Americans are living longer than ever before and the elderly are now the fastest growing segment in the population. Tragically, nursing home neglect and abuse has grown just as fast. Facilities are often understaffed or are willing to hire underqualified attendants, resulting in staff negligence of elder’s basic needs, or, in some cases, direct abuse and medical malpractice.
Physical elder abuse can be the most obvious to detect. Take notice of any open wounds, cuts, bruises, welts, discoloration, or broken bones. If the facility staff cannot adequately explain what has happened, you should take steps to investigate into suspected elder abuse. Also, take note of any sudden change of behavior in your loved one. If he or she begins to cower when certain staff members approach, that could be a sign of physical elder abuse. If you witness someone engaging in elder abuse towards your loved one or another resident, take immediate action.
Federal and state laws governing nursing homes give you rights to seek monetary damages in the case of elder care negligence or abuse. Nursing home abuse is medical malpractice.
According to the National Center of Elder Abuse, nursing home abuse and neglect can take many forms, including:
- Physical neglect: disregard for the necessities of daily living
- Medical neglect: lack of care for existing medical problems
- Failure to prevent dehydration, malnutrition, falls, and bed sores
- A fall out of bed, bedsore, bruise, and burn
- Failure to assist in personal hygiene
- Illness caused by malnutrition and dehydration
- Unsanitary and unclean conditions
- Failure to protect from health and safety hazards
- A change in mental health or personality
- Poor access to medical services
- Assault and battery
- Medication Error or Nursing Error
- Sexual Assault
- Unreasonable physical restraint
- Giving too much or not enough medication
- Slapping, pushing, shaking, beating
- Forcing a person to stay in a room
- Wrongful death of a family member
Medication errors: Because of negligence, residents do not get their medications, are over-medicated, or are given medications that are contraindicated for their conditions. Poor record keeping, inadequate staff supervision, and negligent medical attention are among the causes.
The first thing that you need to understand if your parent or relative is injured in a nursing home is that it isn’t your fault. It may not even be the fault of the nursing home. Many nursing homes provide excellent care, and elderly people may become ill or die because they are old and at the end of their life. Skilled attorneys will obtain the medical records and the nursing home records and have them examined by qualified long-term care nurses and physicians. If your loved one’s death or injury was no one’s fault, those lawyers will be the first ones to tell you.
Nursing homes provide a broad range of care, including medical, nutritional, and custodial. The care they provide must meet strict standards to insure the well being of their residents. Unfortunately, care in nursing homes sometimes can be neglectful, or even abusive. The result can be devastating for the victims and their families who entrusted the care of their loved one to the home.
Elder Abuse & Negligence Lawyers
Physical, sexual or emotional abuse should not have to be borne by anyone, particularly not an elderly person. When we place an elder loved one in the care of a nursing home or assisted living facility, we place a great deal of trust into the caregivers and personnel at the facility. Unfortunately, it is a sad fact that approximately one in three U.S. nursing homes has instances of elder abuse or elder neglect in some form.
Although falls sometimes happen in nursing homes, oftentimes the facility fails to perform appropriate assessments of the resident to determine the risk of falling and fails to take appropriate steps to prevent further falls. Sometimes, because of the frail condition of a nursing home resident, such falls can lead to serious injuries requiring life-threatening surgeries or can further diminish the resident’s quality of life. Other common problems are wandering, choking, bed sores, and urinary tract infections.
While it is difficult enough to place a family member in a home, it is even more difficult to see that family member suffer under the care of an abusive, overworked, and under trained nursing home staff. If a family member has been abused or injured in a nursing home or assisted living facility, it is important to contact an attorney who can help protect your legal rights.
