Understanding the complexities of residential care rights.
Today we’re going to talk about residential care, elder care, things of that type. It’s very complex. There are very, very many layers to it. You can have in-home health and out-of-home health. You could have hospice in-home, or hospice out of the home. You may be in acute care. You may be in long-term care. You may be in what’s called a medical village. Sometimes they’re calling it now instead of nursing homes or senior centers.
My Experience with Residential Care
My name is Tulsa personal injury lawyer Mike Ashworth. I know quite a bit about residential care. Partly, one, my brother has Down syndrome and so my dad was in charge of placement for special people like Greg when we were growing up. So I learned a lot quite a bit about that there. And in addition, I’ve had to do it for my brother. In addition, in my 40 years as a lawyer, soon to be as of October 6th, about half my career roughly has been spent working specifically on cases involving residential care from in-home care, to home health nursing, all the way to nursing homes, all the way to hospitals.
Your Rights and Responsibilities
You need to make sure that you stay on top of your loved ones when they’re in those care situations. Please keep a chart, a dossier of all the records associated with their care. And it’s important you understand that you have rights. If you have someone going into a residential care environment and you might want to talk to a probate lawyer, we can recommend some great ones to do what’s known as a power of attorney. That power of attorney, while that person is alive, gives you the ability to act on their behalf. And that allows you in many instances to gather nursing home records, medical records, hospital records, bills, prescriptions, and things of that type. Those could be essential.
Your Loved Ones Deserve Dignity
And just because someone’s in a nursing home and their body’s breaking down through the natural processes of growing old, that doesn’t mean that, well, their death or their treatment is excusable. They’re not expendable and they have a right to dignity at the end of their life. But if they’re not being treated right, if they’re being tied up against their will, which I’ve seen happen, believe it or not, overly medicated, they’re not being allowed to achieve the highest degree of normalcy, that’s not right. And that’s the test I use when I look at nursing home cases. That ain’t right.
Contact Us for a Free Consultation
So if you have that situation, call me, Oklahoma residential care neglect attorney Mike Ashworth at TulsaPersonalInjuryLawyer.Pro or 918-924-5528. Let us help you navigate the complexities and legal aspects of residential care in Oklahoma. We offer a free consultation to discuss your specific situation and provide guidance on the next steps to take. Don’t hesitate to reach out for support.
