What Are the Legal Remedies Available to Different Nursing Home Abuses?
As individuals grow older, their requirements for personalized care increase significantly to ensure they maintain a high quality of life, adapting to their changing needs and preferences. This also applies to those requiring personalized care. In either of the two situations, nursing homes are always the preferred destination. Despite a high care duty expected of nursing homes for residents in their care, there are still incidents of abuse.
Neglect, emotional abuse, and financial exploitation are some of the challenges faced by residents. In this article, we discuss some of these abuses and how they present themselves. We also outline some legal remedies that can be explored if your loved ones fall victim to nursing home abuse.
Neglect of Residents
Nursing homes are required by law to ensure the highest-quality form of care is provided to every resident in their care. This includes the provision of quality food and water, adequate shelter and clothing, and ensuring the overall hygiene of residents. Anything short of these standards amounts to neglect and can have damaging effects.
Also, neglect could happen when caregivers leave residents unattended for a long period despite continuous cries for help.
Physical Abuse of Residents
While in a nursing home, residents can suffer physical harm from frustrated care staff. This can happen while caring for them, providing medications, or feeding them. It is also not uncommon to have other residents physically abuse their fellow residents.
“A good way to identify physical abuse in a nursing home is by checking for bruises, cuts, swollen body parts, or bedsores,” says attorney Sean Duffy of Duffy & Duffy, PLLC.
Sexual Harassment of Residents
Considering how vulnerable residents are, they can be prone to sexual abuse by care staff or other residents in a nursing home. Aside from sexual abuse, sexual assault is also possible. One way to identify abuse or assault is if the resident is diagnosed with sexually transmitted diseases that were absent before coming to the nursing home.
General injuries and unwanted fondling or groping are also signs of sexual harassment.
Emotional Abuse of Residents
Verbal or emotional abuse by care staff or other residents can also occur in a nursing home. Signs of emotional abuse can range from depression, anxiety, and isolation to withdrawal from activities. Constant threats, intimidation, and manipulation of residents can cause emotional abuse.
Financial Exploitation of Residents
Financial exploitation happens when the vulnerable state of residents is taken advantage of to gain financial benefits from them. This can take the form of stealing their money or valuable properties, or even misusing them. Trying to gain access to their credit cards and financial statements can also amount to financial exploitation.
The common signs that a resident is being financially exploited include unauthorized access and withdrawals from their bank, alteration of wills, or changes in account balances.
Legal Remedies You Can Explore for Nursing Home Abuses
When you suspect any of the nursing home abuses that have been discussed above, it is always ideal to immediately swing into action. The first step is to immediately speak to the appropriate authorities about it and file a report detailing what your suspicions are and why you think so. Here, you are to state the signs your loved one is showing that are different from how they used to be before being registered into the care home.
Considering that you do not always expect the nursing homes to agree to neglect because of the legal impact it can have on them, you may need help. By contacting a nursing home abuse attorney, your suspicions can be investigated. When, upon careful investigation, it is possible to prove that there is abuse, you can initiate a claim against the nursing home, the particular employee, or both.
Conclusion
A nursing home is a very delicate place because of the nature of the people there. As such, abuse should not be condoned at any time. Always pay attention to your loved one for any unusual signs and immediately report them. Also, to ensure your claims are properly investigated and you get adequate legal representation through it, speaking to an attorney in New York is recommended.
