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Deciding to place your loved one into a nursing home is not easy. People often take comfort from trusting that they have researched and found the place that will take the best care of their family member. However, sometimes nursing homes betray that trust by intentionally abusing their residents or neglecting to care for them adequately.
If you suspect that your elderly loved one has been a victim of either deliberate or negligent abuse at a senior living facility, a skilled personal injury attorney could help you seek justice. Reach out to a Fort Mill nursing home abuse lawyer as soon as possible to see if they can help your family right the wrong.
Deliberate Elder or Nursing Home Abuse
Nursing home residents may be hesitant to admit that they are experiencing abuse because they are ashamed or may fear retribution from the abuser. That fear may even lead them to be reluctant to let their family members visit.
Another obstacle to confirming intentional abuse is that sometimes the natural progression of aging mimics the signs of abuse. So, unless a family member witnesses a staff member emotionally belittling or outright hitting their loved one, family members have to look for other, more subtle signs that abuse is taking place. Some of the signs that they can look for are the following:
- Behavioral changes, such as exhibiting signs of anger, sadness, agitation, or fear
- Fractures or broken bones
- Bruises or welts that could indicate evidence of being struck
- Cuts, burns, or scratches
- Marks on the wrists and legs that could indicate evidence of excessive physical restraint
- Excessive grogginess that could show signs of unreasonable chemical restraint by over-medicating
A skilled local lawyer could help prove intentional staff abuse by thoroughly investigating and interviewing staff members, residents, and any other eyewitnesses. If appropriate, they would work together with the local police to help bring justice to the injured resident.
Unintentional Negligence
Nursing home residents are inherently vulnerable due to their age and chronic health issues, so inevitably sometimes injuries occur. Still, not all injuries indicate negligence on the part of the staff. Some of the evidence that could suggest that a resident has not received proper care might be the following:
- Excessive falls that result in fractures and head injuries
- Overdose or other medication errors
- Excessive, sudden weight loss
- Dehydration or malnutrition
- Infections from unclean conditions
- Bedsores, which indicate that the staff has not moved the resident
Nursing homes have a duty of care to their residents. As part of that duty, they need to have plans in place to prevent unnecessary injuries and accidents from occurring. Nursing homes need to train and educate their staff on how best to care for their residents. If nursing home staff members act below the industry standard in the level of care that they provide, their actions could be negligent.
An experienced attorney could help by interviewing the residents, staff, and directors of the nursing home. They could also review the nursing home’s manuals to see if the nursing home had a defined plan for training their staff and could check to see if the home followed that plan.
Contact a Fort Mill Personal Injury Attorney Today
When you placed your family member into the care of the nursing home, you trusted that your loved one would receive proper care. If you believe that the nursing home breached that trust either deliberately or negligently, you may be entitled to collect damages from them to compensate your family for the injuries that your loved one suffered. Reach out to a Fort Mill nursing home lawyer as soon as possible to begin the healing process.