Wakefield Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer
All over the United States, many people live in nursing homes that provide long-term care and comfort during their twilight years. When you select a nursing home for a loved one, there is no doubt a great deal of thought, consideration, and care that goes into making that choice. You expect that home to provide the best assistance they can and be compassionate to the elderly. Unfortunately, many times, nursing homes come up short of this goal, and senior citizens suffer as a result. When this happens, their loved ones, or the residents themselves, may want to take legal action.
If you are considering filing a claim for nursing home abuse in or near Noblesville, we are here to assist. We have the experience representing many victims of nursing home abuse and their loved ones to handle these cases with the professional seriousness they warrant.
To have a chat with our caring nursing home abuse lawyers, call The Law Office of John J. Sheehan at (617) 925-6407.
Signs of Nursing Home Abuse in Wakefield, MA
Nursing home abuse can be hard to spot right away, especially if you do not spend a lot of time in the facility in question or are not familiar with the healthcare industry. Below, our nursing home abuse lawyers have details on some of the forms nursing home abuse can take, as well as some of the signs that such abuse may be occurring.
Malnutrition
One of a nursing home’s responsibilities is to feed its residents. Malnutrition means that a resident is not getting enough to eat, and it is affecting their well-being. Signs of malnutrition include tiredness and weakness, low level of appetite, having a hard time concentrating, and feeling colder than normal. This can make malnutrition hard to spot because, unfortunately, many elderly people experience these things without any foul play taking place. Our lawyers can investigate to see whether an elderly person is getting enough to eat in their nursing home if you suspect the contrary.
Bedsores
Bedsores develop when someone is stationary in bed for too long. They can be painful and may leak pus or other fluid. Left untreated, bedsores can lead to serious complications like infection or sepsis, which can be fatal to an elderly person.
Many nursing home residents may not be able to move unassisted, so it is the responsibility of the staff to ensure that things like bedsores do not happen. If the staff is negligent and does not move their residents enough, residents can get bedsores due to nursing home negligence.
Poor Sanitation/Bathing
Many residents of nursing homes need assistance getting dressed, cleaning themselves, and going to the restroom. Many also use adult diapers or other things that need to be changed by staff from time to time. Nursing home staff are meant to provide this assistance. When they withhold or fail to provide it, that can be considered nursing home abuse. Signs of this may include a resident wearing the same clothes for days at a time, smelling as if they are unwashed or have not had various sanitary products switched out, it can be a sign of nursing home abuse.
Incorrect or Wrong Medication Administration
As people get older, they frequently require a lot of medication to manage various conditions or ailments. This can be stressful or frustrating to nursing home staff in some cases. Accordingly, they may forget, withhold, or even deliberately administer the wrong kind of medication to a resident. Depending on the medication, there could be nasty side effects. In some cases, staff may overmedicate a resident in order to make them less troublesome.
Sexual Abuse
As abhorrent as it may sound, some nursing home staff do sexually abuse residents. Nursing home residents are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse because they are not very often in a position to seek help and may or may not be fully cognizant of the fact that sexual abuse is taking place. Signs of sexual abuse in nursing facilities include sexually transmitted diseases, cuts or bruises – especially around the genital areas – and intense fear or dislike of certain staff members. Suspected nursing home sexual abuse should be taken seriously, so our nursing home abuse lawyers will be sure to conduct a thorough investigation.
Death
Sadly, elderly people who experience nursing home abuse have a higher likelihood of passing away. If you suspect that a loved one died because of nursing home abuse, you should talk to our lawyers.
What Causes Nursing Home Abuse in Wakefield, MA
Very rarely does nursing home abuse happen for no particular reason. There is usually a root cause for abuse taking place, which our lawyers can discover and use to help bolster your argument in court.
Staff Stress and Burnout
It is no secret that working at a nursing home is a physically and emotionally demanding job. Nursing home staff need to care for many residents around the clock, and the residents themselves may not always be grateful for that care. This can have an effect on nursing home staff, which may lead some to shirk their duties or abuse some of the residents.
Staff Shortages
Another cause of nursing home abuse is an insufficient number of caregivers. This can lead to fatigue as nursing home staff are pushed to their limits and may slip up when overworked or attending too many different residents.
Improper Training
Being a caregiver in a nursing home requires specific training, some of which may be particular to only a handful of residents. In many cases, staff training is done on the job, so an inexperienced staff member may do something that constitutes nursing home abuse if they are not properly trained.
Talk to Our Wakefield, MA Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers Today
The Law Office of John J. Sheehan’s nursing home abuse lawyers are ready to provide free case reviews when you call (617) 925-6407.
