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.