Nursing Home Abuse

When a family reaches the point where they need to find a place for an elderly family member in a nursing home, it’s a big emotionally charged decision for a number of reasons. Trusting others to love and care for your family is a difficult exercise and it’s often mixed with so many emotions such as guilt and fear. 

The fear typically comes from the level of care they may receive out of the comfort of your home and this is only added to by some of the facilities making headlines for allowing abuse to happen. And tragically, the situation is becoming an epidemic in the United States. 

As experienced attorneys, we’ve handled a variety of nursing home abuse cases over the years, and the cases continue to come in.

Nursing Home Abuse Statistics

Shockingly, statistics suggest as many as 5 million senior citizens are abused each year, with abuse taking many forms including emotional, financial, and more sinister; sexual abuse.

Whilst many nursing homes take great care to legislate and regulate their staff and practices to protect residents, there are a few who fall through the cracks and this can lead to neglect or even worse. As a family member visiting someone, it can be hard to spot when abuse may be happening and even harder to then prove it.

Signs of Nursing Home Abuse

It may be difficult to spot abuse or even gather evidence of it happening to your loved one as it can be discreet or hidden. I’s also likely your family member will feel shame and they may try to hide things from you. Try looking for signs that may include:

• Bruises and cuts with no explanations
• Clothing and bedding that are torn, bloody, or soiled
• Missing or broken personal items
• Unexplained broken bones
• Weight loss or gain that isn’t associated with an illness
• Fear of cowering in the presence of certain caregivers
• Lack of engagement with other residents or generally withdrawn behaviors
• Medications being improperly administered
• Expenses that are unaccounted for

How To Report Suspected Abuse

We’ve previously written about the different ways in which you as a family member can report nursing home abuse here, but we’d always recommend speaking to a dedicated lawyer about any kind of abuse that you feel could be happening. If you fear that your loved one is experiencing nursing home abuse, the first step is to report your concerns to a third party, an attorney, or the manager of the home and start to create a plan of action to help.

Make sure you can provide evidence or have kept a record of your suspicions as these allegations are serious and need to be treated as such.