Utah Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers
- $ Millions Won For Our Clients
- No Fees Unless We Win
- 4 Utah Offices
- 300+ 5-Star Reviews
Utah Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers Who Hold Facilities Accountable for Betraying Your Family’s Trust
You trusted a facility with someone you love. Maybe it was a parent who once took care of you, or a spouse you have spent a lifetime with. You chose that facility because you believed they would be safe there. Now something feels wrong. Unexplained bruises. Sudden weight loss. A loved one who is withdrawn or frightened. Staff who cannot quite explain what happened.
Trust that instinct. Families are almost always the first to notice abuse and neglect, and facilities are rarely the first to admit it. When a nursing home or care facility fails the people in its care, the consequences can be severe, and the people responsible count on families being too overwhelmed or uncertain to push back.
Creekside Legal represents nursing home abuse and neglect victims and their families across Utah, and we know how to take on the facilities and the insurance companies behind them. We investigate what happened, gather the evidence that establishes how your loved one was harmed and who is responsible, and fight for the full accountability and compensation your family deserves. You should not have to fight this battle alone while also trying to care for someone you love.
There is nothing to pay unless we win your case. And when we do, we take a smaller percentage than most Utah firms charge, because your family has already been through more than enough.
$2,350,000
Medical Malpractice
Cancer misdiagnosed by doctor. The doctor tried to blame our innocent
client, but in the end, we made the doctor take responsibility for his mistakes.
What Our Clients Are Saying
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“Matt and his team are absolutely wonderful! “
“The amount of time and dedication they took with me and my case over this last year was absolutely so helpful, I couldn’t of done it without them! Highly recommend.”
– Kristen G.
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“Matt has proven to be one of the most diligent attorneys I have met.”
“He went beyond the scope of his responsibilities and provided solid representation with nothing other than my best interest in mind. I would recommend his firm, and specifically him, to anyone in the area that needs legal help.”
– Scott K.
“With Matt, things aren’t just about a job he has to do. Things with him are a lot more personal than that and you can tell that as a client you are of utmost importance to him, whether that be regarding well-being, satisfaction, and or justice. “
“I had the opportunity to be represented by Matt and it was a choice that I would do over a thousand times!”
– John D.
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“Matt was INCREDIBLE!”
” He took time to schedule a call, called me exactly on time, he heard everything I had to say, he acknowledged my feelings. He worked fast and hard and had answers to be within 48 hours. I HIGHLY suggest him!!”
– Amberlyn R.
Our Utah Nursing Home Abuse Legal Team
Matt Schmoldt
Lawyer
Jenny Hoppie
Lawyer
Tyler Tapp
VP of Legal
Annie Edwards
Senior Paralegal
Sandra Westwood
Paralegal
Why Work With Us?
Experienced & Dependable
With over three hundred five-star reviews, you can be confident that we will take care of you and your case.
Pay Nothing... Until We Win
We won’t let you pay us… until we win. We also take less of your settlement than other personal injury law firms.
Medical Bills & Treatment
We will help you with your medical bills. We also make sure that you get the right medical treatment.
Get A Larger Settlement
Studies show that injury settlements are larger when a personal injury lawyer is representing you.
If You Suspect Nursing Home Abuse, Do These Things First
Before any lawsuit, your loved one’s safety comes first:
- If they’re in immediate danger, call 911.
- Report suspected abuse to Utah Adult Protective Services (APS). Utah law requires many professionals to report suspected abuse of vulnerable adults — but anyone can and should report.
- You can also file a complaint with Utah’s health facility licensing agency, which inspects and disciplines care facilities.
- Document everything: photograph injuries and conditions, keep a dated journal of what you observe, save texts and emails with staff, request complete medical records (you have the right to them).
- Then call us. We’ll tell you — free and confidentially — whether what you’re seeing supports a legal case, and what to preserve.
Reporting protects your loved one now. A civil case is how you make sure it never happens to them, or anyone else there, again.
