Common Nursing Home Abuse Injuries

As your loved ones get older, moving into a nursing home or assisted living facility may be a necessary life change to help them continue to live their life while getting assistance from qualified caregivers. While most nursing homes and long-term care facilities provide excellent care that you can trust, other facilities do not have the elderly’s best interests at heart. When this happens, they may be investigated for nursing home abuse.

Each year, elder abuse leaves many elderly individuals physically injured, emotionally scarred, financially unstable, or even worse – dead. If your loved one was the victim of this awful type of negligence, schedule a free consultation with a qualified Philadelphia nursing home abuse lawyer at Lopez McHugh LLP.

What Is Nursing Home Abuse?

Nursing home abuse occurs when a resident does not receive the care they need and suffers harm as a direct result of the actions or inactions of a nursing home facility. This harm can be physical, medical, emotional, or financial. Common signs include bedsores, neglect, physical abuse, medication errors, and malnutrition.

Patient abuse, whether at a person’s home or in a nursing facility, is widespread. The Office for Victims of Crime (OCS) reports that as many as five million elderly individuals are abused in some way every year. While it is emotionally devastating to think someone would treat your loved one this way, these acts can also constitute criminal behavior. They must be investigated, and the wrongdoers must be held accountable.

Whether it happens intentionally, as the result of negligence, or even due to a malicious act, all are forms of nursing home abuse and against the law. If you suspect a loved one is being abused, harmed, or mistreated while living in a nursing home or other care facility, retain the professional services of a Philadelphia nursing home abuse lawyer. Your attorney can confront those responsible in a court of law.

What Are the Common Signs of Nursing Home Abuse?

It can be challenging when you suspect your nursing home patient is suffering abuse at the hands of the facility’s staff or others. There are various common signs, including:

• Unexplained broken bones
• Multiple bruises
• Weight loss
• Reluctance to see visitors
• Signing over homes and other forms of property without warning
• Large unexplained expenditures

As a family member or guardian, you cannot rely on the staff to keep you updated for many reasons, including understaffing, lack of concern, or intimidation by administrators. Many occurrences of nursing home abuse are unreported because the victims may be frightened of their tormentors or be unable to report the incidents.

Categories of Nursing Home Abuse

Overall, abuse tends to fall into five common categories:

Physical Abuse

Nursing home patients may be physically injured as part of their abuse. Hitting, kicking, shoving, excessively restraining, and more are common ways that elders are physically abused. When caregiving staff, fellow patients, or others use intentional force to hurt a nursing home resident, they must be held liable for their actions.

Common symptoms of physical abuse include:

• Bruising or marks on a patient’s wrists and ankles from restraints
• Cuts, bruises, or lacerations with no explanation
• Drug overdoses
• Frequently broken eyeglasses
• Improper administration of medications, such as too little, too much, or the wrong kind

Another sign can be when the facility staff continually prevent or try to prevent family or other visitors from being alone with the resident.

Neglect

Neglect happens when the staff fails to care for your loved one according to their duty as healthcare providers. It can involve physical, emotional, or financial neglect. Neglect can include:

• Failing to provide for the basic needs of food, water, or a safe environment
• Lack of appropriate medical care, including mobility assistance
• Not following the patient’s medication regimen correctly
• Not keeping a resident clean and bathed
• Failing to wash a patient’s clothing regularly and keep their clothes changed as needed
• Ignoring or isolating patients, causing emotional distress
• Removing basic care under the guise of privileges as punishment

Patients may attempt to inform their visitors of this neglect, only to have the staff explain it away as confusion or old age. In reality, your loved one could be missing food or medication. They may also have developed a medical condition due to a lack of proper care. In all these cases, you should speak with reporting agencies about your concerns and contact an experienced nursing home abuse attorney.

Emotional Abuse

Emotional abuse happens when patients are subject to intimidation, mocking, or humiliation. They can also experience verbal abuse or neglect, such as being yelled at or being given the “silent treatment.” These nursing home patients are more likely to be depressed, harm themselves, and may see their physical ailments worsen. It is essential that all nursing home patients be treated with dignity and respect, as well as cared for in a timely and professional manner.

Facility staff may blame or shame residents for incontinence or other behaviors they cannot control. If you notice your loved one seems withdrawn, is constantly agitated, or experiences mood changes, it could be a sign of emotional abuse.

Sexual Abuse

As horrifying as it may seem, some nursing home residents are subject to sexual abuse by staff, visitors, or other patients. While nursing home patients are usually adults and can explore consensual relationships as they see fit, if these actions are forced on them, it is abusive. This is especially true and tragic if the patient is physically unable to defend themselves or mentally unable to give consent.

