Forms of Nursing Home Neglect & Abuse

Nursing home neglect and abuse can take many forms, all of which can be devastating to an elder’s health and wellbeing. When harm is suffered but there was no intent to cause harm or injury, it is nursing home neglect, which is often seen in forms of medical malpractice. When harm is intentionally inflicted, it is nursing home abuse.

Understanding Nursing Home Abuse

Nursing home abuse can be categorized into different types and subsets, like:

• Physical: Inflicting physical harm by hitting, pushing, slapping, tripping, or otherwise attacking an elderly resident is entirely inexcusable.
• Sexual: Elders with dementia are especially vulnerable to sexual assault in a nursing home because they often cannot communicate, or they might be physically disabled.
• Emotional: Acts like insulting, belittling, or taunting an elder can constitute emotional abuse.
• Social: An elder can be socially abused by being isolated or kept from activities with other residents for no justifiable reason.
• Financial: Stealing from or exploiting an elder for monetary gain is financial abuse, a crime that is commonly carried out by other residents or even visiting family members.9*

Dangerous Forms of Nursing Home Neglect

Nursing home neglect can lead to:

• Prescription errors: Giving an elderly resident the wrong medicine or forgetting to give them a dose can be dangerous and cause unpredictable side effects.
• Malnourishment: Missed meals can quickly lead to dangerous malnourishment and dehydration in elders. Even when an elder is refusing to eat and drink, nursing home staff need to find ways to ensure they are well-nourished.
• Elopement: Dementia patients often walk around aimlessly, which is called eloping. Caretakers must keep track of eloping residents and prevent them from getting lost or leaving the living center.
• Bedsores: Elderly patients with low mobility must be repositioned in bed frequently to prevent bedsores from forming.

Signs of Nursing Home Neglect & Abuse

Nursing home residents are often unable or unwilling to report negligent or abusive caregivers. If you currently have a family member in a nursing home or assisted-living facility, or who receives at-home care from a medical professional, you might be the only person who can notice that something is wrong and take action.

Recognizable signs of neglect and abuse can include:

• Bedsores or infections
• Behavior changes
• Weakness due to malnutrition
• Dramatic weight loss
• Unexplained injuries
• Unsanitary conditions
• Missing finances
• Fear of certain people

Turn to Golomb & Honik, P.C. for Immediate Help

Nursing home abuse is entirely preventable. Hiring and training better staff members, maintaining facilities regularly, and completing routine resident happiness surveys are all easy ways for nursing homes and assisted-living centers to prevent nursing home abuse and neglect. Yet many places will not take these steps when needed, and harmful living conditions become the norm.

Our Philadelphia nursing home abuse attorneys are ready and waiting to help you protect your loved one from further abuses. We are adamant about taking care of the people in our community by providing excellent legal counsel.