No, a nursing home cannot override a valid power of attorney in Massachusetts. Facilities sometimes try to do so anyway, but you have rights and options.
Don’t let nursing homes take advantage of you and your loved ones. Instead, contact a Boston nursing home abuse lawyer for help understanding how to protect your authority, stop improper decision-making, and pursue compensation based on the details of your case.
What a Power of Attorney is Supposed to Protect
The position known as power of attorney gives a trusted individual the legal authority to make decisions for someone who is not safely able to do so on their own. In Massachusetts, this authority is either broad or limited, depending on how the document was written.
Here’s what many families ask a power of attorney to manage:
- Medical decisions
- Financial matters
- Consent for treatment
- Care planning and placement decisions
The purpose of appointing someone trustworthy with the power of attorney is to gain control and clarity over a situation. When your loved one enters a nursing home, the power of attorney is supposed to work with your loved one’s interests in mind at all times.
Unfortunately, not everyone who holds the role of power of attorney should be permitted to do so. Likewise, facilities sometimes decide that they have the ability to counteract or override what the power of attorney sets forth.
When Nursing Homes Push Back Against Family Authority
Nursing homes do not usually announce that they are ignoring the input of the power of attorney. Instead, they do so quietly. This often looks like staff refusing to return your calls or excluding you from care conferences, among other things.
You might even be informed that certain decisions aren’t up to you. Families along Route 9 in Framingham, over near the Mass Pike, or down Cape roads like Route 28 often report a sudden expression of resistance from the facility after asking hard questions.
This level of pushback often begins after something concerning takes place, like:
- A serious fall
- A medication error
- A rapid decline in health
- Potential signs of neglect or abuse
Facilities know that documentation matters, but this knowledge also gives them the option to conceal records or choose not to make a note about them. After all, the less involved you are, the more control they are able to maintain over the narrative.
The Gray Area Facilities Exploit When Attempting to Override a Power of Attorney in Massachusetts
Nursing homes are well aware of the fact that families whose loved ones reside in these facilities are often exhausted and emotional when dealing with care-related matters. It’s also common for family members to be unfamiliar with elder laws.
Corrupt or untrustworthy nursing homes will sometimes use that imbalance in knowledge to their advantage. These are examples of behaviors you should be wary of when interacting with these facilities and their staff:
- Allowing some decisions but not others
- Recognizing financial authority but ignoring medical authority
- Claiming urgency to bypass your or your loved one’s consent
- Suggesting that guardianship is inevitable
- Refusing to explain injuries or even acknowledge them
- Changing medications without discussion
This is not about what is right for your loved one’s well-being or quality of life. It is about control and liability.
Emotional Pain and Suffering Inside Nursing Homes
Nursing home harm is not limited to physical injuries. Emotional pain and suffering are often a consequence imposed upon vulnerable elderly people as well. Here’s what residents often experience:
- Fear due to a lack of autonomy
- Depression as a result of isolation
- Anxiety caused by untreated discomfort
- Trauma resulting from neglect or verbal abuse
Not only do those on the receiving end of abuse and neglect suffer immensely, but so do their families. It’s heartbreaking to bear witness to someone you love deteriorate as the mistreatment wears them down over time.
Being shut out, dismissed, and invalidated just further harms family members, often resulting in long-lasting emotional damage that is hard to recover from, even when the circumstances subside. Thankfully, Massachusetts law recognizes these losses as real and compensable.
Call Us to Learn More About Whether a Nursing Home Can Override a Power of Attorney
While some nursing homes try to override a power of attorney, their efforts do not mean that they are allowed to do so. If you are dealing with nursing home abuse and neglect or an instance of wrongful death, you’re likely exhausted, and it’s understandable.
At the law firm of Jason Stone Injury Lawyers, we are all too familiar with the amount of pain, fear, confusion, and frustration that people in your position face. As overwhelming as this situation is, you’re never alone. We take care of our own because Massachusetts is our home.
With 21-plus years in business, our attorneys are here to alleviate your stress, protect your authority, and pursue compensation on your behalf. Backed by our Stone Cold Guarantee®, we’ve made it possible for more than 15,000 people to recover over $250 million. Call now.
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