Nursing Home Sexual Abuse Lawyer

Standing Up for Survivors of Sexual Abuse in Nursing Homes Nationwide

Families trust nursing facilities to provide care, comfort, and safety, not to expose residents to unthinkable harm. When that trust is broken, accountability matters. Our experienced nursing home sexual abuse lawyer team represents families across the country who are seeking justice for the people they love.

At Injury Lawyer Team, we understand the emotional toll sexual abuse takes on everyone involved. We stand with families who are ready to hold perpetrators and negligent facilities responsible. Our sexual abuse lawyers believe in your case, and we are here to help your loved one find safety, dignity, and justice.

Nursing Home Sexual Abuse Settlements Recovered by Our Law Firm

At Injury Lawyer Team, we have represented families across the country in complex sexual abuse cases against nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Every case is deeply personal, and while no amount of money can undo the harm caused, financial recovery often helps families secure better care, counseling, and long-term safety for their loved ones.

Confidential Eight-Figure Settlement — A physically disabled woman was sexually assaulted by a maintenance employee in a long-term care facility. Through extensive discovery, we exposed systemic negligence, including prior complaints that were never properly investigated.
$2,333,000 Settlement — Two women were sexually assaulted by a certified nursing assistant (CNA) who had a prior history of misconduct that the facility ignored. Our investigation revealed repeated failures in background checks and supervision.
$810,000 Settlement — A dementia patient was assaulted by a maintenance worker who had unrestricted access to residents’ rooms. We proved that inadequate staffing and poor access controls created an environment where sexual abuse could occur.

Why Choose Injury Lawyer Team

When families contact us after discovering sexual abuse in a nursing home, they’re often filled with anger, disbelief, and grief. We understand how devastating it is to learn that a loved one was harmed by those entrusted with their care. At Injury Lawyer Team, our goal is to help families find answers, accountability, and justice.

Our attorneys are nationally recognized for their work on sexual abuse cases. Collectively, we have helped clients recover nearly $500 million in settlements and verdicts involving nursing home negligence, medical malpractice, and other forms of institutional abuse.

Families choose us because we bring both compassion and proven results. Our attorneys are members of respected organizations such as the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Super Lawyers, and the American Association for Justice (AAJ). We maintain an A+ Rating with the Better Business Bureau, contribute to The National Law Review, and hold an AVVO Rating of 10/10.

How Does Sexual Abuse Happen in Nursing Homes?

In nursing home facilities, sexual abuse occurs due to many forms of systemic failures that allow predators to take advantage of vulnerable residents. Some of the most common factors that lead to sexual abuse in nursing homes include:

Inadequate staffing and supervision
Poor hiring and background checks
Negligent management practices
Resident vulnerability
Lack of training and reporting procedures

What Are the Consequences of Sexual Abuse in Nursing Homes?

The impact of sexual abuse in a nursing home often extends far beyond the initial incident.

Physical consequences may include bruising, genital injuries, urinary tract infections, or sexually transmitted infections that develop after the assault. Survivors may also experience worsening of existing medical conditions because of stress, fear, or a refusal to eat or take medication.

Many residents develop anxiety, depression, withdrawal, or post-traumatic stress disorder. Others lose trust in caregivers and loved ones, becoming isolated or resistant to care. Families often notice behavioral changes such as unexplained injuries like broken bones, agitation, silence, or reluctance to be touched.

What Damages Can Sexually Abused Nursing Home Residents Recover?

Financial recovery allows survivors to access medical care, counseling, and safe housing while holding negligent facilities accountable for their failures. Compensation in elder sexual abuse cases can include recovery for:

Medical expenses, including hospital stays, therapy, and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
Pain and suffering, which covers the emotional distress, humiliation, and trauma resulting from the assault.
Psychological counseling, to support long-term recovery from anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress.
Relocation and long-term care costs, when the victim must be transferred to a safer facility or home care setting.
Punitive damages, in cases involving reckless disregard for resident safety or intentional concealment of abuse.

Our nursing home sexual abuse lawyers help families identify every possible category of loss. Our goal is to make sure those responsible are held accountable and that survivors receive the resources they need to heal and move forward.

