Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect in Georgia
More than 100,000 Georgians live in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. They are among our most vulnerable residents — often unable to speak for themselves about the treatment they receive. When the facilities entrusted with their care fail them through abuse, neglect, or exploitation, Georgia law provides recourse.
At Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C., we approach nursing home cases with particular urgency and compassion. These are our elders, our parents and grandparents, placed in care because they needed help. When facilities prioritize cost-cutting over care, the consequences can be devastating.
Types of Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect We Handle
Nursing home abuse takes many forms:
- Physical abuse: Hitting, restraining, pushing, or rough handling of residents
- Emotional and psychological abuse: Verbal humiliation, threats, isolation, or intimidation
- Sexual abuse: Any unwanted sexual contact — a serious crime that does occur in long-term care settings
- Financial exploitation: Theft of cash, unauthorized use of credit cards, or manipulation into changing wills or trusts
- Medical neglect: Failure to administer prescribed medications, failure to treat infections, untreated bedsores, improper wound care
- Basic neglect: Failure to provide adequate food, water, hygiene, and assistance with activities of daily living
- Elopement: Allowing a cognitively impaired resident to wander from the facility unsupervised
Bedsores: A Hallmark of Nursing Home Neglect
Pressure ulcers (bedsores) are among the most common and preventable injuries in nursing homes. They occur when residents who cannot reposition themselves are left in one position for too long, cutting off circulation. Properly staffed and supervised facilities follow repositioning protocols that prevent these wounds.
When bedsores develop, particularly Stage III or Stage IV wounds that reach muscle or bone, it is almost always evidence of neglect. These wounds cause profound suffering, require intensive medical treatment, and can lead to serious infections (sepsis) and death.
Our attorneys have successfully litigated bedsore cases against Georgia nursing homes and their management companies, using the medical records and staffing data to demonstrate the systemic neglect that caused these preventable injuries.
How We Build a Nursing Home Abuse Case
Nursing home facilities have legal departments, arbitration clauses in admission agreements, and experience managing complaints. Our attorneys counter with:
- Immediate records requests — medical records, nursing notes, incident reports, staffing logs, and state inspection reports
- Expert review by geriatric medicine specialists and nursing home care standards experts
- Witness interviews — family members, roommates, other residents, and current or former staff
- State inspection history review — the Georgia Department of Community Health publishes inspection reports and deficiency citations for every licensed facility
- Challenge of arbitration clauses when appropriate under Georgia law
If your loved one has been harmed, call us immediately. Medical records can be altered, witnesses move on, and key evidence must be preserved before a facility has time to manage its own narrative.
Frequently Asked Questions
Warning signs include: unexplained bruises, cuts, or burns; bedsores (pressure ulcers) that were preventable or that worsen over time; sudden weight loss or dehydration; depression, withdrawal, or fear of specific staff members; poor hygiene or soiled clothing; unexplained falls; and sudden changes in financial accounts.
Yes. Nursing homes and assisted living facilities owe a duty of care to their residents under both federal law (the Nursing Home Reform Act) and Georgia state law. When they fail to meet that standard — through abuse, neglect, understaffing, or inadequate medical care — they can be held liable for resulting injuries and death.
The federal Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 guarantees residents rights including: the right to be free from abuse, neglect, and exploitation; the right to adequate and appropriate healthcare; the right to be treated with dignity and respect; and the right to voice grievances without retaliation. Violations of these rights support civil liability claims.
Nursing home neglect deaths may support both a wrongful death claim and an estate claim for conscious pain and suffering and pre-death medical expenses. These cases often reveal systemic understaffing or policy failures that endangered all residents, not just your family member. Our attorneys pursue all available damages.