A nursing home injury lawyer understands that one of the hardest decisions a family has to make is whether or not their elderly loved one should be placed in a nursing home. When the day comes that this happens, the family places their trust that the nursing home staff will do all that they can to care for and protect their loved one. But far too often, this is not the case, and the facility fails to take proper care of residents or staff members inflicting abuse on them.
Every resident has the legal right to be treated with dignity and respect and failure on the part of the nursing home to do so can result in civil or criminal charges. Unfortunately, this does not serve as a detriment for many facilities, and coupled with residents who are unable to stand up and fight for their rights, far too many elderly nursing home residents are vulnerable and suffer terrible incidents of abuse and neglect.
Abuse and Neglect Injuries
In addition to intentional cruelty and mistreatment, some of the other common injuries nursing home abuse residents suffer include the following:
- Anxiety from excessive isolation
- Dehydration
- Depression from excessive isolation
- Fractures caused by falling
- Infections
- Lack of sanitation by staff causing infections or illness for residents
- Malnutrition
- Mistakes with medication administering, which can cause serious injury or death
- Pressure ulcers (bedsores) caused by the resident not being moved on a regular basis
- Reduced immunity
Reasons Why Abuse Happens
Some of the frequent issues that trigger nursing home abuse and neglect include the following:
- Failure to conduct background checks on new hires
- Failure to staff the facility adequately
- Failure to supervise employees
- Failure to ensure employees are properly trained
It is not just the hiring of unqualified staff that can cause nursing home abuse or neglect. It is not uncommon for a staff member to intentionally abuse a resident, either because they are angry or frustrated or because they know the resident can’t report the abuse.
In addition to making sure they hire qualified and quality employees, nursing homes should also make sure that their employees are trained on how to recognize and report any signs of neglect or abuse. Nursing homes are also responsible for taking the appropriate steps when abuse or neglect is reported.
Contact a Nursing Home Lawyer for Legal Assistance
If your elderly loved one has been a victim of abuse or neglect at the hands of nursing home staff, you need to take immediate action in order to protect the victim, as well as make sure your family obtains financial justice against those who are responsible. There may even be criminal charges that could be filed.
Please call an experienced attorney, like a nursing home injury lawyer from a law firm like Davis & Brusca, LLC.
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