Throughout America, the number of nursing home negligence stories continues to rise at an alarming rate. Unfortunately for those involved, the outcome can sometimes be fatal. There have been numerous accounts of patients suffering at the hands of a negligent staff that are underpaid and overworked. Thousands of seniors suffer injury and death each year from preventable causes like infected bedsores, dehydration, malnutrition, and deficient care.

An 84-year-old Kentucky farmer had spent his last days confined to a bed and living in intense pain. It was found out that a bowel impaction that had been neglected for several days was the cause of his fatal heart attack. The morning of his death, the patient had been screaming for a doctor who never showed up. The family of the deceased found out about the cause of his death from an employee who had worked at the facility. From there, the family decided to seek legal action and consulted a nursing home negligence attorney. At the ensuing trial, the jury returned a million verdict against the nursing home for a death caused by negligence of the nursing home facility.

A bedridden elderly woman in a Florida facility had developed pressure sores on her leg, which were caused from being malnourished and dehydrated. Sores had developed due to her not being moved enough by the staff while she was in bed. The wounds had become severely infected and amputation of the leg had become a sad reality. Her son sued the nursing home with the help of a nursing home negligence attorney and a settlement was reached. The decision was made to move her to another facility where the care would be better.

At the facility, the elderly woman had broken her right ankle. The son suspected that the broken ankle could have been the result of improper handling, when they moved his mother into the home. The broken ankle never healed, and with time, a sore developed and became infected. There was a second decision to amputate her remaining leg. The son also decided to pursue legal action against the home and consulted with a nursing home negligence attorney. The nursing home is contesting the complaint and is denying any culpability.

Many elderly residents spend the end of their lives in assisted living facilities. These facilities are highly regulated, but the government doesn’t have the resources to monitor homes for negligence. It is often up to the friends and family to report signs of negligence to a nursing home negligence attorney. They have the experience to handle a full range of nursing home negligence cases. If you are concerned about how a loved one is being treated there, contact a nursing home negligence attorney as soon as possible.

Most people are not thrilled with the prospect of putting an elderly loved one in a nursing home. However, for many families nursing homes are the best option to provide long-term care for a parent, grandparent or other aging family member. When people finally make the decision to place a person into a nursing home’s care, they trust that the facility and the medical personnel employed there will provide loving, attentive care. Unfortunately, this is not always the case and many nursing home residents fall victim to abuse or neglect. In fact, it has been reported that 30% of the approximate 17,000 nursing homes across the country have received violations that could harm residents.

If you have a loved one being cared for in a nursing home environment, it is important to watch for any signs of abuse or neglect rather than assume that person will report any wrongdoing because residents may be:

· Unable to report wrongdoing due to medications or diminishing mental capacity

· Unwilling to report wrongdoing because of fear of consequences

· Unaware of any wrongdoing

Types of Misconduct

Because nursing home residents are basically at the “mercy” of the staff and medical personnel, they can easily fall victim to:

· Physical abuse

· Mental abuse

· Neglect

· Isolation

Physical Abuse

Physical abuse includes:

· Broken bones, sprains or black eyes

· Bruises, cuts, welts, scratches or burns

· Hair loss

· Internal or external bleeding

· Fear or anxiety with staff members or other residents

· Physical restraints on beds and wheelchairs (not doctor approved)

· Drooling, lethargy, dry/cracked lips

· Death

Physical abuse may also be in conjunction with sexual abuse.

Mental Abuse

Mental abuse includes:

Fear or nervousness
Anxiety or anger
Depression
Confusion
Withdrawal
Isolation
Insulting comments

Neglect

Signs of nursing home neglect include:

Bedsores anywhere on the body
Unexplained weight loss
Depression
Lack of general hygiene
Unsupervised wandering residents
Dirty clothing or unkempt appearance
Bruising or fractures due to falls

Isolation

Any nursing home refusal for communication with your loved one should raise a red flag. Signs of isolation could include:

Family members and loved ones not permitted to visit with the resident in private
Restriction of visitors, phone calls and mail for residents
Staff members speaking for the resident, rather than letting the resident communicate directly

Nursing home abuse and neglect can lead to wrongful death or catastrophic injury. If you feel that a loved one has suffered abuse or neglect in a nursing home setting, know that nursing home residents have basic rights that are protected by Federal and state statutes. An experienced attorney can help you take legal action against the facility or medical personnel and help to ensure the abuse does not continue in the future.

