Monday, January 17, 2022

Defending Elderly: Know Your Rights Against Nursing Home Abuse

by kashif


When an elderly member of a family is no longer able to live on their own, families must make difficult decisions about their loved one’s care. The solution is often to find a good nursing home and place the loved one there for safety and care. That decision helps the families reduce worry about the person and relieves the family members of taking care of the family member on a daily basis. But, what happens when the nursing home neglects or allows patient abuse?

What is Classified as Nursing Home Abuse?

Nursing home abuse can come in many forms, which can include physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, financial abuse, or patient exploitation. Legally, nursing home abuse happens when patients in long-term care facilities or nursing homes suffer physical, psychological, or emotional harm because of the intentional acts or neglect of their caregivers.

Getting Help For Those Suffering Nursing Home Abuse

It is unfortunate that nursing home resident abuse is as common in America as it is. However, there is help available in the form of law firms that represent families in bringing lawsuits against nursing homes that allow their residents to be abused. It is important to seek legal help to determine if the injury or complaint of a nursing home resident is due to an accident or nursing home abuse or neglect. This is not easy to prove without legal help from experienced investigators at law firms such as Hughey Law firm.

Signs of Abuse to Look For

There are always signs of abuse to look for when a family suspects their loved one is being abused. They include:

  • Physical abuse signs can include bruising or welts, unexplained broken bones, unexplained burns, hair loss, the caregiver refusing to leave you alone with your loved one, and more.
  • Emotional abuse signs can include new low self-esteem, depression, hopeless feelings expressed by the patient, changes in eating and sleeping habits, self-injury, crying and begging for help, and others.
  • Sexual abuse signs can include unexplained STDS and vaginal infections, vaginal bleeding without explanation, bruising on the thighs, breasts, and vaginal area, difficulty with sitting or walking, damaged clothing and bloodstains, and fear around a caregiver.
  • Neglect can be life-threatening and includes signs like medical needs not being met, failing to meet nutritional or care needs of a patient, dirty, unkempt spaces, residents too heavily medicated, patients allowed to wander around or out of the facility without supervision, and more.
  • Financial abuse signs might be harder to spot but can include sudden or unexplained transfers of money to another individual, will changes, residents’ personal belonging going missing, and forged signatures on financial documents.

Residents have a right to proper and safe care in any nursing home. when that is not given or their wellbeing is neglected or damaged, it is time to seek legal help to rectify the situation. 

It is not enough to simply move the resident to another facility because this lets the guilty parties keep abusing other residents. It is important to report bad nursing homes to proper government entities so they can be closed or forced to meet better standards of care. There are federal laws protecting nursing home residents. A law firm can make sure those rights are followed or seek damages from nursing homes that are not meeting the standards for the care of residents.

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