The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that any action or inaction that fails to adequately meet the basic needs of an elderly resident of a nursing home will rise to the level of elder neglect. If you discover or suspect that your elderly loved one has suffered any kind of nursing home neglect as a resident of a nursing home, you may have the legal right to pursue compensation and justice on their behalf.
Negligence vs. Abuse
Nursing home abuse is the direct infliction of physical, sexual, psychological, or financial harm on a resident of a nursing home. Nursing home negligence differs from nursing home abuse in the sense that it is the lack of action or sheer inaction that causes an elderly resident of a nursing home to suffer in some way. There are many different ways a nursing home can neglect its residents which can result in serious physical, emotional, and financial harm.
Physical Nursing Home Negligence
Examples of physical nursing home negligence include the following:
- Failure to provide proper nutrition and hydration
- Failure to provide basic essentials regarding daily hygiene and care
- Failure to identify, diagnose or address any medical condition
- Failure to assist residents with daily needs such as going to the restroom, repositioning, or eating
- Failure to provide proper medication at correct times
- Failure to provide assistance to residents that need help walking, resulting in a slip and fall injury
- Failure to report any medical, physical, emotional, or financial harm of a resident
Psychological Nursing Home Negligence
Examples of psychological nursing home negligence include the following:
- Failure to allow residents to visit with other residents, family members or friends
- Withholding of food or water as a punishment or incentive to get the resident to act in a certain way
- Threatening, bullying, shaming, manipulating or causing a resident any kind of emotional distress
- Failing to forward phone calls to the resident
- Failing to attend to their basic requests for food, water, or the need to go to the restroom
Warning Signs of Nursing Home Negligence
Research from the National Center for Biotechnology Information indicates that there is a shocking amount of neglect suffered by seniors as resident of nursing homes. Some of the signs to watch for in your elderly loved one that may indicate nursing home negligence can include the following:
- Dehydration
- Malnutrition
- Unexplained infections
- Bedsores
- Weight loss or weight gain
- Unexplained bruises or cuts
- Lack of overall personal hygiene
- Sudden and unexplained changes in emotional state, behavior or personality
- Development of medical complications
- Failure to contact the family when there are serious changes to the physical or emotional condition of the elderly resident
- Failure to forward phone calls or failure to allow family members to see the elderly resident
Contact an Experienced Nursing Home Attorney
If you discover or suspect that your elderly loved one suffered any kind of negligence as a resident of a nursing home or assisted living facility, contact the Dan Pruitt Law Firm to visit with an experienced nursing home attorney and learn how to protect the legal rights of your elderly family member. Contact us online or at (864) 280-7660 today for a free consultation.