Abuse And Loved Ones In A Nursing Home
March 7, 2017
If you have a family member who is in a nursing home, then you might notice a few things that change about the person’s demeanor over time. This doesn’t necessarily mean that something is wrong. It could simply mean that the person is trying to get adjusted to living in a new environment away from home. However, there are some things that you should look for that could indicate that abuse is taking place.
The most common type of nursing home abuse that you will usually see is neglect. While there are some workers who intentionally neglect their patients, some workers simply don’t have enough time during the day to provide the proper care for all of the patients that they have to take care of without committing some kind of neglect. Neglect can be committed because a worker leaves a patient unattended or fails to provide food and water during the day. When the rooms aren’t cleaned or the complaints that patients have aren’t answered as they should be, then it can be considered intentional neglect.
A nursing home abuse attorney omaha ne offers sometimes sees physical abuse as well. This is the type of abuse that you will likely notice upon inspection of your loved one. It’s often seen when you hug your loved one or when you try to get your loved one to sit in a chair during the day. There could be bruises that are unexplained or cuts that shouldn’t be on the skin. Workers could hit the patients with their hands or with an object. Any kind of pushing or shoving is considered physical abuse as well. This type of abuse can cause patients to shut down and not want to talk to anyone. It can also leave behind emotional scars that are often not treated, especially if no one knows about the abuse that is taking place.
Emotional and verbal abuse are common in nursing homes. Workers will belittle the people who are in the facility because they want to take their aggression out on another person or make the patients feel as though they are of no use to anyone else. They might call the patients names or try to insult the person’s intelligence. You sometimes don’t know that this kind of abuse is occurring because there are no physical signs like there are with physical abuse or neglect. Pay attention to whether your loved one talks like they did before or if it seems like your loved one wants to spend more time alone.
Unfortunately, sexual abuse takes place in nursing homes. There are workers who feel the need to commit intercourse or commit oral acts with patients. Since many patients in nursing homes are frail, there is often physical abuse left behind as well. Sometimes, patients can contract sexually transmitted diseases. There are workers who will spread diseases on purpose if they know that they have one that is easily communicable. If you suspect any kind of abuse, it’s important to document as many details as possible to present to an attorney.