What Is Considered Nursing Home Abuse?
Unfortunately, nursing home abuse has become widespread and a growing area of expertise for some attorneys. Seniors in nursing homes are abused in many ways – some emotionally, financially, or sexually in a supposed place to take care of them.
Mistreatment by caretakers is an all-too-common problem. Some are neglected or abandoned by their caretakers for days, weeks, and even months. Residents and family members can help take a stand and stop this by identifying signs and reporting them immediately.
Here are the types of nursing home abuse.
What Is Considered Abuse In Nursing Homes?
Nursing home abuse occurs when caretakers don’t fulfill their duties towards the senior citizens living in nursing homes. Instead, they harm them (intentionally and unintentionally). It can result in pain, medical emergencies, and in worse cases, even death. It has become a widespread problem due to lack of training, understaffing, and burnout.
There are five major types of nursing home abuse that are very common in nursing homes:
- Bodily Abuse
Physical abuse in nursing homes happens when a senior has gone through physical injury or wounds. Physical injuries can be due to being kicked or punched, getting shoved or pushed, or being controlled with ties or straps. The most found physical signs of bodily abuse found in seniors living in these nursing homes are those with mental disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, as these residents may be at a much higher risk.
- Emotive Abuse
Emotional abuse, widespread abuse in the nursing homes occurs when caretakers use bad language, scream and shout at residents or use intimidation to rule or scare them. Most caretakers are harsh towards their residents – intimidating them with their words, making them do stuff against their consent, saying offensive things to the resident’s physical appearance or intellect.
In worst cases, caretakers isolate the seniors from their friends, family, and other home residents, locking them in one room. It can result in residents developing anxiety, psychological problems, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Neglect Of A Residents Basic Needs
Neglection in a nursing home is when caretakers of the nursing facility don’t provide residents the medical care they deserve. It results in residents losing their emotional and physical well-being and starting feeling empty from inside. Neglect occurs in different forms throughout the day, such as:
Medication Slip-ups
The majority of residents in nursing homes rely on caretakers for their daily dose of medication. There is a big possibility that these caretakers make errors while giving prescriptions to these residents. They may mix up or end up providing high dosages that can cause severe problems or the loss of life.
Intimate Sanitization
One of the primary jobs of a nursing home team member is to help and sustain each resident’s hygiene, which includes helping them use the washroom, changing them into new clothes, brushing their hair, assisting them in taking a bath, etc. When they neglect their duties, a resident can be prone to multiple healthiness.
Dehydration and Malnourishment
As a caretaker, the nursing staff’s duty includes ensuring that the residents are well fed and have taken a suitable amount of water and food since morning. A lack of check on the residents can cause them to be highly dehydrated or suffer from severe weight loss.
- Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse has become the story of most nursing homes out there. This sort of mistreatment occurs when a nursing home resident is forced into physical contact or physical harm that results in scratches, bruises or sexually spread illnesses, etc. it also leads to emotional trauma
- Financial Exploitation
Most seniors living in nursing homes are disabled and cannot consent. This abuse occurs when someone tries to steal from them and manipulate them, such as not letting them use their bank account, taking their card to carry out transactions, or misusing their monetary records or bank reports.
The other two types of nursing home abuse are:
- Abandonment
- Self-neglect
If you know a loved one suffering from nursing home abuse in Boca Raton FL, you can contact BP Injury Law – they will fight for justice on your behalf. You can visit their website or contact them at (954)-997-9947.