The Warning Signs Families Should Never Ignore
Signs of physical abuse or neglect:
- Unexplained bruises, burns, cuts, or fractures — or explanations that keep changing
- Bedsores (pressure ulcers) — these are almost always preventable with proper care, and advanced-stage bedsores are a red flag of serious neglect
- Rapid weight loss, dehydration, or complaints of hunger
- Poor hygiene: unbathed, soiled clothing or bedding, overgrown nails
- Repeated falls, or injuries the facility “didn’t notice”
- Medication errors — overmedication (a sedated, “absent” parent) or missed doses
- Frequent infections or unexplained hospitalizations
Signs of emotional or sexual abuse:
- Sudden withdrawal, fearfulness, or agitation — especially around particular staff members
- Behavior changes the facility attributes vaguely to “decline”
- Unexplained genital injuries or infections
Signs of financial exploitation:
- Missing money or belongings, unusual account activity, new “arrangements” your loved one can’t explain
Why Abuse and Neglect Happen — And Why Facilities Are Liable
Most nursing home harm isn’t caused by a single cruel employee. It’s caused by business decisions: chronic understaffing, undertrained and unscreened workers, and corner-cutting that puts census and profit ahead of care. That’s exactly why the law holds the facility — not just an individual — responsible:
- Negligent hiring and supervision — unvetted or known-problem staff
- Understaffing — too few caregivers to turn, feed, hydrate, and supervise residents
- Failure to follow care plans — fall protocols ignored, wound care skipped
- Medical negligence — by the nurses and physicians responsible for residents
- Failure to protect residents from other residents
Federal law adds another layer: facilities accepting Medicare or Medicaid must meet the Nursing Home Reform Act’s standards — adequate staffing, individualized care plans, and a Residents’ Bill of Rights that includes freedom from abuse, neglect, and chemical restraint. Violations are powerful evidence in civil cases.
What Your Family’s Claim Can Recover
- Medical care caused by the abuse or neglect — hospitalizations, wound care, surgery
- Relocation costs to a safe facility
- Pain and suffering — physical and emotional
- Loss of dignity and enjoyment of life
- Punitive damages where the facility’s conduct was reckless or willful
- In fatal cases, full wrongful death damages for the family
The Deadlines — And a Trap Most Families Don’t See Coming
How long you have depends on what kind of claim it is, and this is where Utah law gets treacherous:
- Claims based on ordinary neglect (failure to feed, supervise, keep safe): generally 4 years
- Claims involving medical care decisions (nursing care, medication, physician orders) may be governed by Utah’s medical malpractice rules instead: 2 years from discovery, a 4-year outer limit, and a mandatory 90-day pre-suit notice
- Wrongful death: generally 2 years
- Government-operated facilities: notice of claim within 1 year
Whether a nursing home case is “negligence” or “malpractice” is a legal judgment call with enormous deadline consequences — and facilities’ defense lawyers exploit it.
Treat every nursing home case as if the shortest deadline applies: get advice early.
About that arbitration clause
Many admission packets include an arbitration agreement, signed in a stack of paperwork on a stressful day. Facilities use these to keep cases away from juries. They are not always enforceable — federal rules restrict them, signatures are often invalid (signed by a family member without legal authority, for example), and courts scrutinize them. Never assume an arbitration clause ends your case. Bring it to us; we’ll tell you what it really means.
“Matt is such an incredible person. “
“It’s obvious from the first moment you talk to him that he cares so incredibly much about people. He’s wonderful at listening and has so much integrity in the work that he does. He’s just a great guy!”
– Tayzia C.
Utah Nursing Home Abuse FAQs
How do I know if it's abuse or just my parent's declining health?
This is the most important question families ask — and you shouldn’t have to answer it alone. Decline doesn’t explain stage-3 bedsores, dehydration, unexplained fractures, or fear of specific staff. We review medical records, staffing data, and inspection histories to tell the difference between disease progression and neglect. The review is free.
Will reporting hurt my loved one's care — or get them kicked out?
Retaliation against residents for complaints violates federal law, and residents have a protected right to voice grievances. We also help families weigh timing, documentation, and (when needed) relocation so your loved one is protected at every step.
Can we sue if my loved one has dementia and can't describe what happened?
Yes. Many victims can’t self-report — that’s exactly why predatory and neglectful conduct concentrates in memory care. These cases are built on physical evidence, medical records, staffing logs, inspection reports, and witness testimony, not on the victim’s account.
What if my loved one signed an arbitration agreement?
Maybe it’s enforceable; quite possibly it isn’t. Who signed it, what authority they had, when it was presented, and what it covers all matter. Don’t let a facility wave paperwork at you as if the conversation is over — it usually isn’t.
What if my loved one died in the facility's care?
Your family may have a wrongful death claim, generally with a two-year deadline. Request complete
records immediately and don’t accept the facility’s account at face value — we frequently find a very different story in the chart, the staffing logs, and the state’s inspection records.
Can we afford to take on a care facility and its lawyers?
Yes — because you pay nothing unless we win. We advance the costs, including the medical experts these cases require, and our contingency percentage is lower than what most Utah firms charge. Call (801) 406-4273 for a free, confidential consultation.