Cogburn Davidson | September 23, 2025 | Nursing Home Abuse
When your family member resides in a nursing home, you expect them to receive safe, compassionate care. But what happens when another resident is responsible for abusing your loved one? Understanding federal and state laws governing long-term care facilities is imperative for protecting your loved one while taking the necessary steps toward justice.
With over 40 years of collective experience, Cogburn Davidson Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers has secured hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts for injury victims and their families throughout Nevada. We understand the urgency of protecting vulnerable residents and holding negligent facilities accountable for their failures.
If your loved one is a victim of resident-on-resident abuse in a nursing home, you need quality legal counsel to investigate liability, build a compelling case, and secure the compensation they deserve. Schedule a free consultation with an award-winning nursing home abuse lawyer on our team to determine the best path to recovery.
What Is Resident-On-Resident Abuse in Nursing Homes?
Staff are not the only perpetrators of abuse in nursing homes. Resident-on-resident abuse in nursing homes has become an alarming reality that affects thousands of vulnerable residents across Nevada each year.
A recent study revealed that 20 percent of long-term care residents experienced at least one incidence of resident-to-resident abuse over the course of one month. Resident-on-resident abuse occurs when one nursing home resident intentionally harms another resident through:
- Physical assault or battery
- Sexual abuse or unwanted touching
- Verbal threats or intimidation
- Emotional or psychological manipulation
- Financial exploitation or theft
- Property damage or destruction
These forms of abuse often occur in common areas, resident rooms, or during meal times when supervision is minimal. Facilities must recognize that each type of abuse requires specific prevention strategies and immediate intervention protocols.
Risk Factors for Resident-on-Resident Abuse in Nursing Homes
Resident-on-resident abuse in nursing homes rarely happens by chance. It often arises from conditions within the facility itself. Several factors increase the likelihood of resident-on-resident abuse in long-term care facility settings, including the following:
- Cognitive decline and confusion
- Previous history of violence
- Medication side effects
- Overcrowding in facilities
- Inadequate staff-to-resident ratios
- Poor facility layout and design
- Lack of structured activities
- Insufficient resident screening processes
Understanding these risk factors helps facilities identify high-risk situations before abuse occurs. The nursing home abuse attorneys at Cogburn Davidson Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers use evidence of ignored risk factors to demonstrate how facilities failed in their duty to protect vulnerable residents.
Is the Facility Accountable for Resident-on-Resident Abuse in Nursing Homes?
Yes, facilities bear responsibility when their negligence enables harm between residents. We’ve seen countless cases where nursing homes failed to protect residents despite clear warning signs and previous incidents that should have prompted intervention.
What Makes the Facility Accountable?
Facilities are legally accountable when their actions or failures create unsafe conditions that put residents at risk of harm. Families have the right to pursue justice and compensation when a nursing home’s negligence causes harm to their loved ones.
Negligent Staffing and Supervision
Understaffed nursing homes often fail to properly monitor resident interactions or intervene when conflicts arise. Many facilities prioritize profits over safety, operating with bare-minimum staffing levels that leave vulnerable residents unprotected at the very moments they need supervision most.
Insufficient Training
Inadequately trained personnel often fail to recognize warning indicators or de-escalate potentially violent situations. Far too many facilities reduce costs by bypassing thorough training programs, leaving staff unprepared to handle complex behavioral matters or safeguard residents at risk of aggressive conduct.
Negligent Security Measures
Nursing homes have a duty to implement effective security protocols to ensure the safety of their residents. When facilities neglect essentials such as monitoring systems, secured access, or adequate lighting, they create dangerous conditions that allow abuse to occur; conditions that responsible facilities could have prevented with basic safety measures.
Failure to Implement Prevention Policies
Every nursing home should have clear policies for preventing resident-on-resident abuse. When facilities fail to develop, implement, or enforce these policies, they create environments where abuse becomes predictable and preventable harm occurs regularly.
Failure to Investigate or Report
Nevada law requires facilities to investigate and report suspected abuse immediately. Facilities that ignore warning signs, dismiss complaints, or fail to document incidents violate state regulations and federal requirements designed to protect nursing home residents.
Federal and State Elder Abuse Laws
Both federal and state laws protect nursing home residents from abuse. The Nursing Home Reform Act at the federal level and Nevada’s specific elder abuse statutes at the state level mandate reporting, investigation, and prevention measures for all licensed facilities:
- The Nursing Home Reform Act: Establishes residents’ rights to be free from abuse and requires facilities to maintain sufficient staffing levels, provide adequate training, and implement comprehensive care plans that address individual resident needs and safety concerns.
- Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 200.5092: Criminalizes the abuse, neglect, exploitation, or isolation of older adults. Penalties are even more severe when these violations occur in nursing homes or other care facilities, where residents rely on professional caregivers for their safety and protection.
- Nevada Administrative Code 449.748: Requires immediate reporting of suspected abuse to appropriate authorities and mandates that facilities conduct thorough investigations while protecting residents from further harm during the investigative process.
These laws work together to create a comprehensive framework for resident protection and facility accountability. Violations of any of these regulations strengthen legal claims against negligent nursing homes.
Legal Actions for Resident-on-Resident Abuse in Nursing Homes
Prosecutors may bring criminal charges against individual abusers, but nursing homes themselves are most often held accountable through civil legal action. These cases expose the systemic failures that allowed abuse to occur and pursue compensation for victims, while also pressuring facilities to make critical safety improvements.
Filing a Claim
The attorneys at Cogburn Davidson Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers assist families in filing insurance claims against facility liability policies that cover injuries to residents. Insurance companies often try to reduce payouts or deny legitimate claims, making skilled legal representation crucial to ensure your loved one receives full and fair compensation for their suffering.
Filing a Civil Lawsuit
Civil lawsuits hold facilities accountable when insurance claims prove insufficient or companies refuse reasonable settlements. Under Nevada Revised Statute 41.1395, facilities face liability for damages when their negligence causes resident harm, including incidents of resident-on-resident abuse in nursing homes. Our award-winning litigators possess the necessary skill and experience to go to trial when it is inevitable.
What Compensation Is Available in Nursing Home Abuse Cases?
Victims of nursing home abuse and their families may recover various forms of damages to compensate for their economic and non-economic losses, including the following:
- Medical bills and ongoing healthcare costs
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional trauma and mental anguish
- Disability and disfigurement
- Lost quality of life
- Punitive damages for particularly egregious acts
- Wrongful death benefits for families
Compensation amounts depend on the severity of the abuse and the extent of the resulting harm. Our lawyers work with medical experts and economists to calculate the full value of your loved one’s claim.
If your loved one is a victim of resident-on-resident abuse in a nursing home, don’t wait to retain legal representation. Nevada’s statute of limitations generally allows two years from the date of injury to file a lawsuit for nursing home abuse. However, certain circumstances may shorten these deadlines, making immediate legal consultation imperative.
Contact Our Reputable Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers Now
Facilities must be held accountable for their failures. Cogburn Davidson Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers handles everything from reporting abuse to proper authorities through final case resolution. We aim to ensure that families can focus on their loved one’s recovery while we pursue maximum compensation.
Call us or reach out online to schedule your free consultation with a trusted nursing home abuse attorney who will fiercely advocate for your loved one. You don’t have to navigate these challenging circumstances and emotions alone.