What Is the Average Nursing Home Sexual Abuse Settlement?

Based on national data compiled by Law.com VerdictSearch, the average settlement for cases involving sexual abuse at nursing homes is approximately $854,666, with reported values ranging from around $50,000 to over $2 million. The median settlement is about $500,000.

These figures highlight how case value depends on multiple factors, including:

The victim’s age and medical condition
The duration and nature of the abuse
Whether the abuser was a staff member, maintenance worker, or another resident
The facility’s history of prior complaints or regulatory violations
The strength of the medical and psychological evidence presented

While every case is unique, our experience as nursing home abuse lawyer team shows that careful investigation, credible expert testimony, and documented facility negligence often lead to significantly higher recoveries.

Example Sexual Abuse Cases Involving Nursing Home Facilities

An elderly woman was sexually assaulted by a nursing aide at her long-term care facility, resulting in vaginal injuries and emotional trauma. The investigation revealed that the nursing home failed to supervise staff adequately or act on prior warning signs. The jury found the facility negligent and awarded the plaintiff just over $2 million for pain, suffering, and loss of dignity.

A caregiver and religious leader associated with a nursing facility sexually assaulted a young resident with disabilities. The plaintiff alleged the facility failed to protect residents by neglecting its duty to supervise and monitor staff. The defendants denied wrongdoing but reached a $500,000 pretrial settlement after evidence showed serious failures in oversight and reporting.

An 81-year-old resident was assaulted by a male nurse’s aide but initially too fearful to speak about what had happened. After the incident, she suffered nightmares and emotional distress and was forced to transfer to a different facility for her safety. Both parties agreed to a settlement between $150,000 and $190,000 before the jury issued a verdict.

How Common Is Sexual Abuse in Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities?

Sexual abuse in nursing homes is both a serious and largely hidden problem. Because many residents are unable to report what happened, the statistics of abuse in nursing homes we do have likely represent only a fraction of the true scope.

In one four-year review of 50 elderly female victims (ages 70–89), 90% of perpetrators were male nursing home residents; three of the cases went to court, and only one resulted in a conviction.
Another six-month, five-state study identified 244 male residents aged 50–93 who had been sexually abused; over 80% had physical or cognitive deficits, and 75% of suspected perpetrators were staff.
A larger review involving 123 victims (69% female) found 119 perpetrators, of whom 51 were members of staff and 48 were other residents; no perpetrators were criminally punished despite many substantiated incidents.
In a separate survey of regulatory investigators across five U.S. states, participants had collectively reviewed about 300 reported sexual-abuse cases, with many citing lack of training and awareness as barriers to prevention.

What Laws Protect Nursing Home Residents’ Legal Rights?

When a resident suffers sexual abuse in a nursing home, federal and state laws determine their legal options for holding perpetrators of abuse accountable. Our nursing home lawyers rely on these statutes to build strong cases on behalf of survivors and their families.

Elder Justice Act (EJA) — The first comprehensive federal law to address abuse and neglect involving the elderly. It established funding and oversight mechanisms to prevent and respond to abuse in long-term care facilities.
Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act of 2017 — Strengthens the government’s role in prosecuting elder abuse and requires every federal judicial district to have an Elder Justice Coordinator.
Nursing Home Reform Act (42 C.F.R. § 483.12) — Requires nursing homes to protect residents from all forms of abuse, including sexual assault, and to implement written policies for prevention, reporting, and staff training.
Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) — Authorizes the Department of Justice to investigate patterns of civil rights violations in nursing homes and other care institutions, including physical and sexual abuse.

Each state has its own elder abuse statutes and mandatory reporting requirements. Most require health care workers, social service staff, and facility employees to report suspected abuse to adult protective services or law enforcement within a specific time frame.

How Long Do I Have to File a Nursing Home Sexual Abuse Lawsuit?

Families affected by sexual abuse in a nursing home have a limited time to take legal action, known as the statute of limitations. These time limits vary by state but generally range from two to three years from the date of the assault or the date the abuse was discovered.

