How Do You Know if your Loved One is being Neglected in a Nursing Home?

When you go to visit, everything appears fine, but your loved one is unable to express his/her pain to you in words. You notice a big sore on your loved one’s leg. When you ask about it, a nurse’s aide states that the blemish is nothing but a simple sore. What you are actually looking at is evidence of neglect, says California Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorney Steven C. Peck.

A decubitus ulcer can first appear as a simple red or pink mark on the skin, but grow to be a very deep sore that reaches into the bone or an inner organ. Decubitus ulcers are caused by prolonged pressure on an area of skin, and, therefore, are seen on patients who are bedridden (thus the name, bed sore).

Most nursing services have a policy to shift bedridden patients every two hours as a means to prevent decubitus ulcers from forming.

If your loved one has decubitus ulcers, also known as bed sores, then it is possible he/she is not being turned in the bed as regularly as necessary.

Bed Sores can be very painful. Your loved one might be in serious jeopardy and unable to express their pain. They may be crying for help, but no one is listening. Being ignored is also neglect. No one should have to endure the pain of bed sores.

If not treated, bed sores can cause further complications or death. Therefore, if you actually have seen bed sores on your loved one, immediately consult the doctors and nurses at the facility. If they fall short in their responsibility by failing to react or to offer a reasonable explanation, then consider filing a complaint of nursing house neglect, says Peck law Group Elder Abuse Attorney Steven C. Peck.

About the Author

Attorney Steven Peck has been practicing law since 1981. A former successful business owner, Mr. Peck initially focused his legal career on business law. Within the first three years, after some colleagues and friend’s parents endured nursing home neglect and elder abuse, he continued his education to begin practicing elder law and nursing home abuse law.