Has your loved one been hurt at a nursing home? Do you suspect that there was abuse involved. We understand how infuriating this can be. Before you call for a free consultation, here are some ways of detecting nursing home neglect.
Detecting Nursing Home Neglect | Signs of Nursing Home Neglect
Neglect and abuse can take many forms. It can be as obvious as bruising or less obvious such as bed sores that you must do some investigation because those areas are often the ones that are hidden from you. It can be as sudden as malnutrition and for those residents that can’t communicate that well, they are suffering silently because of mental abuse, being yelled at, scrutinized, ignored, and oftentimes residents who cannot get into the bathroom; one type of neglect is by having them wet themselves or not being able to change the bedding in a timelier manner.
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Detecting Nursing Home Neglect | Complaints from Patients
We have complaints of residents who simply press the buzzer non-stop and not get any response to come and take care of their needs, get them to the bathroom, or to provide clean up. A friend or family member can look for these signs and notice the quality of the care. Are the sheets clean? Talk to your loved ones about what’s been going on. If they can’t communicate with you, look for the signs that are unspoken. Check for signs of abuse, check for bruising, check for bed sores, especially if a person has been previously interactive with you and is now despondent. Oftentimes, communication skills may wane in their older years which means that our investigative skills need to be much more than acute.
Detecting Nursing Home Neglect | Nursing Home Neglect Case Mistakes
With nursing home neglect cases, the most common mistakes are the family’s dealing action. They don’t want to believe the worst-case scenario even though the evidence is in front of them. Failure to document things as you’re experiencing them. If you have a strong gut feeling that something is wrong, often you’re right, and it’s at that time that you need to start documenting what’s happening. Start asking the right questions and have the nursing home make copies of their records so you can preserve them before somebody might go back in and change it. You will then have the security in knowing that you have these records as they are, unchanged, and to preserve whatever information or evidence that you might need to show somebody else when you’re telling them what’s happening to your loved one.
If you think you’re detecting nursing home neglect, do not hesitate to call our Buffalo injury lawyers today to set up a free consultation and begin your journey towards full and just compensation.