:
- Fault: This refers to those who are directly responsible for the abuse, including the perpetrator
- Liability: This refers to those who are financially responsible for the effects of the abuse, which may include the perpetrator, their employer, and one or more insurance companies
Your attorney will answer these questions as we build your case in Kansas City.
Identifying and Documenting Damages
A key concern in your case is how the nursing home abuse has affected the victim, as well as any other injured parties.
We may display the effects of the abuse using:
- Medical records indicating physical injury resulting from abuse
- Medical bills for treatment related to the abuse
- Any mental health service records detailing pain and suffering, as well as related treatment
- Any invoices related to the abuse, such as the bill from a company that relocated your loved one
We also want to secure testimony from the victim. They know more than anyone else the cost of abuse.
Calculating the Cost of Damages and Seeking a Settlement
We will calculate the exact cost of the nursing home abuse. Our lawyers weigh both financial and non-financial costs.
Many abuse victims suffer long-term harm, notably pain and suffering. Our settlement demands will reflect the true and full extent of victims’ suffering.
Conducting Any Necessary Lawsuit and Trial
Some nursing home abuse cases settle. Some require a trial, usually when liable parties refuse to properly compensate the victim.
Bruning Law Firm never predetermines the path for a case. If liable parties offer the compensation we demand, we will likely advise you to accept the deal (though you always get to choose). If your lawyer believes you are receiving a lowball offer, they will likely recommend that you allow them to keep fighting for a better settlement.
We Don’t Ask for Any Out-of-Pocket Compensation from You, Ever
Our firm has a client-first mentality. We start with a client-friendly fee structure.
Put simply, you won’t pay any out-of-pocket costs or fees to Bruning Law Firm. Your personal injury attorney will receive a percentage of any compensation they secure for you, and we will make that percentage known before you hire us.
This contingency fee arrangement is a godsend for many clients because:
- Many people need a lawyer but cannot afford to pay for one.
- Our clients understand that our fee directly depends on the outcome of their case, and we will do everything possible to win for them.
- This structure couples the client’s financial motivations to the lawyer’s, as the lawyer does better as the client receives more compensation.
We don’t want you to stress about whether you can afford a lawyer. Our simple, no-risk fee structure lets you hire us without losing sleep.
The Cost of Elder Abuse and the Damages You May Get Compensation For
The cost of abuse can be particularly high when the victim is elderly. Even if your loved one is not elderly, their residence in a nursing home suggests vulnerability—including to the devastating consequence of mistreatment.
Common damages among nursing home abuse victims include:
Pain and Suffering
The perpetrator often wants to inflict pain and suffering on the victim.
They generally succeed, often causing victims:
- Physical pain
- Psychological distress
- Emotional anguish
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Lost sleep
- Lost quality of life
- Severe mood and personality changes
- Loss of identity and independence
Nobody should face these hardships, yet your loved one likely has suffered at least one.
An Early Death
In the most tragic cases, we represent clients reeling from a loved one’s death. We often conclude that abuse or other types of mistreatment may have contributed to an early death.
In abuse-related wrongful death cases, recoverable damages may include:
- Grief and other forms of pain and suffering
- The pain and suffering the decedent endured before passing
- Funeral costs
- Loss of consortium
Our law firm is professional and compassionate in everything we do, including representing mourning clients.
Financial Losses
Abuse can cause several direct and indirect financial costs, which may include:
- Medical costs
- Mental health treatment costs
- The cost of moving the victim to a new facility
- The cost of any financial exploitation the victim suffered
Our lawyers always consider the financial aspects of mistreatment when leading nursing home abuse cases in Kansas City.
Rehabilitation Costs
Some abuse victims need physical rehab, counseling, and other rehabilitative care. Hopefully, such treatments can help the victim regain their health, but that’s never a given considering the severe impact of abuse.
Expect Liable Parties to Fight Your Claim in Multiple Ways
Many clients hire us because:
- They are not yet certain that abuse has happened and want us to investigate
- They are wholly unfamiliar with elder abuse lawsuits
- They believe our firm brings experience, training, and resources that will be valuable to them
- They don’t want to face the difficult details that nursing home abuse cases typically involve
You should also hire us because liable parties will likely fight your case.
Some tactics we often encounter include:
- Accusing the victim of lying
- Disposing of evidence
- Extending lowball offers
- Refusing to negotiate in good faith
- Delaying the claims or legal processes
These tactics are distressing in their own right. They can also prevent you from securing fair compensation if you don’t have someone to deftly navigate them.
Call Bruning Law Firm Today for Your Free Consultation
Our nursing home abuse attorneys in Kansas City fight for the vulnerable. Once abuse occurs, the best option is generally to demand accountability. Not only can this lead to a fair recovery for the victim, but it may also prevent future instances of abuse.
Call Bruning Law Firm today at (816) 370-5384 for your free consultation and take the first step toward securing the justice you deserve.
