Kalispell, MontanaKalispell Nursing Home Abuse
Kalispell Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers: Neglect, Falls and Pressure Injuries in Flathead County Care Facilities
Boland Aarab PLLP.
If you suspect abuse or neglect in a Kalispell nursing home, call 911 if anyone is in danger, then report it to Montana Adult Protective Services and the long-term care ombudsman. A negligence claim against a licensed nursing home generally must be filed within two years, and it usually goes to the Montana Medical Legal Panel first.
Worried about a parent or spouse in a Flathead Valley care facility? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
What does long-term care look like in the Flathead Valley?
A growing, aging community. The Flathead Valley has drawn retirees for decades, and demand for skilled nursing, assisted living and memory care has grown with it. Kalispell has several skilled nursing facilities, including one operated by Logan Health, and more in Whitefish and Bigfork. The Flathead County Agency on Aging’s long-term care ombudsman visits 22 licensed care facilities in the county, 5 of them nursing homes.
The Montana Veterans Home in Columbia Falls. The state of Montana, through the Department of Public Health and Human Services, operates the Montana Veterans Home on Veterans Drive in Columbia Falls. It has served veterans since 1896 and today provides skilled, intermediate and domiciliary care, including an Alzheimer’s unit. Because it is a state facility, a claim involving care there follows Montana’s rules for claims against the State: written notice to the Department of Administration and statutory limits on damages (§§ 2-9-301, 2-9-108, MCA).
Hospital-to-facility transitions. Many residents come to a nursing home directly from Logan Health Medical Center after surgery, a stroke or a fall, for short-term rehab. The handoff is a risky moment: medication lists, fall-risk plans, wound care and diet orders all have to transfer correctly. Many neglect cases begin with a transition that went wrong.
Winter. Northwest Montana winters bring hazards of their own for residents:
- ice at entrances;
- residents with dementia who leave the building in freezing weather;
- short-staffing when staff can’t travel on bad roads;
- infections that spread through a building.
The warning signs we look for:
- pressure injuries (bedsores);
- unexplained falls and fractures;
- dehydration or weight loss;
- over-sedation;
- bruises in unusual places;
- sudden changes in mood or fear of certain staff;
- lost belongings or money.
What happens after you suspect nursing home abuse in Kalispell?
- Make sure your loved one is safe, and get medical care. If there is immediate danger, call 911. In Kalispell that brings the Kalispell Police Department; outside city limits, the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office.
- Report it.
- Montana Adult Protective Services: 1-844-277-9300.
- The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman: (800) 332-2272, or the local ombudsman through the Flathead County Agency on Aging in Kalispell (DPHHS).
- Facilities that take Medicare or Medicaid must report suspected abuse involving serious injury within 2 hours (42 C.F.R. § 483.12).
- Document everything. Photograph injuries, keep a log of dates and names, and ask in writing for the resident’s full chart, including care plans, MDS assessments, incident reports and medication records.
- Don’t sign away rights. A nursing home cannot make an arbitration agreement a condition of admission (42 C.F.R. § 483.70).
- The legal path.
- A claim against a licensed nursing home generally must go to the Montana Medical Legal Panel first. Assisted living facilities are excluded from the panel (§ 27-6-103, MCA).
- Suit is then filed in the Eleventh Judicial District Court at the Flathead County Justice Center, 920 South Main Street, Kalispell.
- Corporate owners based out of state may remove the case to the federal Missoula Division.
Montana law that applies
In short; our Montana nursing home abuse lawyer page has the full treatment.
- Deadline: generally 2 years for negligent-care claims against a licensed facility (§ 27-2-205, MCA). Intentional abuse and claims against assisted living facilities can follow different rules.
- Federal standards: facilities that take Medicare or Medicaid must meet federal care standards, including on pressure injuries (42 C.F.R. § 483.25).
- Montana’s elder-abuse law requires reporting and protects vulnerable adults (§ 52-3-811, MCA).
- Damages: when a claim is a malpractice claim, noneconomic damages are capped (§ 25-9-411, MCA). Punitive damages may be available for actual malice (§ 27-1-221, MCA).
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Kalispell case?
We are based in Great Falls and handle nursing home neglect and abuse cases statewide. Our attorneys travel to Kalispell and Columbia Falls to meet families, review facilities and take depositions, and to Missoula when a corporate owner moves a case to federal court. We are independent of the valley’s health-care providers, which matters when the facility, the hospital and the treating doctors are closely connected.
The Boland Aarab Way
- Courtroom-ready. Our attorneys have spent more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom.
- Experienced against public entities. We resolved a civil-rights and wrongful-death claim against a county for $550,000 in Estate of Alexander v. Cascade County. That matters for claims involving a state-run facility.
- Federal-court experience with corporate defendants: more than 40 cases in the District of Montana over nine years.
- Trial-bar leadership. Caitlin Boland Aarab serves on the MTLA Board, and both attorneys are AAJ members.
We also handle wrongful death cases in Kalispell and medical malpractice cases in Kalispell. See our Kalispell personal injury page.
Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who do I call about suspected neglect in a Kalispell nursing home? Call 911 for emergencies. Otherwise, call Montana Adult Protective Services at 1-844-277-9300 and the long-term care ombudsman. The Flathead County Agency on Aging has a local ombudsman in Kalispell.
My father is at the Montana Veterans Home in Columbia Falls. Is a claim different? Yes. It is a state facility, so written notice to the State is required and Montana’s statutory limits on damages against the State apply. The deadlines and procedure should be reviewed early.
Mom fell and broke her hip weeks after moving from the hospital to rehab. Is that neglect? It may be, if the facility didn’t assess and address her fall risk. Care plans, staffing records and the discharge orders from the hospital are the key documents.
Where would a Flathead County nursing home case be filed? After the Montana Medical Legal Panel, where required, in the Eleventh Judicial District Court at the Flathead County Justice Center. An out-of-state owner may remove it to federal court in Missoula.
We signed an arbitration agreement at admission. Are we stuck? Not necessarily. Nursing homes can’t require arbitration as a condition of admission, and the agreement’s terms and how it was signed matter. We review it.
Our attorneys: Caitlin Boland Aarab · Samir F. Aarab
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
