Nursing Home Abuse in San Mateo County

San Mateo County Nursing Home Abuse

Nursing home abuse is on the rise in San Mateo County and across the nation.  It is important to be aware of that when you make decisions about nursing home care for loved ones. Senior citizens who require personal care are vulnerable to exploitation, and sometimes suffer from abuses and neglect in nursing homes. Nursing home staff in San Mateo County are in a position to commit nursing home abuse. Make sure that physical or financial elder abuse does not happen to someone that you love. Evans Law Firm, Inc. represents victims of elder abuse in San Mateo County and the San Francisco Bay Area. If you believe that you or a loved one is a victim of nursing home abuse, contact us for a free and confidential consultation.

What Leads to Nursing Home Abuse?

Understaffing is a primary cause of neglect and nursing home abuses in San Mateo County. Elders who reside at nursing homes have the right to a certain number of hours of care by registered nurses, and some facilities cut back on these hours in order to save money. This results in residents receiving inadequate and insubstantial care from tired and overworked nursing staff. In some facilities, nurses’ aides provide the care that should be given by registered nurses, despite regulations. These practices place the elders who are not receiving the attention they need and deserve in danger of neglect and nursing home abuse.

Neglect, abandonment, and assault are types of nursing home abuse that can happen to an elder in a nursing home. Hitting, shoving, restraint, confinement, over- or under-prescribed drugs and dosages are examples of physical elder abuses that can happen in any nursing home.  Threatening, humiliating, yelling, ridiculing, ignoring, or isolating the elder are examples of emotional abuse that can happen at a nursing home. Forcing the resident to watch pornographic material against his or her will or inappropriately undressing or touching the elder may be a sign of sexual abuse.

Bedsores

Neglect and improper medical care and treatment can lead to bedsores. Bedsores develop when a part of the body is subjected to prolonged pressure – such as when a person is laying in the same position for a long period of time and the mattress or furniture presses into their skin. This pressure makes the surrounding tissue eventually break down. Redness, irritation, and painful open sores in the skin are all signs of bedsores. Bedsores can be fatal if they are not treated.

Inactive nursing home residents are particularly at risk for developing bedsores, especially if they are unable to move without the assistance of others. If a senior citizen develops bedsores at a nursing home, it could be the result of poor nursing care, neglect, or physical elder abuse. According to medical studies, inactive residents should be repositioned or moved at least every two hours, and given padding or lubricant to prevent bedsores.

Evans Law Firm, Inc. and San Mateo County Nursing Home Abuse

Senior citizens 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.