Richard Hastings asked:


Medical malpractice is the deviation from the acceptable medical standard of care which causes results in some type of harm to the patient. It can and does happen in a health care facility including nursing homes. Nursing home malpractice is any intentional act or negligence committed by a nursing home professional and/or staff member that potential causes physical, economic, or psychological harm to the residents. Malpractice can occur if the care provided deviates from accepted standards of practice in the community and causes injury or death to the resident. While most facilities attempt to provide competent care, there are instances when the quality of care is not up to standards, and as a result medical malpractice occurs. General neglect is the most common nursing home malpractice and could include:

* Failure to assist in personal hygiene

* Failure to provide appropriate medical care

* Failure to provide appropriate food, clothing, and shelter

* Failure to prevent or treat malnutrition and dehydration

* Failure to prevent falls

* Failure to provide a safe environment

Any act or failure to act perpetuated by staff member that causes harm to a resident could be considered nursing home malpractice. Signs of or symptoms of these problems can include bedsores, pressure sores, infections, dehydration, malnutrition, unexplained ailments, undetected or misdiagnosed medical conditions, slip and fall accidents, medication errors, inappropriate physical restraint, untreated pain, and related indications of injury and/or death to the residents. Nursing home malpractice also includes inadequate staffing, inexperienced or under-trained staff, negligent supervision, and patient isolation. When the minimum standards governing the nursing home industry not met, the party responsible can be held accountable for any damages caused by the malpractice. Elder abuse in a nursing home is also a malpractice. There are different types of elder abuse: physical abuse, financial abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect and health care fraud. A victim of nursing home malpractice can file a claim for malpractice. The claim must be made within the statute of limitation which varies from state to state. The victim must generally prove four elements in a nursing home negligence claim: (1) a duty of care was owed by the nursing home; (2) the home violated the applicable standard of care; (3) the victim suffered a compensable injury; and (4) the injury was caused in fact and proximately caused by the substandard conduct. The burden of proving these elements is on the victim. Sometimes nursing home malpractice can also result in the death of the resident. In such cases, the survivors of the deceased resident can file a claim for wrongful death against the nursing home and its staff. To prove a nursing home malpractice case, expert testimony may be need to provide that employees of the nursing home failed to render care and treatment that meets the prevailing standard of care in the industry, and that this breach of the standard of care caused the resident’s injury or death. If you suspect you are a medical malpractice victim or nursing home malpractice for any reason, it is recommended that you seek legal advice immediately. Attorney Richard Hastings, for the past two and one half decades, has been helping injured clients and families collect millions of dollars in cases ranging from motor vehicle accidents to wrongful death, to medical malpractice. He is the founder of Selectcounsel, LLC, a free service that helps you find one of the best lawyers in your area and is the author of the books “How To Find A Great Lawyer” and “Understanding And Improving The Value Of Your Personal Injury Case.” Please visit http://www.SelectCounsel.com to see how they can find you one of the best lawyers in your area for your serious injury or medical malpractice case.



Kohan

T. Daniel Frith, III asked:


All residents in nursing homes are entitled to receive quality care and live in an environment that improves or maintains the quality of their physical and mental health. This entitlement includes freedom from neglect and abuse.

WHAT CONSTITUTES NEGLECT AND ABUSE?

Neglect: Neglect is the failure to care for a person in a manner, which would avoid harm and pain, or the failure to react to a situation which may be harmful. Neglect may or may not be intentional. For example, a caring aide who is poorly trained may not know how to provide proper care. Examples include:

Incorrect body positioning — which leads to limb contractures and skin breakdown;

Lack of toileting or changing of disposable briefs — which causes incontinence and results in residents sitting in urine and feces, increased falls and agitation, indignity and skin breakdown;

Lack of assistance eating and drinking — which leads to malnutrition and dehydration;

Lack of assistance with walking — which leads to lack of mobility;

Lack of bathing — which leads to indignity, and poor hygiene;

Poor handwashing techniques — which leads to infection;

Lack of assistance with participating in activities of interest — which leads to withdrawal and isolation;

Ignoring call bells or cries for help.

Abuse: Abuse means causing intentional pain or harm. This includes physical, mental, verbal, psychological, and sexual abuse, and intimidation. Examples include:

Physical abuse from a staff member, another resident, or visitor from outside the facility — including hitting, pinching, shoving, force-feeding, scratching, slapping, and spitting;

Psychological or emotional abuse — including berating, ignoring, ridiculing, or cursing a resident, threats of punishment or deprivation;

Sexual abuse — including improper touching or coercion to perform sexual acts;

Substandard care which often results in one or more of the following conditions — immobilization, incontinence, dehydration, pressure sores, and depression;

Rough handling during care giving, medicine administration or moving a resident.

