Placing a parent or disabled loved one in a nursing home is seldom an easy decision. However, many families must rely on skilled nursing facilities to care for those who can no longer care for themselves. When you make the choice to put a family member in a nursing home, you do so with the hope and trust that they will get the skilled care they need. Unfortunately, not every caregiver upholds his or her responsibility to provide appropriate care, and not every facility enforces policies designed for the health and safety of its patients. Abusive nurses and assistants may be held criminally liable, and negligent facilities may be held accountable through a civil lawsuit. When a personal injury or wrongful death stems from nursing home neglect or abuse, consulting a lawyer is your first step in getting the compensation you deserve.
Nursing home abuse can be physical, emotional, or sexual. Physical abuse includes hitting or striking a patient as well as improper use of drugs or restraints. Emotional abuse includes bullying, threatening, blaming, intimidating and isolating patients. Sexual abuse is any unwanted sexual contact, forcing patients to look at sexually explicit images, or forcing a resident to undress.
More common than abuse is nursing home neglect. Helpguide.org reports that neglect makes up more than half of all reported elder abuse. Nursing home neglect occurs when a patient does not receive the care he or she deserves. It can include leaving patients in bed or wheelchairs, not bathing them or taking care of their hygiene needs, not adhering to policies designed to ensure patient safety, and not addressing medical needs.
The following symptoms may indicate that your loved one is being abused or neglected:
No one wants to see their elderly and ailing loved ones suffer. However, the American Association for Justice reports that 90 percent of U.S. nursing homes have insufficient staffing to provide adequate care, according to the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Appropriateness of Minimum Nurse Staffing Ratios in Nursing Homes (2001). This means that it is important for family members to stay vigilant in observing their loved ones and responding quickly to signs of abuse or neglect.
