Austin Nursing Home Attorneys
State law protects nursing home employees who are brave enough to speak out against the legal violations that are being committed at their facilities; if your employer has taken adverse employment action against you because you stood up for what was right, you will likely be eligible to file a qui tam lawsuit against your employer under the False Claims Act. At The Melton Law Firm, our Austin nursing home attorneys understand just how much may depend on the outcome of your case, and we have the experience and resources to pursue any whistleblower claim against any nursing home company in the state.
Nursing Home Employee Rights as a Whistleblower
According to state law, it is illegal for a nursing home community – along with those institutions that are related to nursing homes – to terminate or otherwise discriminate against an employee who reports any violation of the laws that govern this industry. That means that if you filed a report of abuse, neglect, or fraud, your employer cannot take retaliatory action against you. It should be noted that every employee who initiates or otherwise cooperates with the investigation or the actual legal proceedings will also be protected by this state statute.
Filing a Qui Tam Claim Against Your Employer
In order to have a strong case against your employer, it will be critical that you have specific and detailed evidence showing that abuse, neglect, fraud, or any other legal violation did occur at your place of employment. Moreover, as mentioned earlier, it will be necessary to show that you at least made your employer aware of the violation and that your employer decided to take some course of retaliatory action against you as a result. Keeping all of this in mind, it will be in your best interests to reach out to an attorney who can help you both determine your eligibility and to help you work through the complex legal processes of actually filing a whistleblower suit.
In whistleblower cases that involve fraud, it may be possible for the claimant to actually recover a portion of the settlement the government eventually makes with their employer, assuming that a settlement can be reached. Again, the procedural requirements for actually claiming some portion of that settlement is as rigid as it is complex, so it will be to your advantage to work with an attorney who understands exactly what will be necessary each and every step of the way.
Consult with a Nursing Home Attorney in Austin
If adverse employment action against you because you spoke up about legal violations that were being committed at a nursing home or any associated institution, you should speak with a lawyer about what legal action you may be able to pursue against your employer. At The Melton Law Firm, our Austin nursing home attorneys are committed to protecting the employee rights, and we are prepared to aggressively assert the rights of whistleblowers who have been wronged by their employers. To speak with an employment attorney about the particulars of your case, please call our offices at (512) 330-0017 today.