REPORTING NEGLECT AND ABUSE

It is a violation of State and Federal law for any person, including facility staff, volunteers, visitors, family members or guardians, or another resident, to neglect or abuse a resident.

Anyone can and should report neglect and abuse. If you suspect neglect or abuse, or if a resident tells you they are experiencing this problem, it is important to believe the resident and REPORT THE ALLEGATION IMMEDIATELY. This will help prevent further suffering by any resident.

Many states have laws that require the reporting of abuse and neglect. Find out what your state requires.

Put your report in writing, date it, and keep a copy. Convey as much information as you can about the situation. Remember to include:

WHO The name of the victim, including age and address; the name of the facility and the people responsible for the victim’s care; the identity of the person who you believe abused or neglected the resident;

WHAT The nature and extent of harm and any physical signs of abuse or neglect; any previous incidents; what happened;

WHERE and WHEN the place where the incident happened and time and date of the incident.

Make Your Report To:

The nursing home’s administrator, director of nursing, and social worker

The state or local Ombudsman

The local police or State law enforcement

Adult Protective Services agency – which is part of the Department of Social Services

The state survey agency that licenses and certifies nursing homes (often in the Health Department)

A citizen advocacy group or other church or community group that visits regularly.

Keep trying until you get the assistance you need.

AFTER THE REPORT:

Follow up with the resident and facility to make sure the neglect or abuse has stopped.

Follow up with the person or agency conducting the investigation. Ask for written copies of investigative reports.

If the perpetrator is charged with abuse or neglect, the charge will be referred to the state licensing authority. If the guilty person is a nurse aide, the charge will be reported to the state nurse aide registry. This registry is used by nursing homes to prevent abusive aides from working with the elderly. Nursing homes are required to check the registry before hiring a person.

If all the safety options fail, you may have to contact the local media, the U.S. Justice Department, or seek private legal assistance.

Patricia

Nick Johnson asked:


Nursing home abuse is one of the most egregious forms of medical malpractice that our society inflicts within the medical community. While no one wants to place their loved one in a nursing home, should the time arrive when we have no choice we are entrusting caretakers with the charge of our mothers, fathers, grandparents, and beloved relatives and friends. Abuse is an atrocious disappointment as well as difficult to discern.

One of the most common forms of abuse is overmedicating or the dispensing of medication that is not necessary. This is equally as indicative of neglect, as it prevents residents from being too vocal or needy as their medication prevents them from frequent interaction. This form of abuse can also be utilized to keep a resident that is the victim of another form of nursing home abuse from speaking out against it. A sudden disassociation in itself warns of abuse or neglect. A disassociation accompanied by bruises or other injury should be reported as medical malpractice both to the authorities and to a lawyer.

Neglect can be difficult to detect in residents that have frequent visitors. Often those with few visitors are the most likely victims of neglect as there is no one to report the medical malpractice to the appropriate authorities or an attorney.

If you are a frequent visitor to the nursing home, take notice of those who don’t seem to get visitors and occasionally include them in your visits. You will notice if the conditions they live in are unsanitary, if they are losing weight, if they seem to have a chronic but treatable injury or wound, or if they are perpetually in bed and in the same position. These are signs of chronic neglect, and report this medical malpractice to both the authorities as well as a competent lawyer. You are not only assisting a forgotten soul, but protecting your loved one as well.

Physical abuse and neglect are not the only forms of abuse. Verbal nursing home abuse is equally atrocious as slapping and restraining. A resident with sudden symptoms of extreme distress, withdrawal, sensitivity, fear, and extremely out of character reactions to family and beloved visitors may very well be victims of verbal abuse. A nursing home abuse lawyer and the proper authorities should be notified immediately and an investigation should be launched.

It is not necessary to have concrete evidence of abuse or neglect to file a medical malpractice complaint with the state’s appropriate authorities and a nursing home abuse lawyer. If you just have a gnawing suspicion of abuse and can report changes in behavior that go unexplained, erring on the side of caution is always in the resident’s best interest.



Craig

Evan Langsted asked:


Over 1.6 million people live in licensed nursing homes across the United States and another million live in other long-term care or assisted living facilities. As the baby boom generation gets up in age these numbers will soon increase significantly. If you or a loved one is shopping for a nursing home, or already reside in one, you may not yet be aware of the increasing reports of nursing home abuse and neglect that occur in these facilities.

