Nursing Home Abuse

Santa Clara County Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers

Reports of nursing home abuse have increased in San Francisco, Santa Clara County and across the nation.  Senior citizens who require specialized care are vulnerable to abuse and neglect in nursing homes because they are vulnerable to exploitation. Nursing home workers in San Jose and throughout Santa Clara County are in a position to commit nursing home abuse. It is important to make sure that physical or financial elder abuse does not happen to someone that you love. If you believe that someone you care about is a victim of nursing home abuse, contact our Santa Clara County nursing home abuse lawyers for a free and confidential consultation.

Warning Signs of Nursing Home Abuse

Nursing home abuse can take many forms. In order to best assess if a loved one is experiencing use, look for the following signs:

• Sudden changes in mood, or disposition
• Unexplained death
• Rapid loss of weight, or malnutrition
• Unexplained illness or injuries
• Unsanitary living conditions

What Leads to Nursing Home Abuse?

Understaffing is a problem in the nursing home industry.  Lack of staff is a cause of neglect and nursing home abuses in Santa Clara County. Seniors who live at nursing homes are supposed to be cared for by registered nurses.  Some nursing home facilities cut back the hours of care by registered nurses in order to save money. This practice results in elders receiving inadequate care from overworked nursing staff. In some nursing home facilities, nurses’ aides provide the care that should be given by registered nurses, regardless of regulations. When seniors are not cared for by properly trained staff they are in danger of neglect and nursing home abuse.

Abandonment, neglect, and assault are forms of nursing home abuse that can happen to an elder in a live in facility.  Humiliating, yelling, threatening, ridiculing, ignoring, or isolating the elder are examples of emotional abuse that can happen at a live in facility. Restraint, hitting, confinement, and over- or under-prescribed drugs and dosages are types of physical elder abuse that can happen in any nursing home in Santa Clara County.  Forcing the senior citizen to watch pornographic material against his or her will or inappropriately undressing or touching the patient may be a sign of sexual abuse.

Bedsores–A Common Sign of Abuse 

Bedsores area result of improper care or neglect.  Bedsores develop when a part of the body is subjected to prolonged pressure – such as when a person is bedridden for a long period of time and the mattress or furniture presses into their skin. This pressure from lack of activity makes the surrounding tissue eventually break down. Signs of bedsores include redness, irritation, and painful open sores on the skin.  Bedsores are potentially fatal if they are not treated.

Bedridden or sedentary nursing home residents are most at risk for developing bedsores, especially if they are unable to move without the assistance of helpers. If a patient develops bedsores at a nursing home, it could be the result of poor nursing care, neglect, or physical elder abuse. According to medical studies, bedsores can be prevented for inactive residents by repositioning every few hours.

Contact the Santa Clara County Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers to Fight for Your Loved Ones

Elders living in nursing homes have the right to be treated with the utmost of care: free of mistreatment, abuse and neglect. If you believe that you or a loved one has been the victim of nursing home abuse, contact Evans Law Firm, Inc. for a free and confidential consultation at 415-441-8669 or email info@evanslaw.com. Our office is conveniently located in San Francisco.