Please contact the experienced nursing home neglect attorneys of Snyder & Wenner, P.C. in Phoenix, Arizona who can answer your questions, help protect your loved one and get you the compensation you deserve.

People are paying a bundle to keep a loved one in a nursing home these days. The average cost of an annual stay at a facility is ,000 for a private room in the United States. What is appalling is that this estimate doesn’t reflect the care and attention that patients deserve when submitted to these facilities. One of the reasons for this rise in substandard care is under-staffing. And Facilities that are understaffed usually have patients that suffer from abuse and negligence.

The majority of homes in the US are for-profit enterprises, usually operating with too few staff assigned to too many patients. The Department of Health and Human Services estimate that over 90 percent of nursing homes operating in the United States do not have enough staff to provide proper care. Staff also tends to be overworked and underpaid, which leads to a high turnover rate at most facilities. Replacement rates at some nursing homes approach 100 percent annually. With new staff coming and going, it is easy to see how a patient’s particular needs might not receive the special care that they deserve.

Over several decades, Washington has tried to pass legislation to force the nursing home industry to provide better care. Unfortunately for victims of abuse and negligence, legislators are not trying hard enough. Ultimately it is up to the families and friends of the patient to bring about real change. One step you can take to prevent abuse is visiting your loved one often. If a patient doesn’t receive a lot of visitors, staff forgets that the patients are real people. Another step you can take if you suspect abuse is to talk to a nursing home negligence attorney.

If you suspect that a loved one is suffering from abuse and negligence, you should talk to a nursing home negligence attorney immediately. An attorney will examine the circumstances involving your claim, and proceed to take legal action against the guilty nursing home. Nursing home negligence attorneys will also represent your loved one in court, make sure the elderly patient is removed to a better facility, and ensure that the patient of abuse gets compensation that can help them get the treatment and help they may need.

An experienced nursing home negligence attorney will also set up a free, no obligation consultation to explain what they can do immediately to help. Many serious health problems and fatalities have resulted from instances of nursing home abuse. Contacting a nursing home abuse lawyer will prevent future incidents of abuse to the said patient. It is imperative that you contact a nursing home abuse lawyer, because the law limits the amount of time after a patient incurs an injury to file suit.

 

Nursing home abuse happens on a daily basis, even in the smallest and friendliest of Texas towns. Those to whom we entrust our loved ones’ health often take advantage of their positions as nursing home nurses, aides, or caretakers. Our own family members may be facing mistreatment, abuse, or degradation — but we don’t have to sit back and wait for bad news.

If you suspect a nursing home or other elder care facility is not caring for your loved one properly, you have anti-abuse laws on your side. The trick may lie in discovering signs of abuse, pinpointing their causes, and proving that mistreatment occurred.

Signs of Abuse

Nursing home abuse can range from verbal abuse to physical abuse and neglect. Here, the lines may seem fuzzy for residents and family members, especially if there are no physical signs of harm.

Here are just a few of the common signs of abuse or neglect:

· Bruises, cuts, scrapes, welts, and chaffing

· Broken bones, cracked ribs, and other physical injuries

· Bedsores

· Depression and attitude changes

· Weight loss

· Refusal to take visitors

· Shyness or withdrawn behavior, lack of social interaction, and lack of enthusiasm

· Medication errors

· Unsanitary conditions or poor personal hygiene

· Infections

· Dehydration or nutritional deficits

· Unexplained sedation or medical procedures performed without consent

Our elderly deserve better

The in-depth investigational tactics needed to uncover and show abuse are very difficult to maneuver and put into play. An experienced Texas nursing home negligence attorney can spearhead a full investigation and put the facility in the spotlight. If abuse is happening to your loved one, scrutiny from a legal team can help make sure the abuse stops. In many cases, facilities are shut down, especially when management and owners are found to have played a part in or had knowledge that abuse was happening.

