What Evidence is Needed to Prove Elder Abuse or Neglect Occurred at a Nursing Home?

So, the type of evidence that’s needed for an elder abuse and neglect case is a little different than what you would need in a normal negligence case. And so, typically, if you file an action against a nursing home or assisted living facility, there will be multiple causes of action. There will be a negligence cause of action, but there will also likely be an elder abuse and neglect cause of action. And that is a similar but distinct claim. The legislature has passed specific laws that provide protections for elderly and dependent adults. And with that come enhanced remedies. You’re entitled to recover certain costs and fees.

However, to make such a claim for elder abuse and neglect, you do need additional evidence beyond what you might need for a negligence cause of action. And so one of the things you need to show in an elder abuse and neglect cause of action is that the neglect or abuse was it’s called ratified by management essentially that the facility knew that wrongful conduct was going on and they failed to take appropriate steps to rectify or address the conduct. And a lot of times in our cases that’s done by the families making complaints. You’ll go there, you see something you don’t like, you raise the issue and it’s ignored. Maybe you raise the issue again to the director of nursing or the administrator, but it’s still ignored. That can constitute ratification of the neglect because they know they’re on notice that something is not right and they should know that if they don’t rectify that, it’s going to result in an injury to someone. And so ignoring that is ratifying neglect.

Another thing that needs to be shown for elder abuse and neglect cause of action is that the conduct was reckless or worse. In a negligence cause of action, you need to show that someone made a mistake that they a reasonable person wouldn’t have made. For elder abuse cause of action, you need to show that there was recklessness, that there was a deliberate indifference to the risk that was posed by their conduct. And one way to do that is to show that you put them on notice of something that was wrong. Say, “Hey, my loved one’s not getting enough water. Can you make sure they get water?” Or, “Hey, they’re wobbly when they walk. Can you please make sure someone’s walking with them or keeping an eye on them?” If they ignore that and your loved one falls or becomes dehydrated, that’s reckless. They knew it was going to be an issue if they didn’t act and they chose not to act.