Kirkland Elder Abuse Lawyer
Fighting For Your Family's Rights in a Scary Situation
Are you concerned that a family member may be suffering from elder abuse at the hands of a nursing home facility, hospice nurse, or another caretaker? Elder abuse is a serious crime, and it isn’t just harmful and dangerous; it could be deadly. As with any type of abuse, elder abuse can take many forms. Elders are often abused financially, sexually, physically, and mentally, or by negligence. If you find yourself dealing with elder abuse, you need to contact an experienced personal injury attorney right away.
Call now at (425) 657-5255 for a free, private consultation with Attorney Neil Lindquist. We are dedicated to protecting the elderly in Everett, Kirkland, Bellevue, Kirkland, and the Greater Washington State Area.
About Nursing Home Abuse
Elder abuse can happen anywhere, though it often occurs within nursing homes. Nursing home facilities are meant to shelter and care for our elderly loved ones, but all too often they end up allowing negligence and abuse to take hold and thrive.
Anyone could be a potential abuser, but elders often suffer abuse from their nurses, doctors, or other caretakers on staff at the nursing home. In some cases, they might be abused by other residents, visitors, or people who work closely with the nursing home facility.
Types of Elder Abuse
Elder abuse can take many forms. It is often physical in nature, meaning victims suffer physical neglect and abuse. However, elder abuse can also be emotional, mental, financial, or sexual in nature. For example, if a nursing home staff member frequently berates, yells at, or manipulates a resident, this is emotional abuse. Elderly individuals can also be taken advantage of financially. A caretaker may steal a senior’s credit cards or pocket funds intended to be used for the care of the elderly individual. A caretaker may even convince a senior to change his or her will—or do so without the elderly individual’s knowledge.
While these actions against seniors can seem unthinkable, such abuse can and does occur with alarming frequency. It’s important that you are aware of the common signs of elder abuse, as your loved one may be unable to speak up for him/herself when abuse is occurring. In fact, your loved one may not even realize that what they are experiencing is, in fact, abuse and not something they have to tolerate.
Common signs and symptoms of abuse include:
- Loss of interest or depression
- Physical signs of assault, such as bruising, missing patches of hair, burns, etc.
- Soreness between the legs, especially when sitting
- Unexplained financial changes
- Changes to power of attorney
- Personal hygiene is regularly poor
- Missed medication doses
- Environment is unclean
- Fearfulness or strange behavior around particular caretakers
- Bed sores and injuries caused by negligent care
Our Proven Results
Our top priority is to devise customized legal strategies that are tailored to the unique legal needs of our clients, no matter how simple or complicated their situations, might be.
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$2,500,000 Medical Malpractice
Jane and John Doe v. Hospital XYZ (King County, Washington): A 53-year-old father underwent surgery to repair an abdominal aortic aneurysm. During his first night, the patient was not assessed or monitored for over five hours. As a result, he developed a mucus plug, could not breathe, and suffered respiratory arrest and heart failure. The patient was revived but suffered catastrophic brain damage. He now requires care 24-7 from his wife.
Medical Malpractice -
$125,000 Motor Vehicle Accident
Plaintiff suffered soft tissue, PTSD and left shoulder injuries. Plaintiff underwent left shoulder surgery and has been left with ongoing left shoulder instability and PTSD.
Car Accident -
$700,000 Medical Malpractice
Doe v. Chiropractor: The client suffered a stroke, and sustained lasting neurological impairment. Records strongly suggested that the client’s stroke resulted from tears to their vertebral artery and were likely caused by an improperly performed cervical spine manipulation during a chiropractic visit.
Medical Malpractice -
$4,000,000 Wrongful Death
Our client was killed execution-style by a police officer with a history of brutality. Video footage and experts showed that our client did nothing to provoke the officer’s violence.
Personal Injury -
$200,000 Race Discrimination
Fish processor recovers $200,000 for Race Discrimination aboard a fish processor because he was Hispanic.
Employment Law -
$700,000 Personal Injury
Eye Injury at school to boy in gym class. A 16 year old boy lost a great deal of his vision in his right eye after another two students were kicking around a tape ball and their activities were not supervised or stopped by two gym instructors in the immediate area. The tape ball struck the boy in the eye as he sat down tying his shoe.
Personal Injury -
$34,500 Motor Vehicle Accident
Plaintiff was a passenger in a car that lost control and collided with a tree. Plaintiff sustained a left shoulder scapula fracture, depression and anxiety.
Car Accident -
$111,540 Motor Vehicle Accident
We helped our client settle with a third-party when he was a passenger in a vehicle that was rear-ended.
Car Accident -
$235,000 Motor Vehicle Accident
A client who had pre-existing anxiety was in two car crashes in 2015 and 2018 and suffered a concussion and spinal injuries in the first with increase in his PTSD and anxiety. He was improving and then was in a second MVA and suffered an aggravation and worsening of the PTSD and anxiety from the first MVA and has not returned to baseline. We were successful in recovering $235,000 for him from both drivers’ insurance and his own underinsured motorist insurance.
Car Accident
What to Do If You Suspect Your Loved One Is the Victim of Elder Abuse
If you have noticed any signs of abuse or neglect, or if you have any reason to believe that your loved one could be the victim of elder abuse, it is important to act quickly in order to protect your loved one’s health, safety, and well-being. If you believe your loved one is in immediate danger, call 911 or contact local police right away.
You can also report nursing home abuse and neglect by calling 1-866-ENDHARM (1-866-363-4276) in Washington. Calls are answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by live representatives. Those with speech or hearing disabilities can call the dedicated TTY line at 1-800-624-6186. Those with special telecommunication devices for hearing loss can call 1-866-363-4276 through the Washington Relay Service.
In addition to reporting the abuse, it is a good idea to contact a nursing home abuse attorney who can help you take legal action against the at-fault person/party. Elder abuse can result in severe physical, emotional, and financial harm; you, your loved one, and your family deserve justice. Our firm can help.
Related Reading:
What Makes Our Firm Unique
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40+ Years of
Proven Legal ExperienceWith decades of hands-on litigation and negotiation, we bring a deep understanding of how to build strong, successful cases. -
Aggressive & Personalized
RepresentationWe tailor our legal strategies to your unique situation, relentlessly pursuing the maximum compensation you're entitled to. -
Committed to Securing
Justice for Each ClientWe treat every case with the urgency and dedication it deserves, ensuring your voice is heard and your rights are protected. -
No Fees Unless
We Win Your CaseOur clients can focus on healing while we fight for results—because we only get paid when you do.
Contact Linquist & Kornfeld Today!
Do you think your parent, aunt, uncle, or other relative is suffering from elder abuse by his or her at-home caretaker or nursing home staff? Attorney Lindquist is passionate about helping his clients seek justice and compensation in the face of negligence. Nobody deserves to be the victim of elder abuse, especially if they are unable to vocalize their concerns or defend themselves. If you have an elder abuse case, we can help you gather evidence to prove the disreputable actions of the liable party.
We can come to you if you are unable to meet Neil in one of our Western Washington offices, e.g. If you are in the hospital, immobile in your home, or unable to get in to see us. Let’s try to schedule a mutually agreeable time and place to meet, or just give Neil a call to talk at no charge. We accept cases in Kirkland, Bellevue, Seattle, Everett and the Greater Washington State Area. Plus, we take out-of-state cases.
Call (425) 657-5255 today for a free consultation, or email Neil at Neil@Kornfeldlaw.com for a quick answer to your legal questions.