Financial Abuse

With identity theft on the rise, patients in nursing homes can leave their sensitive information unsecured and not know they have been victims until it is too late. Patients can also be victims of other forms of elder financial abuse, such as being forced to pay for care they don’t need or want, being forced to overpay, and many other dishonest practices.

Patients can be intimidated into handing over money, credit cards, or other financial information to staff members. Indications that your loved one may be suffering financial abuse include unexplained bank withdrawals, unpaid bills, and unusual purchases. In the most extreme cases, an abusive staff member may convince a resident to change their will or power of attorney to include the caretaker.

Why Does Elder Abuse Happen in Nursing Homes?

There are, sadly, many reasons nursing home abuse takes place. These reasons are not excuses but give insight into facility issues. When there are not enough caregivers on staff, neglect can quickly begin to take place as staff gets burned out from being overworked. Forgetting one or two patients may start happening as they try to keep up with their workload.

If the current staff is not supervised properly and patient care is not documented appropriately, abuse can quickly begin and not be noticed. Many people are also just greedy and will try to take advantage of someone they feel is an “easy target.” All of these reasons are deplorable and do not protect the abuser from being held accountable.

Pennsylvania and the U.S. federal government set minimum standards for the care of residents at nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Many of these regulations are promulgated by the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) and are administered through the states. By knowing what is and what is not allowed, patients and their families can develop a clear understanding of which standards are not being met and use that information to establish liability against the nursing home.

What To Do if You Suspect Nursing Home Abuse

If you feel your loved one is being impacted by any form of abuse in their nursing home facility, you are likely worried and want to take action. It’s important to protect the victim first and then begin investigating the situation to determine if your suspicions are right. Instead of waiting and letting things get worse, take these actions to reduce further harm to your family member:

• Remove the patient from the home: If possible, arrange for your loved one to be relocated from the facility. This can get them out of harm’s way until you discover the truth.
• Report your concerns to authorities: You may call local, county, or state law enforcement officers to the facility to investigate. In addition, you can report your concerns to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
• Meet with a Philadelphia nursing home abuse attorney: Schedule a free case review to discuss your concerns with a lawyer who understands the laws governing nursing home mistreatment. They can help you continue the process of determining if harm has occurred and how to handle your case.

Any crime – such as a physical assault or theft of property – should be immediately reported to the authorities. There are also several agencies that regulate nursing homes, including Medicare, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Center of Elder Abuse, and the Pennsylvania Department of Aging.

Filing a Claim for Nursing Home Abuse

Once you have begun investigating potential abuse in a nursing home, you may be confused about how to proceed. Your loved one deserves a safe place and compassionate care, but they also deserve justice for the harm they suffered. With the guidance of an experienced nursing home abuse attorney in Philadelphia, you can determine whether to file an insurance claim or a lawsuit.

Insurance claims may include multiple parties, such as individual caregivers, facility administrators, and parent companies for the nursing home. If a doctor is involved, you may need to file against their medical malpractice insurance. It can be complicated and legally challenging, meaning your lawyer must have a solid background in managing similar cases.

When a case requires a trial, you need a law firm that offers substantial support to ensure your case is prepared properly. They should put together evidence that shows how the abuse occurred, who is responsible, and what your financial demands are. While no amount of money can eliminate your loved one’s abuse, it can make it possible to provide better care and safety.

Damages You Could Secure in a Nursing Home Abuse Claim

Moving to a new facility to make your loved one safe can be expensive. You may need to take time away from work to ensure things are done correctly. Your family member may have developed additional medical conditions that require costly treatments to return them to better health. In addition, their suffering and your worry deserve to be compensated by those at fault.

Whether in an insurance claim or a civil lawsuit, there are many damages you can seek from the liable parties, including:

• Expenses related to finding and relocating your loved one to a new facility
• Compensation for any lost money from Social Security checks, bank accounts, or retirement savings
• Existing and projected medical bills for conditions resulting from or related to the abuse
• Your lost income as you work to secure a new facility for the victim

All these costs come with a price tag and are called economic damages. However, there are many intangible losses your loved one has experienced, and they deserve acknowledgment. These non-economic damages include:

• Anxiety
• Disfigurement or scarring
• Emotional distress
• Mental anguish
• Physical pain and suffering
• Reduced quality of life

Each case is unique, and your attorney will help you calculate the full value of your claim. They will ensure you and your loved one are made whole, and the at-fault parties are brought to justice.

Speak With a Qualified Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Today

Facing the prospect that someone you love is being abused by those you trusted to take care of them can be upsetting. Instead of trying to manage the situation on your own, you must turn to a legal professional who can explain your options and help you handle the complexities of holding all parties accountable.

If you suspect your loved one is showing warning signs of nursing home abuse, speak with the experienced legal professionals at Lopez McHugh LLP today. Time limitations apply to any potential claims, so contact us today.