Nursing Home Negligence
Nursing Home Negligence Attorney In McDonough
Was Someone You Love Neglected in a McDonough Nursing Home?
Many elderly Americans face significant risks every day. Terrifyingly, the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) reports that 1 in 10 Americans over the age of 60 have experienced some form of elder abuse.
Sadly, elder abuse is not uncommon in our country, and those who live in nursing homes are particularly vulnerable.
It can be easy for nursing homes to socially isolate patients from their families and obfuscate conditions in the facility. This makes residents vulnerable to mistreatment by staff.
Distinct from nursing home abuse, but no less severe, is nursing home neglect.
Nursing home abuse is characterized by a deliberate infliction of injury or intimidation that causes physical harm or mental suffering.
On the other hand, nursing home neglect occurs when staff fails to uphold a reasonable standard of care for their residents. Patients can become gravely ill when they are ignored, and even die.
If someone you love was neglected by a nursing home in Henry County, Scott Key & Associates can help you achieve justice.
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Examples of Nursing Home Neglect
Neglect presents in different ways. It can be difficult to determine where things went wrong in the chain of command, and whose actions (accidental or intentional) led to neglect.
A lawyer experienced with nursing home neglect can help you investigate the facility in question.
The following scenarios could present grounds for bringing a suit against a nursing home for neglect:
Negligent Hiring
Nursing homes are medical facilities, and have an obligation to hire qualified staff who are properly certified and educated for the positions to which they are hired.
If a nursing home fails to perform background checks or to check the credentials of their employees, they could be putting their residents in danger.
A nursing home can be held liable if their poor hiring practices led to the injury or death of a patient in their care.
Understaffing
Sadly, most nursing homes are badly understaffed. A report from the CDC found that on average, registered nurses who work in nursing homes are only able to spend 16 minutes per day with each patient in their care.
This is not much time, and because it is a nationally averaged figure, that means thousands of patients across the United States receive far less than 16 minutes a day with a staff member in their facility.
If a nursing home fails to hire an adequate number of staff members, residents may be neglected simply because no one is available to help them.
Understaffing also causes employees to be overworked and underpaid. This causes stress to staff members, and that stress can lead to low morale, a lack of compassion, and mistakes on the job.
If a resident in a nursing home is hurt or killed because of understaffing, you may be eligible for compensation.
Insufficient Training
In some cases, nursing home employees are not adequately trained for their positions.
Elder care is a complex field, and long-term care employees often must care for disabled, disobedient, or gravely ill patients who require specialized care.
Nursing homes can be held accountable if a poorly-trained employee harms a resident.
Errors With Medications
Delivering medications is a vital task for nursing home staff. If patients are given the wrong medicine, the wrong dosage, or their doses are improperly timed, they could become severely ill or injured.
If a prescription drug error causes harm to a patient, the facility may be held responsible.
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What are Some Signs of Nursing Home Neglect?
Sadly, it can be difficult for family members to spot signs of nursing home neglect. Abuse can be much easier to detect, as the external effects tend to be more noticeable.
If a loved one is in a long-term care facility, be on the lookout for the following signs, as they could point to a pattern of neglect:
- Dehydration
- Malnourishment
- Soiled bedding
- Unhygienic appearance (not showered, teeth unbrushed, wearing the same clothes multiple days in a row)
Perhaps the most telltale sign of nursing home neglect are bedsores. These painful ulcers form when a body part is under pressure from remaining still for too long.
Not only are they painful, if left untreated they can lead to infections, amputations, and even death.
Elderly people tend to have thinning skin and are at risk of bedsores if they have mobility issues. Nursing home staff can prevent bedsores by regularly shifting their patients into new positions, helping them move around, and making sure they are properly nourished and hydrated.
If you notice that your loved one has developed bedsores, you may have a case for nursing home negligence.
Contact us today
schedule your free case evaluation
Holding McDonough Nursing Homes Accountable for Neglect
Once you discover a loved on is being neglected by their long-term care facility, it is important to act quickly. Your first priority is to make plans to move your loved one to a safer institution, and to address any ailments caused by this neglect.
You may be tempted, after all the stress and hassle, to wash your hands clean of the situation and move on. But if your loved one was mistreated in a nursing home, it is likely that other patients are also in danger.
To protect other residents and prevent further harm, you should immediately report any evidence of neglect to the administrators at the nursing home, and, if necessary, to the authorities.
Next, you should contact a local nursing home neglect attorney. An experienced lawyer can help you file a complaint against the staff member or facility that acted negligently.
In the complaint, you will detail how your loved one was hurt, the names of individuals who contributed to the injury.