Legal•Info

Missouri Elder/Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

Call (888) 473-4416 to speak with an attorney.

Missouri nursing home and elder abuse attorneys are personal injury attorneys who use the laws, statutes, regulations, and decisions of the state of Missouri and the federal government to enforce the violated rights of elderly people. These attorneys specialize in cases where a nursing home, medical facility or one of its staff members, or an in-home caregiver, is accused of neglecting their duties and thereby causing the mental and/or physical suffering of an elderly person. These attorneys also use their legal expertise to prove mental, physical, and/or financial abuse claims made by the elderly and their family members.

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 a nursing home or elder abuse attorney is to ensure that clients who claim negligence have full access to their legal rights. That client may be an elderly person who has suffered mentally and/or physically from the negligent care of nursing home staff or in-home caregivers, an elderly person who has suffered mental, physical, or financial abuse, or the survivors of an elderly person whose death was caused by the negligence or abuse of any person or facility obligated to provide a professional standard of care. In 2005, an operator of a St. Louis nursing home was charged with stealing money from the nursing home as well as employing inadequate staff. One patient was found covered in ants before she died, patients were abused and one patient died from injuries sustained during a beating.

It is the goal of nursing home and elder abuse attorneys to prove claims that the negligent behavior of a person or facility resulted in preventable suffering and to therefore win the largest, most fair settlements that cover all damages, including pain and suffering, burial expenses, and damaged property such as broken eyeglasses or dentures.

As personal injury attorneys, these specialized professionals are well acquainted with the hurdles that are put in place by insurance companies, medical and nursing facilities, or the attorneys defending them. They are knowledgeable not only in state laws regulating the nursing industry and others involved in caring for the elderly, but also in those laws that regulate agencies that monitor these industries. Elder abuse and nursing home attorneys have developed special relationships with state agencies and law enforcement agencies that allow them access to information that would be difficult for individuals to obtain.

The state of Missouri requires that anyone practicing in this field of law acquire at least a four-year university degree and pass the Missouri State Bar Written Examination, the Multi-state Bar Examination, the Multi-state Essay Examination, and the Multi-state Professional Responsibility Exam. All nursing home and elder abuse attorneys in this state are bound by the rules of the Missouri State Bar Association.