Take a stand against abuse

Family members may feel helpless against institution abuse. For one thing, you may never actually see the abuse happening. Your family member may be evasive and downplay any signs of abuse, most likely as a result of embarrassment or not wanting to become a burden. You may get the run-around from staff members and feel that an investigation is impossible with no real proof.

Find an attorney right away

Time is of the essence in nursing home abuse cases. You never know how much danger your loved one is behind closed doors, or how many other residents may be subjected to unfair and indecent treatment. When choosing an attorney team to investigate your suspicions, make sure you choose a Texas attorney who has a solid record of holding facilities accountable.

Did you know that about 30% of nursing homes in the U.S. have been cited for abuse, yet they continue to operate? The real numbers on abuse are unknown, because most goes unreported. Nursing home neglect is a form of abuse, which often goes unnoticed, but can turn deadly. We entrust our loved ones to nursing homes believing they will be safe and well cared for. Learning to recognize the signs of abuse can save the life of someone you love.

What is abuse?

Nursing home abuse includes:

· Neglect

· Physical abuse

· Mental/emotional abuse

· Sexual abuse

The signs can be difficult to spot because they are often hard to distinguish from the normal effects of aging, but careful vigilance is necessary to protect those we love.

Signs of Neglect

Weight loss, diminished appetite, becoming less active, and even falls and easy bruising are normal parts of aging, but neglect can accelerate all of these problems and lead to an early death. Signs of neglect include:

· Malnutrition

· Dehydration

· Weight loss

· Clothes becoming too large

· Dirty bedding

· Dirty clothes

· Poor hygiene

· Bed sores

· Infections

· Sunburn

· Unexplained bruises and/or injuries

Signs of Physical Abuse

Unfortunately, physical abuse of nursing home residents is not uncommon. Victims are often afraid to complain about abuse, since they have been threatened with even worse reprisals, and some are incapable of voicing their concerns. Warning signs include:

· Open wounds

· Bruises

· Bruises or abrasions caused by restraints

· Unreasonable sedation

· Withdrawal

· Confusion and dementia

· Sudden rude behavior toward family members and friends

· Unusual behaviors such as sucking, biting, or rocking

Signs of mental or emotional abuse

With no visible physical injuries, mental/emotional abuse can be more difficult to spot, but it is no less dangerous, and can make life a living hell for nursing home residents. Victims are often told and convinced that if they report this kind of abuse they will be putting themselves or their loved ones in danger. Signs include:

· Erratic behavior

· Irrational fear

· Agitation

· Depression

· Withdrawal

· Confusion and dementia

· Loss of appetite

· Refusal to socialize or participate in activities

· Unexplained enforced isolation

· Refusal to respond toward family members and friends

· Unusual behaviors such a sucking, biting, or rocking

· Sudden, unexplained decline in health

Signs of sexual abuse

Though most of us find it hard to imagine, sexual abuse is a very real problem in nursing homes. The abuse is perpetrated either by the workers at the nursing home or other tenants. Victims are often unable or too ashamed to report sexual abuse. Signs to look out for include:

· Unexplained genital infections

· Unexplained genital or anal irritation or injury

· Unexplained difficulty walking or sitting

· Bruises and/or thumbprints around the breasts, buttocks, inner thighs, or genital area

· Rope burns on wrists or ankles

· Torn, stained, or bloody underclothing

· Stained or bloody sheets

· Fear, anxiety, or combativeness when a specific staff member attempts to help with bathing, dressing, or toileting

If you believe that a loved one is being abused in a nursing home, it is best to act fast. Move them to a new facility right away and contact an experienced nursing home abuse attorney today.