Nursing Home Abuse Still Very Very Prevalent

Written by Adam Peck Category: Elder Abuse Lawyer January 26th, 2013 3 min read

Police are currently looking into a possible case of nursing home abuse that took place at Golden Moments Senior Care Center.

The allegations include a nurse’s aide threat to cut the throat of a 68-year-old man, slapping a woman, insulting other disabled and sick adults and taking the food away from starving residents of the said senior care center. In addition, there are also allegations that these horrible incidents took place for several months before these were reported to the administrator.

Meanwhile in California, Villa Valencia confronted another nursing home abuse lawsuit when Theresa Sperry, a 91-year old woman died due to Alzheimer’s and painful pressure ulcers on her feet. The family of Sperry cited negligence and excessive profit-orientation of the said nursing home as main reasons why Theresa Sperry died.

These two cases are two examples of nursing home abuse which is becoming prevalent in many nursing homes across the United States. Nursing home abuse has become a pressing issue nationwide as reports show that thirty percent of the facilities in the United States are cited for cases of abuse. What is more alarming is that nursing home abuse statistics shows that these instances of nursing home abuses are never reported to the authorities.

If your loved one is elderly and is currently confined to a nursing home, it is imperative that you should look into his or her welfare. One way of ensuring the welfare of elders is knowing some of the caveats of nursing home abuse.

Here are some of the most commonly observed signs of physical abuse:

Assault
Battery
Rape
Sexual Assault
Unreasonable physical restraint
Incidences of being slapped, ridiculed or mistreated
Deprivation of food or water
Giving improper medication
Unexplained injuries
Caretaker cannot sufficiently explain condition of the elder
Open wounds, cuts, bruises or welts
Slapping, pushing, shaking, beating

Another indication of nursing home abuse is negligence of caretakers or nursing home personnel. In addition, some signs of neglect on the part of caretakers include disregarding the needs of elders, neglecting medical problems, failing to help in personal hygiene, failing to maintain clean and safe conditions and failing to protect from health and safety hazards.

Sometimes, physical abuse and negligence are not the only abusive things that take place in our nursing homes. Verbal and emotional abuse is also common. Let us take a look at some signs that might tell you that your loved one in nursing home is experiencing verbal and emotional abuse.

Agitated or upset elder
Strange behavior like non-communicative or withdrawn
Frightened
Wanting isolation from the people

– from Steven Peck, Senior Attorney at Peck Law Group

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Written by Adam Peck

Expertise: Personal Injury

Adam J. Peck, ESQ is a principal with Peck Law Group, APC. In 2008, Mr. Adam Peck received his Juris Doctorate from Whittier Law School where he graduated Cum Laude. His practice is primarily dedicated to representing Elders, Dependent Adults, along with their loved ones and family members, who have suffered horrific personal injuries.