Ways to Tell if a Loved One is Being Neglected in a Nursing Home

Nursing home and neglect cases have a unique aspect which makes them different from other types of personal injury cases. They are shrouded in secrecy, and often, the abuse and neglect is happening away from the outside world.

Families who come to visit loved ones don’t visibly see their loved one getting abused and neglected. Many physical signs of abuse or neglect, may be hidden under clothing or bedsheets. And many residents may be too ill or infirm, to even communicate whether they are being abused and neglected.

So when a nursing home patient is injured, or worse, dies, as an abuse of nursing home abuse or neglect, families are often shocked. And that begs the question of how you really ever know, how your loved one is being mistreated inside that nursing home.

Looking for Physical Signs

Physical signs of abuse are the best evidence of abuse or neglect, but are often overlooked, or missed, by loved ones. There are a few reasons why this happens.

One reason is that we often don’t look under covers, or under clothing, nor do we investigate our loved ones’ arms or legs, for signs of bruising or injury. And even if we do, and we find something, we often assume that it’s just from bumping into something or some other innocent event.

But physical signs should always be documented. That bruise or cut you see today, may not be there later, so take a picture of it and document it; you just never know when a seemingly small injury could mushroom into something much more serious.

Looking at Records

You can look at your loved ones’ medical records. No, they aren’t going to outright say that someone was abused. But what they don’t have or say, may be indicative of injury or neglect.

Do they say how often a patient’s bedpan was changed? Whether he or she was moved? Do they mention that the patient was found wandering? These subtle hints may be contained in your loved ones’ medical records.

Physical Surroundings

There’s an old saying “where there’s smoke there’s fire.” That’s also true with nursing homes.

If the facility itself looks dirty, unkept, disorganized, or unsanitary, there’s a chance that the residents may be treated that way as well.

That’s not absolute proof of neglect or abuse of course, but if you suspect something is amiss, look at the surroundings—if they appear dirty or unkept, there’s a chance that the residents in the facility may not be treated or attended to, the way that they should.

The same goes for state records of state inspections of nursing homes. Nursing home reviews don’t often make the news. But you are allowed to, and should, look at previous state inspections of the home where your loved one is residing at. While they don’t tell you if your exact loved one is being abused and neglected, again, they can be indicative of how a faculty treats their residents.

Nursing home patients and residents have rights. Are yours being violated?  Call our Tampa personal injury attorneys to schedule a consultation today.

Source:

ahca.myflorida.com/health-care-policy-and-oversight/inspection-reports-for-health-care-providers