Abuse in Nursing Home| Speak Out! Prevent Nursing Home Negligence

Speak Out! Prevent Nursing Home Negligence

While it’s important to explore your legal options after the fact, reporting abuse in nursing home settings is imperative to ensure the safety of the patients. Senior citizens are particularly at risk for becoming very ill, or even dying, from neglect and abuse. In the setting of a nursing home, this risk is more pronounced as many of the patients are somewhat demented and, therefore, they may not be believed when they report being abused. Sometimes, it pays to talk to other families who have friends and family in the nursing home.

Reporting elder abuse can sometimes be tricky. It’s important to keep in mind that many elderly people are still very sharp of mind and that they are adults. It’s embarrassing being a victim in any situation. When the victimizer is young enough to be your grandchild or even great-grandchild, it’s even more bruising to some people’s egos. You can address these issues respectfully with an elder and make sure that they don’t feel that there’s any need to be embarrassed about it. Some types of abuse are obviously more embarrassing than others and this may constitute a very serious issue with getting to the truth.

If the person you love or your friend in the nursing home seems to be suffering a worsening condition that shouldn’t be getting worse, talk to your doctor. Doctors are very good at noticing whether something is wrong and they know what symptoms to expect from patients. They’re also experienced in dealing with problems such as dementia and Alzheimer’s and won’t necessarily assume that everything an affected individual is telling them is delusional. In some cases, doctors are your first line of defense against incompetent, negligent or downright abusive nursing homes.

After the abuse has been stopped, and only after, you may want to contact a lawyer about the matter. An attorney may be able to put together a lawsuit that could win you enough compensation to pay for your loved one’s pain and suffering and the costs of moving them to a different facility and their medical expenses. There’s no reason not to go through with this step. Many of these lawyers work on contingency, so you don’t have to pay them upfront or at all, for that matter, if they fail to win a jury award or settlement. Good representation is available to everyone, no matter how much money you have.