ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
All Nursing Home Residents At Risk
Neglect Can Be As Fatal As Intentional Abuse
Bedridden Patients Particularly at Risk
Neglect of the elderly can be as harmful as intentional abuse. Nursing home residents requiring daily care are especially at risk. Understaffing increases the chances of neglect as fewer aids are required to care for more patients. Nursing homes, owners, administrators, and staff all owe a duty of care to residents. If you have a loved one who has suffered injury due to neglect or other forms of abuse in a nursing home, the San Francisco nursing home abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. can represent you in recovering against those responsible. Call us today at 415-441-8669, and we can help.
Facts About Nursing Home Neglect
• In one 2,000-person study of nursing home residents, 95% of respondents experienced or witnessed neglect.
• According to the National Center for Victims of Crime, 15.3% of elder abuse complaints are for neglect.
• Studies show that nearly 1 in 3 U.S. nursing homes have been cited for violations of standards that could or had harmed a resident.
• Nearly 1 out of 10 nursing homes had violations that caused residents harm, serious injury, or placed them at risk of death, according to the National Center on Elder Abuse.
Before admitting a loved one to a home, check the California Department of Health and Human Services track record for the home. You can see any violations and fines that have issued. You can also see if the home’s license covers the type of care your loved one requires, such as care of dementia patients. Some homes accept patients they are not authorized to accept. Once your loved one is a home, look for signs of neglect. During the current emergency, visits may be off limits, but California law allows you to install a camera in your loved one’s room to monitor their care. The home administrator is required to inform you of the procedures for installation of a camera.
Spotting Abuse
Signs of possible abuse or neglect:
• Bedsores/pressure ulcers or other poor skin conditions;
• Indication of rape, sexual assault, or battery;
• Bruises and scratch marks;
• Poor physical appearance or lack of cleanliness;
• Frequent infections;
• Falls;
• Injuries from wandering off unsupervised (known as elopement);
• Lack of equipment and supplies;
• Overmedication;
• Rapid weight loss;
• Dehydration;
• Abnormal or withdrawn behavior and unusual silence;
• Prolonged sleep or drowsiness;
• Agitation especially when certain caregivers are present or caregivers who do not want the patient to be alone with others;
• Reluctance to speak when staff is nearby;
• Unsanitary and unclean conditions, soiled bed linens and clothes;
• Fear of being touched.
Contact Us
If you or a loved one is or has been the victim of abuse or neglect from a caregiver or while residing in a nursing home or other care facility in San Francisco or elsewhere in California, contact Ingrid M. Evans and the other nursing home abuse attorneys at the Evans Law Firm at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. We can help guide your case through a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, qui tam and whistleblower law, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
