Nursing Home Negligence
Brian O Sutter
Personal Injury
Did you know that approximately one out of ten senior citizens is likely to experience some sort of negligence during their stay in a nursing home? This statistic is astounding and rather scary. If you have a loved one staying in a nursing home, you should be on the lookout for some particular signs that there is negligence occurring.
Emotional And Social Negligence
When seniors are repeatedly ignored, it begins to become neglect. The whole point of having your senior family member in a nursing home is having someone there to take care of them and interact with them on a regular basis. When that is not happening, certain signs may start to appear indicating that neglect is happening.
- Reclusive behaviors
- Uncharacteristic changes in behavior or actions
- Low self esteem and morale
- Changes in eating and sleeping patterns
- Fear of speaking the truth
- They may even tell you that they are being mistreated
Any one of these signs is enough to start asking more questions. Emotional and social neglect leaves no marks, so the evidence is harder to collect. But it is definitely still there. Knowing what to look for helps, and also having another set of eyes on the situation can be a big help as well.
Personal Hygiene Neglect
Some seniors need to be cared for in the area of personal hygiene. Poor personal hygiene can lead to infections and conditions that need more medication. Evidence of neglect can include:
- Dirty clothing
- Uncleaned wounds
- Lack of bathing
- Soiled bedding and linens
- Unchanged diapers
Sometimes seniors feel like they are being a burden if they ask for help. This is not an excuse for the staff to ignore your family member. Document any evidence that you see so it can be brought to attention of the nursing home staff and administration.
Medical Neglect
Nursing home residents often have medical conditions that need to be dealt with regularly. Allergies, asthma, medication dispensed properly, and mobility concerns are all things that are dealt with on a regular basis. If your senior is dealing with any of these, make sure that there is a set schedule for their care and be on the same page with the staff. If regular care isn’t happening, it’s time to get some legal help.
Basic Needs
Basic needs are just that. Anything that a person needs to survive should be met during their stay in a nursing home. If food or water is not being provided, this is a basic need that is not being met. Malnutrition, dehydration and dangerous living conditions are some of the things that you might see if the basic needs of the residents is not being met. Take a look around the nursing home to see the condition of all the residents who are staying there. Do they all look like they are malnourished? Are they all having low morale? If the answer is yes, then something is going on with the facility.
Sometimes the seniors living in assisted care can’t speak up for themselves. It is up to you to be their eyes and ears. Even though you can’t be there every minute of the day, you know your family members the best and will be able to tell if something is not adding up. If you think that there is neglect going on, it is time to get some legal help. All Injuries Law Firm has the experience you need to get your family some help. Don’t let the abuse and neglect continue for one second longer.