How To File A Complaint Against A Nursing Home In Georgia

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 1 in 60 adults living in senior care facilities will experience some form of abuse in any given year. While we all hope that our elders will be treated with respect, kindness, and compassion within residential and healthcare settings, the sad reality is that many facilities find themselves understaffed, overpopulated, and incapable of consistently delivering the quality of care our seniors deserve.

If you suspect a loved one is suffering abuse or neglect while under the care of a nursing home or other facility, there are steps you can take to hold the responsible parties accountable. This guide will walk you through some of the most common kinds of complaints filed against nursing homes in Georgia and cover the steps involved.

Nursing home abuse and neglect: The basics

A 2017 meta-analysis found that nearly 16% of adults aged 60 and older in nursing care facilities reported experiencing abuse. Even more alarming, over 64% of nursing home staff admitted to perpetrating abuse against a resident within the past year.

These findings underscore the concerning prevalence of abuse and neglect within nursing home facilities and illuminate the fact that many care providers are aware of their unsafe practices. Given the pervasive nature of elder abuse, these harmful practices can take many different shapes within various facilities, making abuse and neglect difficult to spot in many cases.

Subsequently, family members and other responsible parties should remain vigilant and look for common signs of abuse and neglect, such as the following:

• Bedsores
• Malnutrition and dehydration
• Falls
• Bowel and bladder injuries/infections
• Broken bones/fractures
• Wandering off/elopement
• Resident-on-resident abuse
• Medication errors
• Wrongful death

If any of these signs and symptoms are present, it is crucial for loved ones and guardians to take steps to protect the victim from subsequent harm and hold the abuser(s) accountable for their actions.

What factors contribute to nursing home abuse?

Generally speaking, abuse and neglect tend to be more prevalent within for-profit nursing care facilities because these settings often prioritize profit over quality of care. In order to keep costs low, many for-profit nursing home facilities cut corners when it comes to staffing, training, and distribution of resources, which can directly contribute to higher rates of neglect and abuse within these environments.

Some of the consequences of these profit-driven care practices include:

• Understaffing: In an effort to keep costs low, many nursing homes maintain only the minimum number of staff necessary to conduct day-to-day operations. Understaffing in these facilities can lead to an increased risk of resident neglect, as well as high levels of staff burnout and turnover.
• Poor living conditions: Some facilities may pinch pennies with respect to costs like meals, sanitation, and personal care products. The impact of these cost-cutting decisions is often that residents are forced to live in sub-par conditions, which can increase the risk of serious health problems like bedsores, infections, and nutrition-related concerns.
• Inadequate training: Nursing home facilities have a notoriously high staff turnover rate. As a result, it is not uncommon for staff members to be inexperienced and undertrained while attempting to care for vulnerable residents. Providers who lack adequate experience and training are more likely to engage in unsafe care practices, which in some cases may rise to the standard of elder abuse.

All of these factors in conjunction with one another can make nursing care facilities incredibly dangerous environments for vulnerable older adults. Family members and guardians are often unaware of the unsafe practices being conducted by nursing care facilities until they find themselves directly impacted by the facility’s actions or inactions.

This is why it is so important for family members to do their due diligence when selecting a facility for their loved ones. The Georgia Department of Health makes inspection reports and other information about local facilities readily available to members of the public to help families and guardians make more informed decisions about who to entrust with the care of their elderly relatives. However, even well-reputed facilities are not immune from instances of abuse and neglect, so it is vital that Georgia residents maintain an awareness of what recourse is available to them in the event that a loved one suffers harm at the hands of an elder care facility.

