What to look for and how to find the signs of nursing home negligence and protect your loved ones rights. Dallas nursing home abuse Lawyer Crowe Arnold & Majors explains the signs of nursing home abuse.
Close family involvement in the life of a nursing home resident is a huge factor in the quality of treatment the resident receives. Visit your elderly loved one frequently, and while you’re there, look for these signs of nursing home abuse:
• Bedsores: Nursing home patients are often times unable to move themselves into bed, requiring the attention and care of a nurse to accomplish the simplest of tasks. Unfortunately, for lack of proper care in nursing homes, many residents end up developing bedsores (pressure ulcers or decubitus ulcers), which in some cases can be fatal.
•Change in behavior of the patient: If your loved one seems more lethargic than usual, it may be a result of over-sedation. A patient that is constantly sedated does not offer a challenge to the staff and keeps the day going without interruption. By silencing their patients, inattentive, lazy, and downright incompetent staff members drain residents of their energy and ultimately leave the care unit vulnerable to legal action.
•Poor record-keeping: When records are not well kept, nursing home patients may be treated for their ailment with the wrong kind of therapy or medication. Nursing homes, like any other business, seek to maximize their profits, but unfortunately this often comes at the cost of a loved one’s health and dignity.
•Unusual bruises, scratches, or other injury: These injuries can result from a slip-and-fall accident or other abuse. Nursing home neglect often comes in the form of careless maintenance rendered by a staff that is unaware of the fact that the seniors walking through the hallways suffer from poor sight, poor motor coordination, mental debilitation, or a combination of all three, resulting in slip-and-fall accidents.
Other possible signs include:
•Dehydration
•Frequent admissions to the emergency room
•Lack of hygiene
•Significant weight loss
•Unexplained bank transactions or credit card charges
•Missing medication or medication not taken
•Missing personal items
If nursing home abuse is identified, the family member most closely involved in the life of the nursing home resident should contact a personal injury lawyer immediately. The statute of limitations can quickly expire, leaving your loved one without any legal recourse.
Original source of the article>> Watch Out for Signs of Nursing Home Abuse/Neglect
