What Kinds of Cases Can You Help Me With?
The Tosh Law Firm's North Carolina lawyers can help you with cases involving:
And more.
Click through to one of these areas to learn more about our experience.
Or read more below about nursing home lawsuits.
How Does an North Carolina Nursing Home Lawsuit Work?
A North Carolina nursing home lawsuit consists of four parts:
- Investigation (gathering medical records, witness statements, government data, and other information to determine if there was nursing home negligence)
- Lawsuit (filing the lawsuit with a “complaint,” demanding answers through written questions, making people testify under oath at “depositions”)
- Settlement negotiations (can happen at any point)
- Trial (and, if necessary, appeal)
Some lawyers do not want to file lawsuits, they just want to negotiate and settle cases In the investigation phase. Some lawyers do not want to go to trial, they just want to settle cases (or they're afraid of trial).
That's OK, if you have a weak case or do not want to fight back against a nursing home. However, if you want to make a difference, you need a North Carolina lawyer willing to fight for you from the investigation all the way through the trial.
It's crucial to have a determined advocate on your side because the minute a nursing home or their insurance company figures out your lawyer is the type who is afraid of fighting, they know they will never have to pay for the injury they caused.
How Much Will a North Carolina Nursing Home Lawsuit Cost Me?
Nursing home lawsuits should cost you nothing. We will not ask you for money. We advance the costs of the lawsuit and only recover these expenses if we win.
Instead of being paid by the hour, we are paid as a percentage of the recovered settlement or verdict, meaning there are no attorney fees unless we win.
This is called a “contingency” fee: our fee and the recovery of the case expenses is contingent on our winning the case, whether through settlement or trial verdict.
Read the “How Do I Find the Right Nursing Home Attorney?” section below to learn more, or contact us now to discuss starting an investigation.
What do I Need to Do to File a North Carolina Nursing Home Lawsuit?
Contact an experienced trial attorney who handles nursing home cases regularly, to start an investigation. Given the short time frame you have to file a North Carolina nursing home lawsuit--as little as two years under some circumstances--getting a North Carolina nursing home lawyer on board quickly is important. The time limit for filing a case is a complicated issue and should be discussed with an attorney as soon as possible as different factors can shorten or lengthen the time period.
You can also take steps to help the investigation (although, if you have a lawyer, discuss this with them before taking any action):
Try to document any injuries, and get photographs of the injured person. Take multiple photographs over time if you can.
Also, keep a diary or journal about the case, noting the time, date, and names of people you speak with about your loved one, this will help your lawyer in the future. Keep track of the number and location of injuries. Take notes about who is caring for your loved one, especially aides.
North Carolina also allows you to file complaints with the state which can result in the nursing home being investigated. We help direct interested clients to the right complaint forms on a regular basis.
Contact us now to discuss starting an investigation.
How Long Does a Nursing Home Lawsuit Take?
Nursing home lawsuits take anywhere from three months to three years.
It takes about three months (at least) to gather records, investigate, and demand an amount to settle. It can take longer to file the actual lawsuit as there may be additional investigation and expert evaluation needed.
It is not unusual for nursing homes or their lawyers to refuse to negotiate until a lawsuit is filed, some will wait to negotiate until the eve of trial.
Many courts try to schedule trials within 1-2 years of filing the lawsuit. Even so, there are reasons--some good, some not--why a trial might be delayed.
We can help evaluate a case and advise whether we think it is one that can be resolved quickly. Contact us now to discuss starting an investigation.
Do You Sue Nurses or Nursing Aides?
Normally we do not sue nurses or nursing aides, unless there was deliberate or egregious actions by a particular nurse or aide.
Why not?
Usually bad care leading to serious falls, injuries, bedsores, even death, takes more than just one bad nurse or aide. It takes a whole nursing home to kill someone with neglect. And who runs the nursing home? Not the nurses! I wish they did. Most nurses would have more staff, spend more money on residents, and keep people healthier if they were in charge.
At the worst nursing homes there is usually a for-profit corporation in charge. That corporation causes bad care by refusing to provide adequate staffing, they do this in order to maximize profit.
