
Elder Law Lawyer
Realizing that your senior loved one is being mistreated while living in a nursing home can be difficult to think about. After all, imagining someone we care about being abused at the hands of people who are supposed to take care of them can be bewildering. Sometimes the most vulnerable people get taken advantage of the most, and the senior population in particular is at risk for mental, physical, financial, and sexual abuse. As someone who may have placed their senior relative in a nursing home facility, part of your responsibility is overseeing their care to make sure that no incidents of neglect, abuse, or mistreatment is happening. And if you do notice that something is not right, you can intervene right away so that no further incidents occur and your loved one is transferred somewhere safe.
Physical Abuse
When a nursing home resident endures physical pain, impairments, or injury due to mistreatment, this is considered an instance of physical abuse. Such abuse is one of the more common forms of mistreatment that happens in nursing home facilities, and why many people consult with a legal team, such as Carpenter & Lewis PLLC, for help safely removing their loved one from a harmful situation. Compared to other forms of abuse, physicality is a very dangerous element because it can cause life-threatening injuries and have long-lasting impacts on the person’s self esteem and mental health.
Emotional Abuse
Mental abuse, also referred to as psychological abuse, is another common form of mistreatment inflicted on senior people that reside in nursing homes. Unlike physical abuse, which can leave behind visible evidence on the victim, mental abuse can be tricky to identify and frequently goes unnoticed. But the consequences of mental abuse can be severe, so if you suspect that your relative is a victim, you will need to consider taking legal action against the offender and nursing home facility. You also must safely remove your relative so that further incidents do not happen to them.
Neglect and Abandonment
Anytime that a senior resident with mobility issues is left for long periods of time by themselves is considered neglect. As an elder law lawyer explains, other examples of neglect are when a doctor or nurse is needed but a resident receives no response, caregivers do not change the bed or clothing of the resident regularly, caregivers fail to assist the resident with bath and dental hygiene, and caregivers fail to provide enough water, food, or medication. If a nursing home facility fails to offer required care or removes the senior resident from the home without ensuring their continued care is seen as committing abandonment.
If you have noticed signs that something is not quite right with your loved one’s care in a nursing home, now is the time to take action for their protection. Physical abuse and emotional abuse, in addition to neglect or abandonment, is never okay or acceptable. Family members of an elderly person must watch out for signs of mistreatment in the nursing home, so they can take immediate steps to protect them from further harm, while also holding the offender accountable for their actions.