How to Prove Elder Abuse
Medical Malpractice in Long-Term Care - Elder Abuse
There comes a time in our lives when it’s necessary to put a loved one into a nursing home. The last thing a person wants to think about is nursing home abuse when making this decision. However, it has become a real problem in our world today. There are several different kinds of abuse: emotional, financial, physical, sexual, neglect, and abandonment.
The Quality of Care laws in each state are sometimes ignored. Mistreatment of helpless dependant elders is unacceptable and is only recognized and stopped when brought to the attention of administration and families. Since 2009, the Federal Appeals Court held that violating the rights of nursing home residents is a federal civil rights issue that warrants the victims and their families to receive damages. In some states, nursing home abuse is a form of medical malpractice and may be a consideration in a wrongful death case.
A nurse's aide is required to go through a training program in most states and become certified to learn how to care for the elderly. However, in cases of abuse, both nurses and aides aren’t taking that training and applying it to the patients.
Negligence and abuse can always be prevented and nursing home staff needs to communicate when there are signs of abuse on residents. Staff is trained to take care of the elderly but may be overwhelmed with understaffing and end up neglecting the patients.
Administration can do more to ensure employees don’t have a history of violence by conducting annual background checks. Most nursing homes will conduct an initial background check and drug screening, but what about after they’re hired? Employees' personal lives can change over the years and their employers should be checking on that randomly.
Some nursing home residents can’t get visits from family often because of location or schedule and they end up isolated if staff doesn’t take them out of their rooms. Some residents are left in their rooms for days, weeks, years and they never leave until they die. Residents are usually scared to report abuse in fear of retribution when their families leave. Most injuries are often due to bedsores, dehydration, falls, malnutrition, overuse of sedatives, or unnecessary use of restraints.
For example, a bed bound patient should be checked and turned on each side every two hours. If they don’t turn the patient every two hours, bed sores will develop and can lead to an infection. Patients that are incontinent need to be changed often throughout the day or will develop a rash and/or infection. Since the elderly have a low immune system already, an infection can be life threatening.
Be an advocate for nursing home abuse. Know warning signs of abuse such as bruises, pain without bruising, falls, frequent incontinence when normally they use the bathroom with assistance, drowsiness, sadness, depression, scared and jumpy, no reaction to pain, burns, cuts, or any other visible signs. Don’t be afraid to ask the resident if they had any inappropriate interactions with the staff at the nursing home. Some will be afraid to talk, while others are just waiting, praying, and wishing for someone to ask them what is wrong.
When you find out the truth, report it to the administration and the state agencies involved and follow-up regularly to ensure they handle it correctly. Contact a lawyer who handles nursing home abuse and medical malpractice. Don’t let nursing homes get away with abusing our elders.