Elder Law

Elder law is intended to protect individuals from nursing home and elder abuse. However, as the older population increases, nursing homes are increasingly understaffed and unable to meet the demands of caring for patients. The risk of mistreatment of loved ones does exist, and victims can obtain an elder or nursing home abuse lawyer for counsel.

What is nursing home abuse?

Nursing home abuse encompasses diverse abusive acts toward and inadequate treatment of individuals at long-term residential care facilities. Often involving elder abuse, nursing home abuse also includes the maltreatment of disabled people residing in such facilities. Nursing home patients may be particularly susceptible to abuse because of physical limitations, social isolation, and/or mental disability. Nursing home abuse can take many forms, including physical, sexual, mental, and financial abuse. Reported statistics show that nursing home abuse is already a serious problem in the United States . The actual figures are probably significantly higher than reported, however, because many abusive incidents go undocumented. All too often, victims are afraid, unwilling, or unable to report nursing home abuse. Elder abuse is projected to increase as the United States continues to shift demographically towards an older population. If you think you or a loved one has been the victim of nursing home or elder abuse, a lawyer may be able to help you hold the responsible party accountable.

What are the different types of elder abuse?

There are many different types of elder abuse: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, neglect, and financial or material exploitation.

• Physical abuse involves any use of force that may result in bodily injury, physical pain, or impairment. Physical abuse may include acts of violence such as striking, beating, pushing, shaking, pinching, and burning. The inappropriate use of physical restraints, drugs, and force-feeding techniques also constitutes physical abuse. Some signs and symptoms of physical abuse include: bruises, black eyes, welts, lacerations, broken bones, sprains, dislocations, internal injuries, signs of being restrained, improper use of medication, and an elder's sudden change in behavior.
• Sexual abuse is defined as non-consensual sexual contact of any kind; it also includes sexual contact with any person unable to give consent. Sexual abuse includes unwanted touching, rape, sodomy, coerced nudity, and unwanted sexually explicit photographing. The signs and symptoms of nursing home sexual abuse are bruises in the genital area, unexplained sexual diseases or infections, unexplained vaginal or anal bleeding, and torn or bloody underclothing.
• Emotional or psychological abuse involves the infliction of mental anguish, pain, or distress. This abuse may include verbal assaults, insults, threats, intimidation, humiliation, and harassment. Nonverbal acts such as using isolation to punish patients can also constitute emotional/psychological abuse. Some of the signs of this type of nursing home abuse are: emotional distress or agitation, unresponsiveness, and unusual or demented behavior.
• Neglect is defined as the refusal or failure of the nursing home to fulfill any part of its obligations or duties to a patient. Nursing home neglect frequently involves the failure of caretakers to provide life necessities such as food, water, clothing, shelter, personal hygiene, medicine, comfort, or personal safety. Signs and symptoms of neglect include malnutrition, dehydration, bedsores, poor personal hygiene, untreated health problems, and unsafe or unsanitary living conditions.
• Financial or material exploitation involves the illegal or improper use of an elder's funds, property, or assets. This can include cashing patients' checks without permission, forging signatures, stealing money or possessions, coercing or deceiving a patient to sign official documents, and the improper use of any position of fiduciary responsibility. Some possible signs of financial or material exploitation are sudden changes in banking practices, unexplained withdrawals of large sums of money, names of caretakers being added to accounts, sudden changes to wills, missing funds or possessions, discovery of forged signatures, or other unexplained financial changes.

The signs and symptoms listed above are given as examples, and there may be other indicators that are not listed. Perhaps the most important sign of all is when a nursing home resident reports any of the kinds of abuse listed above. At that time it is important to contact a nursing home or elder abuse lawyer for legal assistance.

Why does elder abuse occur in nursing homes?

Due to the often-debilitating effects of old age and the relative isolation in which some elderly live, they can make easy targets for elder abuse. Some elders may be easily overpowered or intimidated by threats of violence. The social isolation of some elders keeps them from seeking the assistance of friends or family members. Abusive caretakers may threaten those victims who would otherwise seek help. Other victims are not aware of what is happening to them or are incapable of reporting elder abuse due to physical or mental impairments.

Common explanations given for nursing home abuse observe the growing number of people living in nursing homes and the difficulty of staffing them with well-trained individuals. The U.S. populace is getting older, and the long-term residential care industry is feeling the impact, and sometimes unable to comply with elder law. Many nursing homes are already short-staffed, the employees may be under-trained, and the employee turnover rate can be high. Attracting and retaining quality employees can be difficult for a variety of reasons, among them low wages and a lack of qualified applicants. When nursing homes are understaffed, workers can become stressed. They might have to work longer hours, which may lead to burnout. Eventually, these stressed employees might be more likely to take their frustrations out on patients. Employees may also become careless about routine, yet essential, tasks - like providing food and water on time, administering medication properly, and caring for their patients' hygiene. Sometimes nursing home staff members are not trained to deal with difficult patient situations effectively, and instead handle them in an abusive manner. This lack of training can be partially attributed to high employee turnover. Some new employees are not properly trained before being thrust into their roles, causing them to make mistakes. The supervisory staff that is supposed to enforce safety procedures may not be effective.

How can nursing home abuse be prevented?

To lessen nursing home and elder abuse, nursing homes need to make every effort to attract better-qualified applicants. This may be achieved by offering better wages or benefits. Better initial and ongoing training should also be implemented. Better-trained, well-compensated employees are more likely to do good work and persevere.

It is important for family members of people housed in nursing homes to remain active in the care of their loved ones. Some effective precautions include: visiting the facility regularly, building relationships with the staff, and actively participating in the care planning process. When visiting the nursing home, try arriving at different times, so that you have an idea of what things are like during each shift. Your unexpected arrivals should also serve to keep the staff on its toes. Building relationships with staff members should give you some insight into their individual personalities. Getting involved in the planning and monitoring of your loved one's care gives you better access to information regarding their treatment. You have the right to request records that document this care. If you suspect that elder law may have been violated, contact an experienced elder or nursing home abuse attorney to determine if you have an eligible medical malpractice case.