Unfortunately, nursing home occurs every day. However, with a little education and some assistance from skilled attorneys, you can help fight nursing home abuse and neglect and help your loved ones and other elderly or special needs residents live higher-quality, more fulfilled lives.
Do you have a family member or other loved one who lives in a nursing home or another type of assisted living facility? Lately, have you noticed that he or she has become withdrawn, experienced unexplained weight loss, or has suffered from some sort of injury?
If so, your loved one could be experiencing nursing home abuse or neglect.
Types of Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
Often, the decision to enter a nursing home or assisted living facility is a tough one for residents and their family members and other loved ones. Entrusting your elderly or special needs loved one’s care in the hands of other people can be scary, specifically because they might become subject to nursing home negligence or abuse.
That’s because some of the most common cases against nursing homes and other assisted living facilities are related to nursing home negligence and abuse.
Nursing home abuse and neglect might be confusing for some people, especially those who’ve never had a loved one in an assisted living facility before, but don’t worry. We’ve outlined the major highlights for you below as well as explained how to act when you feel your loved one might be experiencing nursing home abuse or neglect.
Negligence
Nursing home neglect, also referred to as elder neglect, happens when a nursing home or assisted living facility resident doesn’t receive proper physical, emotional, and medical attention. Lack of these kinds of attention in nursing homes puts residents at serious risk for harm—and sometimes even death.
Generally, nursing home neglect is due to sub-standard care or a breach of duty on the parts of the nursing home employees, including everyone from administrative staff to medical personnel.
There are many forms of nursing home neglect, such as:
- Basic Needs: Just like everyone else, nursing home residents need to meet their basic needs. Staff must provide clean and safe food, water, and environmental conditions.
- Medical: The nursing home medical personnel must provide medical attention, including prevention and medication to residents to treat pre-existing conditions and prevent future medical emergencies.
- Malnutrition: It’s important that nursing home staff not only make sure residents are provided with food and water, but also that they actually eat and drink. When a resident is unable to eat or drink on his or her own, the medical personnel should determine how to move forward to make sure the resident receives proper nutrition.
- Emotional: Typically, emotional neglect occurs when a resident is verbally abused (see “Abuse,” below) or when staff repeatedly ignore the resident.
- Social: Nursing home residents should receive opportunities to socially interact with other patients as well as staff.
- Wound Care: Generally, wound care negligence occurs when the nursing home staff fails to properly treat and follow up with wounds such as bed sores; cuts, scrapes, and burns; and diabetes-related sores, for example.
- Falls and Fractures: When a nursing home resident is regularly ignored, he or she is more susceptible to falls and fractures or bone breaks resulting from falls.
- Bed Sores: Bed sores occur when a resident is left to lie in one position for too long. Generally, these residents are mostly or completely immobile (or otherwise unable to move on their own) and need to be repositioned at certain time periods during the day. Bed sores are extremely common kinds of injury and neglect in nursing homes.
- Bedrail Injuries: Like bed sores, bed rail injuries are fairly common in nursing homes. Often, bed rail injuries – and sometimes even death – occur when a resident becomes stuck between the bed and the bed rail. Such injuries are preventable when the nursing home staff regularly checks in on and visits the resident.
The above are just a few common examples of nursing home neglect. An attorney who specializes in this area of law can help you identify additional forms of nursing home negligence.
Also Read : How to Spot Nursing Home Abuse
Abuse
A few common types of nursing home abuse include:
- Physical: Any kind of harm done to a resident’s body, such as slapping, punching, or pushing is considered physical abuse.
- Verbal: Verbal abuse includes violent verbal instances such as screaming or yelling at the nursing home resident.
- Emotional: When a nursing home resident is treated poorly – including being ignored, talked down to, or treated as less than an equal – it’s considered emotional abuse.
- Sexual: Most often, sexual abuse is when a nursing home resident is sexually assaulted by a member of the staff; however, sometimes sexual abuse occurs among residents.
- Financial: Examples of financial abuse in nursing homes include cashing a resident’s check without his or her permission; forging a resident’s signature on financial documents; and abusing the power of attorney, guardianship, or conservatorship relationship.
Just as explained above, these are only a few of the most common examples of nursing home abuse. A skilled nursing home abuse lawyer can spot these and other abusive situations when you consult with one about your specific situation.
Recognizing Abuse and Neglect in Nursing Home Residents
Signs of nursing home abuse and neglect vary depending on the situation; however, some of the most common warning signs include:
- Unusual changes in behavior.
- Unexpected weight loss.
- Poor personal hygiene.
- Dehydration and/or malnutrition.
- Bedsores and other visible injuries include cuts and scrapes, bruises, and bone fractures or breaks.
- Unexplained fear, depression, or withdrawal from activities once enjoyed.
Other signs include environmental factors. For example, someone visiting a nursing home resident might notice there’s poor lighting in the resident’s room or common areas or that there’s broken or otherwise unsafe furniture or equipment in use. Reporting these situations can help prevent injuries or death to your loved one and other nursing home residents.
Of course, you must understand that these situations don’t necessarily mean a resident is suffering from nursing home abuse and neglect accidents happen and sometimes, these situations depend on a resident’s specific circumstances.
However, because these are your loved ones, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Consult with a nursing home abuse attorney if you have any suspicions of abuse or neglect.
Report Nursing Home Abuse Attorney in West Palm Beach
If you have a loved one in a nursing home in the West Palm Beach, North Palm Beach, or Port St. Lucie areas and suspect nursing home abuse or neglect, contact the law offices of Fetterman & Associates right away. We’ll provide you with a free consultation regarding your loved one’s situation. Just call 561-845-2510 or contact us online.
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