Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How can the Elder Abuse Law Center at Williamson Petty assist me?
A: Absolutely. All licensed nursing homes are required to have written policies and procedures for providing care to its residents. Their staff is required to be familiar with the policies and procedures and to comply with them. Unfortunately, many homes fail to do so and the results can be tragic. You have a right to review them and you should ask for a copy of the procedures. Do not tolerate care below those levels. Frequently after an injury occurs the facility denies that they are liable for providing care that does not even comply with its own policies and procedures. The attorneys at Williamson Petty LC have successfully compelled nursing homes to provide this information in litigation. How can the Elder Abuse Law Center at Williamson Petty assist me? The first thing that we will do is listen to you. We want to learn as much as possible about your loved one and what happened to him or her. We will need to know about his or her health, work history, and family. We will listen to you to learn what happened at the adult home or nursing home. Equally important, we will take the time to answer your questions. You may want to learn more about our background and experiences. While we can not guarantee specific results, we can discuss your legal options and our best prediction on how your case will be resolved. If we believe that we can be of assistance to you and you choose to hire us, we will each sign a retainer agreement giving us authority to represent you and setting forth our legal fee. For more information about our fees, visit our fee information page on our website. Once a retainer agreement is signed we can begin working for you. We will request copies of all the relevant medical records and the records of the adult home. In most cases we will obtain via the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) all recent reports of abuse and neglect at the adult home or nursing home. We will also search court records to see if there have been similar cases against the adult home If appropriate, we will interview former employees of the adult home to get a better picture of the adult home. We have found that former employees often paint a vastly different picture of the adult home than what is reported to the government investigators. After conducting an initial investigation, we will share with you our recommendations. In many cases we recommend filing a lawsuit. Only upon filing a lawsuit will we have an opportunity to review internal documents and to depose the staff and owners of the adult home. We also believe the best settlements are obtained after filing suit. Usually the trial is scheduled 10 months to a year after filing suit.