Because many residents are unable to report what happened due to cognitive or physical impairments, courts often apply what is known as the “discovery rule.” This means the deadline to file may begin when the abuse is uncovered rather than when it occurred.

In cases where the victim is mentally or physically incapacitated, such as those living with dementia or severe disabilities, the statute of limitations can be paused—or “tolled”—until a legal guardian or family member is able to act on their behalf.

Because these deadlines depend heavily on state law and the specific circumstances of each case, it’s essential to speak with a nursing home sexual abuse lawyer as soon as possible.

Who Can Be Held Liable for Sexual Abuse in a Nursing Home?

We investigate every possible source of liability to ensure all responsible individuals and entities are held accountable. Those who may be legally liable include:

Individual perpetrators — The nursing home staff member, caregiver, or resident who committed the assault.
Nursing home management — Administrators who ignored complaints, failed to conduct background checks, or neglected to supervise staff.
Parent companies and ownership groups — Many facilities are owned by larger corporations that control hiring, staffing levels, and budgets.
Third-party contractors — Maintenance or custodial workers employed by outside vendors may also face liability, especially if the nursing home failed to screen or monitor them properly.
Security and staffing agencies — Companies that supply temporary employees or fail to vet their workers.
State-licensed professionals — Nurses, doctors, and administrators who violate mandatory reporting obligations.

Common Defenses in Nursing Home Sexual Abuse Cases

When facing sexual abuse claims, nursing homes and their insurers often try to deny responsibility or cast doubt on the victim’s account. They may argue that the encounter was consensual, even when the resident had dementia or another impairment that made consent impossible.

Others claim the abuse was unforeseeable because it was committed by another resident or a contract worker. Facilities also frequently point to delays in reporting or a lack of direct evidence, ignoring the fact that victims in these settings are often too afraid, confused, or disabled to come forward immediately.

As experienced nursing home sexual abuse attorneys, we know how to overcome these tactics. Our team works with medical experts, forensic specialists, and investigators to establish what really happened and expose the facility’s failures in supervision, hiring, and reporting. When we hold institutions accountable, we help ensure no other family endures the same trauma.

How to Strengthen a Nursing Home Sexual Abuse Case

Families can strengthen their case by documenting every detail and preserving evidence from the start. Medical records, photographs of physical injuries, and written notes of conversations with staff or administrators can become critical proof later.

It’s also important to request a transfer to another facility if safety is a concern and to follow the proper procedures for reporting abuse in nursing homes to state authorities such as Adult Protective Services or the health department.

If you’re uncertain about what to do if you suspect nursing home abuse, the safest approach is to contact a qualified attorney before taking further action. Avoid signing any documents or agreements offered by the facility without legal advice. Nursing homes sometimes attempt to obtain waivers or confidential settlements that limit your rights.

A nursing home sexual abuse lawyer can take over communication with the facility, secure investigative reports, and ensure the abuse is reported and investigated properly. Early legal involvement gives families the best chance to uncover the truth and hold every responsible party accountable.

How a Nursing Home Abuse Attorney Can Help

When you contact our firm, we begin by listening to your story and gathering the facts. We coordinate with medical professionals, forensic specialists, and investigators to determine what happened and identify all responsible parties. From there, we collect records, interview witnesses, and preserve evidence before it can be lost or altered.

We also handle all communication with the nursing home, insurance companies, and state agencies, allowing families to focus on supporting their loved one. Our attorneys work to negotiate a fair settlement whenever possible, but we are fully prepared to take a case to trial if justice requires it.

Throughout the legal process, we stand with you, ensuring that your loved one’s dignity and safety remain at the center of every decision.

Let Us Help You Seek Justice for Your Elderly Loved One

If your family has experienced sexual abuse in a nursing home, contact Injury Lawyer Team. We are here to help you find the truth, hold those responsible accountable, and ensure your loved one’s safety and dignity are restored. Every case we take is handled with compassion, privacy, and respect for what your family has endured.

We represent clients nationwide on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing up front and no legal fees unless we secure a settlement or verdict on your behalf.