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Mississippi Elder/Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

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In Mississippi, nursing home and elder abuse attorneys are personal injury professionals who specialize in cases where a nursing home, medical facility, one of their staff members, or an in-home caregiver is accused of neglect that results in the mental and/or physical suffering of an elderly person. This could include inadequate mobility assistance that results in a fall, or desertion that results in death. These attorneys also use their legal expertise to prove mental, physical, and/or financial abuse of the elderly.

Knowledge of Mississippi's laws, statutes, regulations and decisions regarding the care of the elderly and the obligations due to them makes such attorneys indispensable in cases that require more in-depth legal assistance than is available from state-sponsored legal services programs. Many of these attorneys have agreements with state legal services programs to provide legal assistance at reduced rates to elderly persons who are referred through those agencies. Mississippi is one of 12 states that was found to have the highest number of severe and repeated violations between 1999-2003.

All nursing home or elder care facilities have an obligation to protect the rights of every single resident, and to provide an attractive, clean, and healthy environment. They are also obligated to treat residents equally, with no discrimination based on race, religion, color, nationality, ability or source of payment. Nursing home facilities are required by federal law to compose a Nursing Home Resident's Bill of Rights, which they are also required to make available to any resident upon request. The Bill of Rights outlines all policies of the specific nursing home, and each facility must require residents to sign a statement, indicating they have read and understood these rights, before admittance. Specific rights include the right to be informed about one's specific medical condition and treatment, the right to participate in planning one's care and medical treatment, the right to choose a physician, the right to manage personal finances, the right to privacy, dignity, and respect, the right to personal possessions, the right to be free from restraints and abuse in nursing homes, the right to voice grievance without retaliation, the right to be discharged or transferred only for medical reasons, and the rights of access.

The primary responsibility of these nursing home or elder abuse attorneys is to give their clients full access to the legal rights granted them by state and federal laws. It is the goal of these nursing home and elder abuse attorneys to prove claims that the negligent behavior of someone who owed a greater standard of care to an elderly person resulted in preventable suffering or death. The attorneys will attempt to win a fair and full settlement, through negotiation or trial, on the behalf of their client. That settlement should cover all damages, including medical bills, pain and suffering, and burial expenses for such neglected individuals and their families.

To effectively perform their duties, these attorneys work with state agencies that protect and care for the welfare of the elderly and law enforcement agencies that may be involved in criminal aspects of negligence cases.

It is standard practice in the state of Mississippi for attorneys who specialize in elder abuse or nursing home law to offer free consultations. This is permissible as long as these attorneys have followed the advertisement rules outlined by Mississippi Rules of Professional Conduct 7.1(b) and (c), which disallow advertisements that create unjustified, false, or misleading expectations. Further, Professional Conduct Rule 7.2 (c) requires that all advertisements disclose the town or city in which advertising lawyers are located, or there must be an included reference to further information available form the Mississippi State Bar. These rules fully apply to Internet and e-mail communication.