Filing a nursing home abuse claim is one of the most important steps a family can take to protect their loved one and pursue accountability. But the decisions families make after filing matter just as much as the decision to file in the first place. Missteps, even unintentional ones, can weaken a case and give the defense an opening.
At Lanzone Morgan, LLP, one of the leading elder abuse law firms in the United States, our attorneys have guided families through this process for decades. With 75+ years of combined experience and a singular focus on nursing home and elder abuse cases, we know what works and what puts cases at risk. Below, our attorneys share the most important steps families should take after a claim is filed.
Table of Contents:
- 1. Provide All Relevant Evidence to Your Attorney as Soon as Possible
- 2. Stop Posting on Social Media
- 3. Cease All Non-Essential Contact With the Facility and Its Staff
- 4. Keep Detailed Notes on Your Loved One’s Condition and Progress
- 5. Do Not Discuss the Case With Anyone Outside Your Legal Team
- Lanzone Morgan, LLP is Your Advocate for Justice
1. Provide All Relevant Evidence to Your Attorney as Soon as Possible
Once a claim is filed, your attorney needs every piece of potentially relevant information as soon as possible. This includes medical records, care plans, facility correspondence, photos of injuries or living conditions, text messages, and emails. Do not wait to determine whether something is important. Share everything and let your legal team make that call.
Preserving evidence in its original form is equally critical. Do not alter, delete, or discard any documents, messages, or photos after a claim has been filed. Evidence that disappears after litigation begins can create serious legal problems for the plaintiff. Courts take this seriously. Work closely with your attorney to understand what needs to be collected and how to keep it organized and protected throughout the case.
My advice to families is to gather and provide every piece of potentially relevant evidence to their attorney as early as possible such as documents, text messages, emails, and photos. The sooner we have that information in hand, the better positioned we are to build the strongest possible case on your behalf.
2. Stop Posting on Social Media
Social media is one of the biggest risks to an active nursing home abuse claim. Defense attorneys and insurance adjusters routinely monitor the accounts of plaintiffs and their family members. A single photo or post, even one completely unrelated to the case, can be taken out of context and used to undermine your credibility. Vacation photos, birthday posts, and casual updates are all fair game.
The safest approach is to deactivate all accounts from the start of the case and keep them inactive until the matter is resolved. Ask friends and family not to tag you in posts or share photos of you while the case is active. One important rule: do not delete any existing posts or past content without speaking to your attorney first. Removing content after a lawsuit is filed can be treated as destruction of evidence, which carries serious consequences of its own.
Don’t post about the case or the events on social media. In fact, I’d advise disabling all of your social media accounts from the very start. Even seemingly unrelated posts, like vacation photos, can be pulled and used against you.
3. Cease All Non-Essential Contact With the Facility and Its Staff
After a claim is filed against a nursing home, families should stop all contact with the facility and its staff. Any conversation, even a casual one, can be recorded or misrepresented and used against the plaintiff during litigation. Facility employees and their legal teams are not on your side once a claim has been made.
There is one narrow exception. If your loved one is still a resident at the facility, contact may continue. It should be limited strictly to discussions about their care, treatment, and related billing matters. Nothing else. If the facility, its management, or anyone affiliated with the defense reaches out to you directly, do not respond on your own. Refer them to your attorney immediately and let your legal team handle all formal communication from that point forward.
Once a claim has been filed, families should cease all contact with the facility and its staff unless their loved one is still a resident, in which case, communication should be limited strictly to matters of care, treatment, and related billing. Anything beyond that should go through your attorney.
4. Keep Detailed Notes on Your Loved One's Condition and Progress
Families should maintain a consistent, written record of their loved one’s condition throughout the duration of the case. Note the date and time of each visit, what you observed, any changes in physical or emotional health, and the names of staff members present. Specific, dated observations carry significant weight in legal proceedings and are far more reliable than recollections shared months after the fact.
This documentation serves two important purposes. It gives your legal team an ongoing picture of whether conditions are improving or worsening. It also builds a pattern over time that can be difficult for a facility to dispute. Keep this log private. Do not share it with friends, family, or anyone outside your legal team. Avoid discussing the specifics of the lawsuit during visits with your loved one. Focus on their wellbeing and bring your observations directly to your attorney.
After filing a claim, families should keep detailed notes of their loved one’s progress and their personal observations. Record everything you see, hear, and notice during visits as these observations can be valuable documentation down the line.
5. Do Not Discuss the Case With Anyone Outside Your Legal Team
Once a nursing home abuse case is underway, every conversation you have about the matter becomes a potential liability. Family members should avoid discussing the details of their case with friends, extended family, neighbors, coworkers, religious communities, or anyone else outside of direct communications with their attorney. This includes casual conversations even those held in private, with people you trust completely.
The reason for this caution is straightforward: words are frequently remembered imprecisely, repeated inaccurately, and taken out of context. A statement made in a moment of frustration, grief, or even relayed secondhand by someone who heard it can become a problematic piece of testimony if the case proceeds to deposition or trial. Even conversations that have nothing to do with the legal facts of the matter can create complications if they suggest inconsistency with statements previously made in a formal legal context. The safest approach is to say nothing at all.
At the same time, keep your attorney informed of anything new. If your loved one’s health changes, if living conditions shift, or if anyone contacts you seeking information about the case, notify your legal team right away. Lanzone Morgan, LLP knows how nursing home defense teams operate and how they build their cases. Keeping communication contained is one of the most effective ways to protect the integrity of your claim.
Do not discuss the case with anyone. If anyone asks you about the case, refer them to your attorney for all questions and comments. Keep your attorney informed of any changes to the victim’s living conditions or health, as those updates can be critically important to your case.
Lanzone Morgan, LLP is Your Advocate for Justice
The period after filing a nursing home abuse claim can feel overwhelming. Families are already carrying the emotional weight of what happened to their loved one. Understanding how to navigate the legal process on top of that is a lot to manage.
Lanzone Morgan, LLP is here to take that burden off your shoulders. Because nursing home and elder abuse cases are all that we do, we bring a level of focus and depth that other firms cannot provide. We have recovered more than 250 million dollars for victims and their families across the state of California including Long Beach, Los Angeles, San Diego, and more. We represent every client as if they were our own. If you have questions about your claim or need guidance on next steps, call Lanzone Morgan, LLP today at 888-887-9777.
The following content has been legally reviewed and approved by nursing home abuse attorney Anthony Lanzone. Anthony holds notable memberships with professional organizations including the American Association for Justice and Consumer Attorneys of California.