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Quick Answer
It is heartbreaking to think a loved one might be suffering in a place meant to keep them safe. Watch for warning signs like pressure injuries, sudden weight loss, dehydration, missed medications, or unexplained injuries. If something feels wrong, trust your instincts and reach out to us. Our nursing home abuse lawyers will listen with compassion, explain your options, and work to protect your loved one’s safety, dignity, and well-being.
As a nursing home abuse law firm, we understand the pain and despair that families experience when they learn their loved one is being hurt or exploited in a nursing home facility. The burden of proving nursing home abuse often falls on the shoulders of those who may not have a voice or who are unwilling to say something out of fear of retaliation, shame, or a sense of misplaced loyalty to their caregivers.
If you suspect your loved one is facing abuse, you might need to take legal action to protect their rights. Our nursing home abuse lawyers can help you to do that. We know how to recognize the signs of nursing home abuse and neglect, and how to hold negligent facilities accountable, so families can secure the justice and protection their loved ones deserve.
What Is Nursing Home Neglect?
Nursing home neglect is the refusal or failure of a trusted caregiver to fulfill their obligations to support the needs of their client. This may happen in numerous ways, including not providing access to food, clothing, shelter, medicine, supervision, or other needed services that any other party would deem essential. Nursing home abuse is more than just neglect; it often involves physical, emotional, financial, sexual, and sexual abuse as well. Nursing home abuse cases can be devastating in all forms, and they are never okay.
One of the most frequent questions our lawyers for nursing home abuse receive is “why.” Why did this happen to their loved one? Why did they not see what was happening sooner?
Though many facilities and the public in general believe elder care homes are simply understaffed and that workers are doing their best, sometimes this is not the primary cause of neglect. Many of the large and profitable organizations are simply putting people at risk for no valid reason except greed.
In June of 2023, for example, the New York Attorney General found that four nursing homes in the state had misused more than $83 million in taxpayer money while elderly patients remained in horrific conditions, even sitting in their own waste. This underscores the horrific nature of abuse that goes on in many nursing care facilities, including in Delaware, Maryland, D.C., and beyond.
What Are the Types of Abuse in Nursing Homes?
Nursing home abuse takes various forms. Victims of any of the following are being treated unfairly and likely being abused by the people you thought were taking care of them. They deserve a voice and advocacy.
Look for the signs of each type of abuse, and if you spot them, get help for your loved one and turn to an attorney for nursing home neglect.
Physical Abuse
Physical abuse occurs when some type of bodily harm or injury is inflicted by a caregiver or another resident. This could include kicking, biting, punching, putting restraints on a person, shoving them, smacking them, or other types of physical abuse. Some of the most impactful warning signs of physical abuse that warrant immediate attention include:
- Bruises
- Bleeding and injuries that are not logically explained
- Broken bones
- Spinal injuries
- Contusions
- Unexplained falls
- Concussions
Neglect
Nursing home neglect occurs when the caregiver or facility fails to provide proper care to the individual. This leads to emotional or physical injury to the person. Neglect is very common and very much misunderstood. Some of the signs of these actions include:
- Ignoring resident’s requests for help
- Not providing food and water
- Failing to report injuries
- Failing to document illnesses and injuries to family members
- Leaving a resident unattended for a long period
- Medication errors
- Poor personal hygiene
- Dehydration
- Malnutrition
Sexual Abuse
Nursing home sexual abuse happens when any type of unwanted sexual contact occurs, including touching or groping. This is common in people who cannot give consent, such as those who have dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Signs that this could be happening include:
- Bruises
- Scratches
- Emotional trauma
- Embarrassment
- Bleeding
- Infections
- Sexually transmitted diseases
Emotional Abuse
Many people struggle with emotional abuse in nursing homes, a type of abuse that occurs when caregivers or other residents use threats to control patients. Emotional abuse can be painful in its own way. Look for signs such as:
- Controlling the residents’ care or daily activities against their will
- Making threats against residents
- Isolating the residents from family or friends
- Threatening not to provide food or water if they request help
- Insulating the resident’s appearance or intelligence
Financial Abuse
Financial abuse occurs when someone from the facility or a caregiver steals or commits fraud against the resident with the intent of gaining access to money. Examples of this type of manipulation include:
- Caregivers or nursing homes obtaining power of attorney that changes the resident’s will
- Preventing a resident from accessing their financial records
- Stealing cash or valuables from the resident’s room
- Taking financial records and bank statements
- Charging for medical care and services not provided
Statistics on Nursing Home Abuse
A large amount of nursing home abuse that takes place across the country is not reported. Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows the following:
- 1 in 6 people over the age of 60 face some type of abuse in a community setting each year.
- Nursing homes and long-term care facilities have a higher incidence rate of elder abuse than in private settings.
- Over 9% of nursing home staff members say they have physically abused residents.
Systemic Inequity in Nursing Home Abuse Cases
Unfortunately, racial inequities play a significant role in the neglect and abuse that happen in nursing homes. Data from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) indicates that minority residents do not receive the nursing home care that is the same or comparable to that of Caucasian residents.
The study found that 15.9% of black residents used feeding tubes, while only 5.7% of white residents did, and since feeding tubes lead to infections, this is a concerning factor.
As nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers, we strongly encourage you to take the time now to call us if you suspect your loved one, of any race, gender, or nationality, is not being treated as they should under nursing home abuse law. Even if you are unsure of what their rights are, we can answer your questions and help you get answers.
How to Report Nursing Home Abuse
Do not wait until nursing home neglect resulting in death leads to the need to seek an attorney’s help. Instead, allow our legal team to begin providing you with guidance now. In Delaware, if you suspect your loved one is facing any type of abuse, call the nursing home abuse hotline from the Adult Protective Services Program at 1-888-277-4302.
In any long-term care setting where you suspect victims are suffering, the Division of Health Care Quality can also be reached at 1-877-453-0012. Do this if you see any of the signs of nursing home neglect, or if you are unsure of what is happening.
How Long Do You Have to Report Abuse in a Nursing Home?
The sooner you take action by contacting professionals for help, the better. In situations where you believe your loved one’s life is at risk, call 911 and get them to an area hospital for care and stabilization. Then, report the incident and allow a full investigation to take place.
How Can a Lawyer Help with a Nursing Home Abuse Case?
With experience specific to nursing home elder abuse, our legal team can provide you with answers to your questions and guide you in getting justice in the following manner:
- Help you get immediate support for your loved one if they need it now – this may include helping them transfer out of the facility where they are being abused.
- Provide you with legal resources that enable you to get those who did this to your loved one punished. That includes helping to represent you while you file a claim against that party.
- Fight for your loved one to recover damages from nursing home neglect settlement cases.
- Aid you in determining if abuse is occurring and whether the actions you have witnessed or learned of are violations of the resident’s rights.
- Sue the nursing home and others responsible for your loved one’s losses. In situations where the losses are due to neglect from the nursing home, expect your attorney to help you build a strong case to support your recovery of those damages.
In the worst-case scenario, when your loved one has lost their life and you believe that it is due to the abuses they faced in a nursing home or through a caregiver, we can help you navigate your rights. In these situations, you may be able to fight for justice for your loved one. Our objective is always to help you receive a fair nursing home abuse settlement that helps to ease the financial burden.
Contact Our Nursing Home Neglect Attorneys for Help with Your Case
Your family member does not deserve to suffer, and you want them to get the support they deserve. Let the legal team at Shelsby & Leoni provide you with the guidance you need to hold those at fault accountable. Contact us now for a free consultation, where we will be thorough, transparent, and detailed about your legal rights.
