Once you contact the nursing home board directly, you may see fast action on behalf of your loved one and other residents in the nursing home. Sometimes, the board may have little to no idea what actually takes place in the nursing home each day, and may act quickly to ensure that residents receive a high standard of care after having any instance of negligence pointed out to them. The board, or a representative of the nursing home’s insurance company, may also seem determined to immediately provide you with compensation for your loved one’s losses. The representative you speak to may sound outraged and determined to “make it right” as much as possible. Talk to an attorney, however, before accepting any offer. Often, settlement offers issued early in the investigation and negotiation process do not fully reflect the compensation your loved one deserves for losses they suffered due to nursing home negligence. That offer, as genuine and outraged as the representative sounds, may not actually account for the full compensation your family really needs or deserves. An attorney can give you a better idea of how much compensation you really deserve, including when to accept a settlement offer and when you and your loved one may want to continue to negotiate.