How does maximizing profit lead to bad care? It's a simple formula: more residents (revenue) with less nursing staff (expenses) means more profit.
The number one expense in a nursing home is nursing staff, so they cut the staff to the bare minimum. Fewer nursing staff means worse care for everyone. To maximize their profits the nursing home corporation needs to have residents in beds, so they bring in as many patients as they can with fancy marketing and agreements or kickbacks to local hospitals.
Unfortunately maximizing profit means more injuries, neglect, and death for the nursing home residents.
That's not to say nursing homes shouldn't make profits. But when the corporation decides to take extra profit at the expense of resident care, that's when action has to be taken.
Contact us now to discuss starting an investigation.
How Do I Find the Right Nursing Home Attorney?
Any lawyer who does personal injury will be happy to call themselves a “nursing home lawyer” to get your case. It seems like easy money and it is--if you just want to settle quickly for very little money and no work.
But do you want someone who just does a few nursing cases--if any--handling your nursing home lawsuit? Of course not.
So start by asking whether they handle anything besides medical and nursing home claims. If so, think twice. They might be a great lawyer. But the federal and North Carolina regulations that govern nursing homes are long and complicated. Nursing home cases are unique, the nursing homes operate under rules and guidelines that only apply to nursing homes. The types of injuries suffered in a nursing home are seldom seen in other settings, therefore if the attorney is not well versed in nursing home cases he/she may not understand the medicine surrounding the injury. The types of people that must be investigated in nursing homes are also unique, we are not just dealing with nurses and doctors, but nursing aides, directors of nursing, administrators and ultimately corporate decision makers.
These are not cases you can handle well without experience.
Next, ask if they've taken a nursing home case to trial. Once you have taken a nursing home case to trial you have a different perspective on the cases and learn vast amounts from these trials. We know exactly what we need to do during the case to be ready for trial. And the nursing home companies treat us, and our clients, differently, knowing we will take a case to trial if they do not make a reasonable settlement offer.
Finally, make sure they have a good reputation in the community. They should be recognized by peers, whether on review sites like Avvo, or by leadership roles in local and state organizations. For example, are they a board member for their local, state or national trial association? Are they members of plaintiff advocacy groups? Are they a member of the American Association for Justice's Nursing Home Litigation Group?
Contact us now to discuss starting an investigation.
Will You Take My Case?
Possibly.
We only handle cases we're confident are based on nursing home negligence. We do not handle questionable or frivolous cases.
We also only handle cases where the negligence causes a significant injury. We can help people identify the right government agencies to report negligence that does not cause a significant injury. But we will not advise them to go forward with a lawsuit when we do not believe the injuries are serious enough to justify a lawsuit.
We also only handle cases when we believe the family is interested in suing in order to improve things, at that nursing home, or beyond. If we believe they are only in it “for the money,” and do not care about their loved one or the other people in harm's way when a nursing home is careless, we will not represent them.
What if the Nursing Home Does Not Want to Settle?
Nursing homes never want to settle. They are not interested in making changes that will improve the care for their residents. They are only interested in how much profit they can make off the residents.
In North Carolina, people who bring nursing home lawsuits have one power: to force a dangerous company to be judged by a jury in a courtroom.
The nursing home defendant has one power: to offer enough money to get you to not force them to be judged by a jury in a courtroom.
That's why we prepare every case we handle with the expectation that it will go to trial. We prepare every client to be confident at trial. Yes, most cases settle. But if your lawyer is afraid of trial, and not helping you prepare for and be comfortable with trial, you've given away your leverage in negotiations. We have the leverage because we will force the nursing home into court, prove their negligence to a jury and hold them accountable for their actions.
Contact us now to discuss starting an investigation.
Can I Contact You Even if I'm Not Sure I Would Be Willing to Take a Case to Trial?
Of course. In our experience, almost everyone who wants to hire us has some concern or even fear about the process. That's normal, especially with something new.
It's our job to help you understand the process and become comfortable moving forward. We can't force you to go to trial. But we can make sure you are making the decision with full knowledge.