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10 Apr Off
Placing your loved one in a nursing home is not an easy decision. You take this tough decision to give our aging loved ones proper attention and care. One of the most important things that you should never need to fear is elder abuse in a nursing home. It is distressing for a family to hear that their loved one is injured or killed in a place to which they completely trust. If such a situation occurs, you must have a Nursing Home Attorney at your side who is aware of how to hold the careless nursing home accountable.
Elder Abuse means any type of abuse which is faced by an aged or elderly person. This is categorized into various types and each one can have life-changing effects on those who face them. This includes anxiety, fear, broken bones and in some situations death as well.
Types of Elder Abuse
The common types of Elder Abuse experienced in nursing homes are:
Physical Abuse
It is any non-incidental use of power against an elderly individual which leads to pain, injury, death or impairment. This type of abuse is often easy to detect. In order to avoid this, agent under Medical Power of attorney or HIPAA authorized individual must visit the office at regular intervals and get the detailed medical reports from the physician.
Examples of physical abuse: assault and battery, making use of force to support the patients, unnecessary use of confinement or restraints, dropping patients, knocking or shoving a patient down, pulling hair, biting, hitting, breaking bones, inappropriate use of drugs or any act of violence that is directed towards the elderly person and results in physical harm.
Nursing home injuries from physical abuse are:
- Bruises
- Burns
- Choking
- Sprains
- Marks
- Overdoses
- Broken bones
- Bleeding
- Welts
Psychological Abuse
This abuse is very difficult to identify as the residents of a nursing home hardly discuss it. Besides, it is more common when compared with physical abuse and can be executed by fellow or staff residents. It incorporates any psychological or emotional pain that is perpetrated by a guardian or fellow resident.
The psychological abuses are:
- Intimidating or threatening residents
- Teasing or humiliating patients
- Blaming or make the elderly person feel guilty for the required care
- Menacing or threatening so they fear for their safety
- Verbal abuse such as profanity
- Isolating the elderly individual from friends and activities or ignoring them
Medical Negligence or Neglect
This is the effect of unqualified and overcrowded facilities. The outcomes of neglect can be similar as physical abuse but are more difficult to detect.
The medical negligence or neglect is described as:
- Lack of care for medical conditions-bedsores, failure to change incontinence apparel
- Failure to provide medication on time
- Failure to aid or monitor elderly person with nutrition
- Lengthy periods without supervision
- Failure to direct the patient care with all the providers to assure continuity
- Medicating with antipsychotic drugs not prescribed by the physician.
Financial Abuse
Elderly person who suffers from dementia or lost mental capacity are particularly vulnerable to this type of abuse. It includes theft of money or property of elderly person (happens often). Some of the signs that your loved one might by a victim would be loss of cash or possessions, changes in their financial situation, changes in their Will or other essential documents, additional names on financial institutions, significant amount of withdrawal from their accounts and making infrequent purchases on their credit card.
Get Help from a Nursing Home Attorney
If you suspect that your loved one is a victim of any of the above elder abuse you can consult with me. As a Nursing Home Attorney, our team has years of experience representing the victims of abuse and neglect. We are always ready to fight for you so that your family can take the time to heal. You can immediately contact me to schedule an initial consultation and learn how I can help your loved one.
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