Do you have a loved one living in a nursing home facility? If so, you must know the sign of nursing home abuse and neglect to look for and why this can happen. If your loved one happens to be a victim of this abuse, you should contact one of the best injury attorneys near me for legal help. A good attorney will fight to hold negligent facilities accountable.
Abuse and neglect in nursing homes take a lot of forms; however, the majority of people associate the terms with some kind of physical harm or deprivation. But, residents in some facilities can also be subjected to sexual, emotional, and financial abuse. Often, neglect means failure to properly feed or oversee a patient. It is also a form of neglect if a facility fails to protect a resident from other residents, visitors, and strangers.
Common Signs of Nursing Home Abuse
Your loved one may be a victim of nursing home abuse and neglect when they suffer from unexplained physical injuries like burns, cuts, broken bones, and blisters. Other signs of neglect include bedsores, dehydration, malnutrition, and poor hygiene. Abuse in nursing homes may also lead to your loved one not motivated to socialize, as well as show changes in behavior and increased anxiety.
Why Nursing Neglect and Abuse can Happen
Nursing home abuse and neglect can happen to anyone. However, there are reasons a facility may be prone to these issues than others. These include inexperienced or poorly trained staff members, failure to abide by nursing home licensing requirements, understaffing, and more.
Moreover, nursing abuse and neglect can commonly happen if the family of a patient fails to visit regularly. Usually, abuse and neglect occur when there is little or no family involvement. This results in the patient being isolated and having no one to turn to after they have been abused or neglected.
State and federal laws exist to protect residents of nursing homes. These laws give residents different rights to protect them from abuse and neglect. Although these laws do not prevent these issues, they make sure victims and their families can hold responsible parties liable for their actions.
A great personal injury attorney who has successfully handled several cases of nursing home neglect and abuse knows that learning your loved one has been hurt in a nursing facility is quite painful. This is the reason they will do everything they can to demand compensation for the injuries, pain, and suffering of your loved one after being subjected to facility abuse and neglect.