Protecting Victims of Nursing Home Abuse in Tucson, AZ

Nutrition and hydration are fundamental needs. Unfortunately for frail, elderly or disabled residents of nursing homes and care facilities, these fundamental needs sometimes fail to be met. For some nursing home residents, eating and drinking is no longer intuitive. For others, physical or cognitive disabilities prevent them from feeding themselves — or complaining when inadequate food or water is provided.

Retirement home staff members provide critical care to ensure that residents benefit from good nutrition. When nursing homes neglect residents' basic needs, patients can suffer life-threatening effects. At Schmidt, Sethi, & Akmajian, PLLC, we work vigorously to protect victims of elder abuse.

Proving Fault

We have a strong background handling complicated personal injury and medical malpractice cases involving elder abuse. Our trial lawyers devote ample resources to carefully prove fault. We gather as many facts as possible through investigating the level of care provided at nursing homes. Part of our time includes reviewing medical records to determine signs of malnutrition or dehydration, such as:

Dehydration:

Dry or flushed skin and "skin tenting"
Dark colored urine, painful urination, or urinary tract infections
Vomiting
Increased heart rate, respiration and body temperature
Decreased sweating and urination
Difficulty breathing
Seizures

Malnutrition:

Eyes unusually bright or dull, or with inflamed or swollen eyelids
Sores, cracks or scars around mouth
Red and swollen gums and extreme tooth decay
Very dry or crinkled skin; dull, yellow complexion
Hair loss, or stiff, wiry hair
Pigmentation loss in hair and skin
Severe weight loss

Our attorneys will analyze the nursing charts to understand if staff members failed to regularly feed residents or provide them with adequate water or hydrating liquids. We are prepared to gather as many facts as possible from nursing charts to show violations of the accepted standard of care. We are committed to protecting residents from dehydration, malnutrition and other forms of neglect and abuse in nursing homes and other care facilities. If malnutrition or dehydration led to the death of your loved one, we can pursue a wrongful death claim against negligent parties.