Filing an elder abuse complaint in Georgia

If you suspect that a person you care about is being abused or neglected at a local nursing home facility, you are entitled and encouraged to file a complaint against the facility and/or provider responsible. Here are the steps Georgia families should follow when reporting suspected elder abuse and/or neglect:

Step 1: Gather evidence

Evidence is key when filing complaints against nursing home facilities. The more evidence you can collect, the more likely you are to secure a favorable outcome for your family member. Evidence in these cases can look like:

• Photographs of injuries, poor living conditions, safety hazards, etc.
• Medical records that indicate a pattern of neglect or mistreatment.
• Eyewitness accounts from staff, residents, and visitors.
• Incident reports from the nursing home (if available).
• CCTV/security camera footage.

Compiling ample evidence can set you and your loved one up for greater success in subsequent steps of the complaint process and help lay the foundation for an effective pursuit of legal accountability.

Step 2: Speak with representatives from the nursing home

In some cases, issues can be resolved internally by speaking with administrators or other representatives from the nursing home. It is possible that certain perceived signs of abuse or neglect can happen even when the facility is engaging in safe and standard practices. Therefore, engaging in honest conversation can help to clarify any potential misunderstandings.

To help guide this process, facilities are typically required to follow specific grievance procedures. When reporting concerns, families should:

• Request a written response from the facility outlining how the nursing home/administration plans to address the situation internally
• Document the conversation in detail. Georgia is a one-party consent state, so family members may record conversations with facility representatives even without the facility’s explicit consent
• If the issue is not resolved after these conversations or if the family feels that the resolution offered is not sufficient, they may choose to file a formal complaint with the state

Step 3: File a complaint with the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH)

In Georgia, the Department of Community Health (DCH) oversees nursing homes and investigates complaints related to patient care and facility conditions. DCH offers families a number of options for filing complaints against nursing care facilities and are encouraged to utilize the resources that are most convenient and accessible for them.

How to File:

• Online – Family members can submit a complaint through the DCH’s Healthcare Facility Regulation (HFR) website.
• Phone – Complaints can be filed via phone at (800) 878-6442.
• Mail – If they prefer, family members can send a detailed written complaint to:

Healthcare Facility Regulation Division

Department of Community Health

2 Peachtree Street NW, 31st Floor

Atlanta, GA 30303

Step 4: Report to Adult Protective Services (APS)

In addition to filing a report with DCH, those who suspect ongoing abuse or neglect of elderly persons may also report the issue to Adult Protective Services (APS). APS reports can be filed both online or via phone at (866) 552-4464. APS specializes in investigating allegations of elder abuse in nursing homes and other care facilities and can help gather additional information and resources that may contribute to a more positive case outcome.

Step 5: Consider legal action

If the complaint process does not result in a satisfactory resolution or if your loved one has suffered significant harm as a result of a nursing facility’s actions, you may wish to take legal action against the responsible parties. An experienced elder abuse attorney can help you better understand your legal options and aid you in navigating the process from end to end.

Each case is different and may be subject to different standards of evidence, damages, etc. Plaintiffs in these cases may be entitled to pursue both civil and criminal charges against all parties responsible for the elder abuse or neglect.

In civil cases, victims and their families may choose to seek:

• Economic damages to cover expenses incurred due to the abuse. These may include expenses like medical bills, rehabilitation costs or the costs of relocating a victim to a new facility, among other things.
• Non-economic damages intended to compensate the victim for the emotional harm caused by the experience. Many victims of abuse suffer long-term emotional distress because of their mistreatment, and these damages are designed to make up for the pain and suffering of victims.
• Punitive damages against a nursing home or provider that acted with malicious intent when perpetrating abuse. These damages are explicitly intended to punish a responsible party for their actions and deter companies or facilities from engaging in wrongful behavior. (GA Code § 51-12-5.1).

If you are in the process of navigating the complexities of an elder abuse case, the team at Harris Lowry Manton, LLP has the experience and expertise necessary to support you throughout every step of the process. Our strong reputation has resulted in numerous referrals from other legal professionals, and we are firmly committed to holding our local nursing care facilities to the high standards of care expected of them by the State of Georgia and its residents.

If you’re interested in taking the next step towards seeking justice for your loved one, call us or complete our contact form to schedule a free initial consultation.