Nursing Home Abuse / Injuries
Nursing Home injuries are, unfortunately, very
common in the United States. There are different types of nursing home injuries
and abuse that can occur. Physical, sexual, and verbal abuses are some of the
different types of abuse that can occur in a nursing home. Researchers have
found that of 5,283 nursing homes- one of almost every three nursing homes were
cited for an abuse violation in the two-year period from January 1, 1999 to
January 1, 2001. All of these violations had at least the potential to harm
nursing home residents. From these findings, these abuse charges were serious
enough to cause actual harm or even death.
Some examples of physical abuse would be that of hitting the residents, pushing
them, threatening them with objects such as cigarettes or being unnecessarily
rough. Some residents actually had cases in which broken bones were reported and
were killed through the subsequent abuse. Other cases involved severe sexual
abuse and assault. There were reports of male nurse aides taking advantage of
the elderly while they were truly helpless in states of senile dementia. Many
sexual cases in nursing homes are ignored, even though there are signs that the
abuse exists. In one instance, inspectors asked about a resident who appeared to
have been sexually abused in which the director of nurses replied, “Maybe she
fell on a broom”. Another type of common abuse is verbal abuse. The rate of
verbal abuse in nursing homes is extremely high. Numerous instances of verbal
abuse cases had the staff accused of cursing, criticizing and calling the
residents insulting and demeaning names.
These are the types of abuse that occur in nursing homes all over the country.
California, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Oregon, and
Texas are the ten states where abuse was the highest. All these types of abuses
are consistent on a daily basis among the residents of the nursing homes in
those states. These elderly residents are an easy target for abuse and resulting
injuries because of their helpless state
What to Look For
Some common nursing home injuries, which may be an indication of neglect and/
or abuse, are:
- Broken bones resulting from falls
- Excessive or sudden weight loss
- Open wounds
- Bedsores
- Dehydration
- Malnutrition
- Poor Hygiene
Contact
the Law Offices of Neil Kalra (in Forest Hills, Queens, New York)
immediately if you feel you have been hurt by the fault of another. Call
(718) 897-2211. Remember, if you don’t know your rights, then you have no
rights.