Here are just a few things that recent studies have revealed:

• One study found that 44 percent of nursing home residents have suffered some form of abuse. 48 percent reported having been treated or handled roughly. 38 percent reported having witnessed the abuse of others.

• Roughly 30 percent of long-term care staff had witnessed some form of physical abuse of a patient in the previous year. 81 percent report having seen some form of verbal, physical, or other form of abuse over this same time period. 40 percent admit to committing such acts at least once over the previous year.

• 66 percent of nursing home residents suffer from Alzheimer’s disease or other cognitive problems which severely limits their ability to take care of themselves or be aware that abuse is occurring.

• One third of nursing homes or other long-term care facilities have been cited for violations that had the potential to lead to abuse and 10 percent were cited for actual physical abuse.

• 85 percent of nursing home staff blames staffing shortages for the cause of abuse.

Perhaps the most alarming statistic indicates that only 20 percent of instances of nursing home neglect and abuse are ever reported. There are several possible reasons that such instances do not get reported. For one, many nursing home residents are too cognitively impaired to make a report on their own, whether they suffered the abuse or witnessed another resident being abused.

Those who are capable of making a report often choose not to out of fear that doing so would only cause further abuse. Considering that many nursing home residents do not have friends or relatives nearby who can check on them regularly to see that they are being treated properly, this abuse can become a chronic issue.



Louise

Nick Johnson asked:


Many of us that choose to place our loved one into a nursing home facility naturally assume that the management and workers have the residents’ well being in mind.

After all, nursing homes are supposed to provide professional care for those that can’t care for themselves, right? As much as we hope Aunt Agnes will be properly cared for, too often we are let down and in some cases our worst fears are realized. Loved ones are being subjected to nursing home abuse and nursing home neglect, and it’s happening everywhere.

Staff members have been caught in the act of inflicting verbal abuse on elderly residents. Physical abuse and emotional abuse is just as widespread in American nursing homes today. Any form of abuse is inexcusable because it produces harmful effects to the residents as well as family members of the victim.

There are many signs that could show if your loved one is a victim of physical or emotional abuse at a nursing home: bumps or bruises on the body, cuts and scrapes, lacerations, burns, broken bones, changes in behavior, and mood swings.

If you observe things such as bed sores, poor hygiene and unclean conditions in the nursing home, be aware that these could be additional signs of neglect.

Nursing homes are ordered by the federal and state governments to meet specific requirements regarding the care they provide. This includes making sure an adequate number of professional employees are on hand to care for residents. Unfortunately, many nursing homes will jeopardize the welfare of their elderly residents by not maintaining enough employees to provide care.

There are attorneys who can offer legal solutions if you or a loved one has experienced abuse or neglect. It is imperative that you speak with an experienced lawyer if you have questions concerning what can be done with your abuse claim. You or your loved one may be entitled to compensation for your damages or suffering.

Things to Consider When Filing a Nursing Home Negligence Lawsuit:

Over one and a half million American families turn to nursing homes to care for their elderly loved ones. That number is expected to more than triple over the next thirty years, as the baby boomer population ages. When families chose nursing care, they do with an expectation of professionalism, kindness and compassion; yet the reality that they encounter is all too often disturbing and painful: nursing home negligence.

According to a 2001 Congressional Report, one in three U.S. nursing homes have been cited for abuse or neglect. These types of violations are especially insidious since elderly and disabled residents are unable to protect themselves from an attack. Yet according to the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, all residents have the right to live in an environment that improves or at the very least maintains their physical and mental health. So, what do you do if instead of safety and security, you encounter neglect and abuse?

First, remember that you and your loved ones do not have to surrender your rights just because you have moved to a nursing home. Negligence, in the form of abuse and neglect, is not only immoral, it is illegal. If you are the victim of negligence, you are entitled not only to be protected from future attacks, but also to be compensated for your pain and suffering. In order to learn more about your legal options, you will want to contact a local lawyer, with expertise in the laws and regulations of your state.

When considering whether to file a lawsuit, it is also important that you understand what constitutes neglect and abuse. Neglect is the failure to care for a person in a manner that will prevent harm or pain from occurring. Neglect may be intentional, but it does not have to be. Abuse refers to the intentional causing of harm or pain, including physical, mental, and sexual abuse, as well as the use of corporal punishment and intimidation. Another form of nursing home negligence is the misappropriation of residents’ property and possessions, such as stealing and embezzling.

If you believe a violation of your rights has occurred, your lawyer will be able to help you to report the incident to the local or federal authorities. Be sure to put your report in writing and keep a copy as this will bolster your case if you chose to file a negligence lawsuit.



Greg