Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer | Signs of Nursing Home Abuse

Signs of Nursing Home Abuse

There are times when reporting elder abuse becomes necessary very quickly. In some cases, it may go on for a while before some of the telltale signs manifest. When you’re dealing with elder abuse, it’s important to remember that you’re not dealing with a child. As an adult, many elders find it humiliating to be abused and may not want to talk about it openly. If you put yourself in their place, you’d probably understand why.

Some of the common signs of abuse are easier to see than others. For example, people who are shoved and pulled around by abusive staff will develop bruising on their arms and shoulders. This is usually fairly easy to see and, if you do spot it, it’s a good time to start asking questions. In some cases, you may see your loved one react fearfully to a particular staff member, and this should always be considered a warning sign.

The motivations for senior abuse vary with the situation. If your loved one suffers dementia or another condition that makes them sometimes hard to deal with, they may be being abused by incompetent and frustrated staff. In other cases, one staff member may just be something of a sadist and be venting their disordered personality traits on your loved one. In any case, the situation is dangerous and usually gets progressively worse.

Some of the psychological signs that elders exhibit when they’re being abused are common to all abuse victims, regardless of age. They may start acting depressed or withdrawn, even toward loved ones. They may seem wracked by guilt or shame or they may seem to be under stress that comes from no source that you can discern. In many times, something just seems wrong. It’s always good to investigate the situation further. Talk to other families with loved ones in the facility and see what their impressions are.

If you find out that elder abuse is going on, you have to report it. The people who are being abused are sometimes no less helpless than children and need people to look out for them in these situations. When the families are gone and only the staff and the nursing home residents are in the facility, elders have no real way of reaching out if they’re being abused. In some cases you may have to step up and be the one to say something.