It should come as no surprise that any California lawsuit, whether a personal injury suit or one based on allegations of nursing home abuse and neglect, can present challenges and hurdles that delay your recovery of compensation or threaten your ability to recover any compensation at all for your injuries and losses. This being said, nursing home abuse and neglect cases routinely present some of the same common challenges to litigants seeking monetary damages for their loved ones’ injuries. Knowing what these challenges are in advance of filing a case can help you prepare yourself and better understand your road to recovery.

Jurisdictional Problems and Issues

An injury or act of neglect or abuse that occurs at a California nursing home will almost always vest California state courts with the ability to hear a subsequent lawsuit. However, the company that owns the nursing home and/or supervises the staff member that caused your loved one’s injury may not be located within the state. This may cause the defendant named in your lawsuit to attempt to remove the case from California and have it heard by the courts of another state. These efforts at “forum shopping” can require time and additional court hearings to resolve.

Evidentiary Issues and Witness Difficulties

Not only may the defendant in your case attempt to remove the case, but you and your attorney may run into additional problems if evidence and/or important witnesses to your case are located outside the State of California. While there are methods and procedures whereby you can compel a witness residing out-of-state to return to California to testify at a trial or compel the holder of evidence located outside of California to produce relevant evidence in his or her possession for your use, these too may take time in order to yield results.

Statute of Limitations

By far, one of the greatest challenges you may face in your quest for recovery after an act of abuse or neglect in a nursing home is ensuring your case is timely filed. The “clock” begins to run on your time to file when the abusive or neglectful act causes your loved one injury or when you should have known your loved one suffers an injury. If you do not take reasonable measures to keep yourself informed of your loved one’s condition, the statute of limitations may run and prevent you from recovering any compensation.

Contact a California Elder Abuse Attorney Right Away

When you or your loved one have been injured at the hands of nursing home staff or employees, Case Barnett Law is prepared to help you overcome these and other challenges that stand between you and recovery of compensation for your medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other losses. Call Case Barnett Law today at (949) 861-2990 or contact us online and enlist our experienced and knowledgeable firm’s assistance in successfully resolving your nursing home abuse or neglect lawsuit.