Who is Responsible for Home Care for Elders?

Elderly people, like anyone else, would most often prefer to remain in their own home if they need medical care. For some elderly people, this is a good option and it offers them an environment that is better for their health and that affords them the dignity of their independence, with a little bit of assistance here and there from a professional. There are varying levels of home care that people pay for, including live-in professionals and professionals who just stop by once in a while to make certain that everything is okay. These agencies are responsible for what they do legally speaking, just as regular nursing homes are.

Rendering Assistance

Anybody who is employed as a home care professional has certain obligations to their patients. The agency that they work for has an obligation to make certain that the people providing care are qualified and capable of handling the challenges that are unique to each of their clients. Some of these clients will need somebody who has advanced education, such as a registered nurse and others will simply need somebody to help with laundry, dishes and cooking.
When you purchase services from one of these agencies, they do owe you the duty of providing the services that you are paying for. If they do not, you may have grounds to file a lawsuit to seek compensation for the money you wasted on services that were never rendered. It's always a good idea to keep in close contact with these agencies so that you get an idea of how professional they are and how much time they spend supervising their employees. Ideally, the entire agency should work as a team to make certain that the care their clients need is rendered to them in the most beneficial way possible.

Abuse and Neglect

There are situations where home care patients are abused and neglected by the services that they hire. These can sometimes be difficult to spot, as there is less supervision by the agency in these cases. If your loved one has been the victim of abuse and neglect, you may have an option to get compensation.
Nursing home abuse attorneys can handle cases that are filed against homecare providers. A lawyer for nursing home abuse cases will be able to determine where negligence may have played a part in the abuse that your elderly loved one suffered and be able to help you remedy the situation.