As a popular retirement destination, Las Vegas, Nevada is home to many nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Tragically, it is not uncommon for elderly residents to suffer abuse or neglect by nursing home staff members.
Nevada nursing home negligence and abuse often go unreported since many victims are unable to communicate or have no access to phones. It is usually only when family visits and observes signs of mistreatment that lawsuits get filed.
Our Las Vegas nursing home abuse lawyers hold dangerous elder care facilities to account by making them pay for their victims’ medical expenses and pain and suffering. And we may be able to recover substantial punitive damages as well.
Who can nursing home abuse victims sue in Las Vegas?
Family members with power of attorney over an abused nursing home resident may bring a negligence lawsuit against the company that owns the long-term care facility. Nursing home companies are liable for failing to hire qualified caregivers and failing to supervise them.
Nursing home residents can also sue individual staff members that inflicted physical abuse, sexual abuse, financial abuse, or other intentional types of abuse. Though in reality, nursing home staffers are usually “judgment proof” and have no personal fortunes to go after.
Instead, victims or their families may instead explore filing a citizen’s police report against individual staff members. That way, the abusive staff member could be prosecuted and held criminally liable – which may require jail time. The court could also order that the staffer pay victim restitution.
Note that victims and their families may also be able to sue any outside health care providers who “do rounds” at the nursing home. If these doctors or nurses provided poor medical care, they could be liable for medical malpractice.1
Signs of abuse are bedsores, malnutrition, weight loss, lacerations, broken bones, and poor personal hygiene.
What kind of damages can victims get?
Las Vegas nursing home abuse attorneys fight to recover the following compensatory damages:
- Medical expenses for the victim, including psychological counseling for the victim and family;
- Pain and suffering;
- Nursing home costs;
- Any other out-of-pocket expenses related to the case; and/or
- Burial expenses (in wrongful death cases if the victim died).
The vast majority of personal injury cases resolve out of court. But if the case does reach trial – and if the victim’s attorney can show that the nursing home acted egregiously – the court can also award punitive damages, which often far exceed compensatory damages.2
What is the deadline for filing a lawsuit in nursing home cases?
There is a two-year statute of limitations to bring a negligence lawsuit in Nevada. And the statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims is the sooner of:
- 3 years from the date the medical provider caused the injury, or
- 2 years after the patient discovered or should have discovered the injury.3
However, the statute of limitations can potentially toll (pause) if a nursing home victim was incapable of acting within the time frame. Families who discover that their loved one was abused should contact a lawyer right away to discuss their legal options.
Can I sue a nursing home for spreading COVID-19?
Yes, but the outcome is uncertain.
There are currently several negligence lawsuits against a nursing home in Nevada for failing to prevent the spread coronavirus among its vulnerable residents. The nursing home claims it is protected from liability from the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act. The litigation is still pending.4
How can an attorney help me?
Our Nevada personal injury attorneys understand that no amount of money can compensate you or your loved one for the physical and emotional distress caused by elder abuse. But our Las Vegas nursing home abuse attorneys can make nursing homes apologize in the only way that matters to them – with their wallet.
Our legal team takes care of the entire legal case so you can concentrate on helping your loved one heal and rehoming them to a better facility. In the meantime we handle all the investigations, paperwork, communications, and negotiation. And we do not stop until we achieve the biggest settlement possible under the law.
Elder abuse takes forms like emotional abuse, sexual assault, and battery causing minor to serious injuries.
If your loved one is a victim of nursing home neglect or abuse in Nevada, contact our personal injury lawyers for legal advice. Our Las Vegas, NV law firm has years of experience winning large settlements.
Our personal injury attorneys take nursing home abuse cases in Clark County (including Henderson) and throughout Nevada. And our practice areas also include car accidents and slip and fall accidents.
Legal References
- See, for example, Estate of Curtis v. S. Las Vegas Med. Inv’rs, LLC (2020) 466 P.3d 1263.
- NRS 42.005. See, for example, Landess v. Debiparshad (
- NRS 11.190. NRS 41A.097. The medical malpractice statute of limitation applies to injuries that occurred on or after October 1, 2023. AB 404 (2023).
- Vegas Facility Invokes Federal Shield in COVID-19 Lawsuits, U.S. News (November 8, 2021). See Heights of Summerlin v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court of Nev (April 29, 2022) Nev. Unpub. LEXIS 332.