Watching an elderly family member’s health decline is heartbreaking. When it becomes too hard to provide your loved ones with the care they need, they may need nursing home care. Moving a loved one to an assisted living facility is never easy. However, many people take comfort in knowing their loved ones will receive quality care from trusted professionals.
Unfortunately, nursing home staff members sometimes break that trust by harming their residents through intentional abuse or unintentional neglect. If your loved one suffered injuries at the hands of nursing home staff, they deserve justice. A skilled Elsmere nursing home abuse lawyer could help you and your family pursue a personal injury claim for the harm a facility caused.
Why Does Abuse Occur in Elsmere Nursing Homes?
Every nursing home resident deserves competent medical care. Unfortunately, many retirement homes are understaffed. Therefore, employees often need to care for several residents simultaneously, leading to careless mistakes. Similarly, overworked employees might neglect residents due to exhaustion. Employees who work long hours without regular breaks may also become angry and take their frustration out on physically or emotionally fragile residents.
Nursing homes should hire efficient and caring employees. However, nursing homes sometimes hire unqualified workers to staff their facilities. For example, if a retirement home neglects to check a potential employee’s background and work history, they may unknowingly hire someone with a criminal record. Likewise, if management does not take the time to train their workers, their employees might make mistakes, which could be detrimental to residents.
A seasoned local attorney could evaluate employee records and training manuals to identify the reason behind nursing home negligence. A legal representative might also review hiring policies to see if a facility acted ethically when employing new staff members.
Examples of Nursing Home Abuse or Neglect
Different forms of neglect can take place in assisted living environments. Typical forms of nursing home abuse include the following:
- Sexual abuse
- Financial exploitation
- Dehydration or malnutrition
- Physical and emotional abuse
- Injuries from falling – Care centers should create clear fall prevention plans.
- Bedsores from being in the same position for too long – Staff members must change a patient’s position regularly to prevent pressure ulcers from forming.
- Medication errors – Staff members could inadvertently give residents the wrong prescription or dosage or neglect to give them their medicine on time.
It is not always easy to identify nursing home abuse. Often, residents cannot speak up to defend themselves or remember who mistreated them. Families should look out for indications of mistreatment, including sudden changes in their loved one’s behavior, physical changes, unexplained bruising, or weight loss or gain. If an elderly family member acts agitated or afraid, especially if a particular staff member is present, it may indicate neglect.
A dedicated attorney in Elsmere could help a family learn more about the signs of abuse and identify if a loved one’s injuries are related to nursing home neglect.
Work with an Elsmere Nursing Home Abuse Attorney
Your loved one deserves respect and quality care from kind and competent staff. You should not have to worry that your family member is being neglected, mistreated, or abused. However, nursing home residents are vulnerable and often unable to protect themselves.
If you suspect that your loved one is being mistreated, you should consult with an Elsmere nursing home abuse lawyer. A legal team member could advocate for the results you and your family deserve. Call the office today.
