Nursing home abuse is one of the most egregious forms of medical malpractice that our society inflicts within the medical community. While no one wants to place their loved one in a nursing home, should the time arrive when we have no choice we are entrusting caretakers with the charge of our mothers, fathers, grandparents, and beloved relatives and friends. Abuse is an atrocious disappointment as well as difficult to discern.
One of the most common forms of abuse is overmedicating or the dispensing of medication that is not necessary. This is equally as indicative of neglect, as it prevents residents from being too vocal or needy as their medication prevents them from frequent interaction. This form of abuse can also be utilized to keep a resident that is the victim of another form of nursing home abuse from speaking out against it. A sudden disassociation in itself warns of abuse or neglect. A disassociation accompanied by bruises or other injury should be reported as medical malpractice both to the authorities and to a lawyer.
Neglect can be difficult to detect in residents that have frequent visitors. Often those with few visitors are the most likely victims of neglect as there is no one to report the medical malpractice to the appropriate authorities or an attorney.
If you are a frequent visitor to the nursing home, take notice of those who don't seem to get visitors and occasionally include them in your visits. You will notice if the conditions they live in are unsanitary, if they are losing weight, if they seem to have a chronic but treatable injury or wound, or if they are perpetually in bed and in the same position. These are signs of chronic neglect, and report this medical malpractice to both the authorities as well as a competent lawyer. You are not only assisting a forgotten soul, but protecting your loved one as well.
Physical abuse and neglect are not the only forms of abuse. Verbal nursing home abuse is equally atrocious as slapping and restraining. A resident with sudden symptoms of extreme distress, withdrawal, sensitivity, fear, and extremely out of character reactions to family and beloved visitors may very well be victims of verbal abuse. A nursing home abuse lawyer and the proper authorities should be notified immediately and an investigation should be launched.
It is not necessary to have concrete evidence of abuse or neglect to file a medical malpractice complaint with the state's appropriate authorities and a nursing home abuse lawyer. If you just have a gnawing suspicion of abuse and can report changes in behavior that go unexplained, erring on the side of caution is always in the resident's best interest.
Nursing home abuse is a tragic sin against the elderly. It is even more tragic when a victim of abuse or neglect finds the courage to speak up and there is no one there to help them. Often claims of abuse or neglect are easy for them to deny for the simple matter that the elderly are more likely to lose some of their mental capacity.
Abuse and neglect as well as outright medical malpractice often go unreported by staff members the elderly choose to confide in. This is due to the staff member's fear that the entire nursing home will lose credibility and the innocent employees will find themselves out of a job and facing legal trouble.
Innocent employees in doubt should contact a reputable lawyer to discuss the situation in complete detail, as the lawyer can advise an innocent employee how to most effectively handle the abuse, neglect, or the medical malpractice occurrences. It takes a great deal of courage for an innocent employee to seek out the advice of a lawyer and follow through on their direction.
Residents are more likely to report abuse, neglect, or medical malpractice to an employee they like and trust, and their faith is then placed in that individual to help resolve the situation. Too often the innocent employee is willing to sweep the report under the rug. An employee at a facility that is charged with this information becomes equally as culpable as the individual who perpetrated the abuse, neglect, or the case of medical malpractice.
Covering up incidents only leads to more incidents of abuse, neglect, or medical malpractice. Every incident after the initial incident reported becomes equal responsibility of the staff member who did nothing about the initial report of abuse, neglect, or medical malpractice. A competent attorney can explain the intricacies of the law relating to covering up and failing to report abuse cases.
If there is a question to the mental capacity of the residents making the report of the abuse, neglect, or medical malpractice, it is still suitable and advisable to seek the council of a competent nursing home abuse lawyer. Whether a resident makes a habit of reporting abuse that doesn't exist or is expressing a legitimate concern, the nursing home employee is legally obligated to report it.
Nobody wants to make waves or toss our unfounded accusations at good and caring colleagues. However, residents of a nursing home have so little power, and almost no voice. Their need for safety and security outweighs an uncomfortable moment experienced by reporting abuse, neglect, or obvious medical malpractice.