Families need to be vigilant and stay involved to ensure that elderly relatives are safe and their needs are met in nursing homes. It can be difficult to identify signs that a loved one is being abused or neglected, especially among seniors who are being threatened and/or those with cognitive impairments.

If you have reason to suspect that your loved one is a victim of abuse or neglect, you should trust your instincts. Take steps to keep your family member safe, and consult a nursing home abuse lawyer as soon as possible to get a full understanding of your legal rights and options.

How to Recognize Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

Whether it is due to pride, fear, or difficulty communicating, nursing home residents often don’t speak up when caregivers and staff mistreat them. As such, it is often up to family members and close friends to take action if something seems wrong.

Nursing home abuse can take several different forms. Frequent visits are the best tool you have for detecting the warning signs of abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

Signs of Physical Abuse

Physical abuse consists of any kind of violence directed toward a resident’s person. This may include pushing, shoving, slapping, punching, kicking, and choking (to name but a few examples).

Possible signs that a nursing home resident is the victim of physical abuse include:

• Physical marks such as bruises, welts, cuts, etc.
• Broken bones
• Unexplained falls
• Burns
• Scarring
• Damaged personal effects (such as clothes, eyeglasses, etc.)

Another form of physical abuse involves the unnecessary use of restraints. Nursing home residents who have been restrained may have marks on their wrists and/or their ankles. Medication may also be misused as a form of chemical restraint, potentially leaving your loved one in a disoriented or unresponsive state.

Signs of Emotional Abuse

Any form of abuse can carry immense psychological consequences for vulnerable seniors. Generally, however, emotional abuse takes the form of verbal abuse on the part of a caregiver or staff member.

Nursing home residents may be subjected to insults, humiliating or degrading comments, threats, and more. In egregious cases, the abuse may be witnessed by other residents, staff members, and visitors.

Seniors who endure emotional abuse may exhibit a wide range of behaviors, including:

• Withdrawal from social interactions
• Agitation
• Depression
• Fearfulness and anxiety
• Mood swings
• Extreme nervousness around residents and members of the staff

If your loved one starts exhibiting significant changes in behavior, it is important to get to the root of the problem as soon as possible. Another red flag that may be indicative of emotional abuse or other mistreatment is the refusal of a caregiver to leave you alone with your family member, as well as aggressive or bullying conduct in your presence.

Signs of Sexual Abuse

Sexual harassment and violence are among the most despicable forms of nursing home abuse. Instances of abuse might range from explicit comments to sexual assault and rape.

Nursing home residents who endure sexual abuse may exhibit a number of physical and emotional signs, including:

• Bruising and other physical injuries (particularly to areas such as the breasts, buttocks, and genitals)
• Sexually transmitted infections and diseases
• Damaged clothing (particularly undergarments)
• Sudden onset of anxiety or depression
• Loss of interest in day-to-day life and favorite activities
• Self-isolating behavior

Sexual abuse is not solely perpetrated by nursing home staff and caregivers. Residents may also be victimized by their fellow residents. If this is the case and the nursing home staff and administration turned a blind eye to the abuse, you and your family may be entitled to compensation.

Signs of Financial Abuse and Exploitation

Caregivers and other nursing home workers sometimes abuse their power for financial gain. This can take a variety of different forms, from stealing a resident’s money and belongings to manipulating residents into signing away their assets.

Financial abuse and exploitation can be very difficult to detect. The following are among the most common red flags:

• Cash and valuables missing from your loved one’s room
• Unexplained purchases and transactions
• Insufficient funds to pay bills
• Unauthorized bank withdrawals
• New credit cards and bank accounts opened in your loved one’s name
• Exorbitant gifts to a caregiver
• Changes in your loved one’s will, power of attorney, etc.

If you are involved in an elderly loved one’s finances, it is important to keep an eye on any unusual activity. Some issues are honest mistakes, such as failing to pay a bill or overdrawing an account. In other cases, however, someone at the nursing home may be abusing or exploiting your loved one.

Signs of Nursing Home Neglect

Much of the concern around the safety of residents in nursing homes is (justifiably) focused on issues of abuse. Abuse is an intentional act of wrongdoing on the part of a caregiver or another member of the nursing home staff.

However, it is crucial not to overlook the role that neglect might have played in the harm your loved one has suffered. Neglect may be intentional, or it could be the result of poor training and lack of qualifications on the part of the staff. In either case, it is important to be aware of the potential warning signs of neglect in a nursing home:

• Decline in your loved one’s physical health and/or emotional well-being
• Worsening health conditions
• Infections
• Bed sores
• Poor hygiene
• Unsanitary and unsafe living conditions
• Malnutrition and weight loss
• Dehydration
• Wandering around the facility without supervision
• Elopement (where a resident leaves the nursing home unbeknownst to the staff)
• Failure to provide adequate medical care

All of these issues indicate that something is wrong at the nursing home. They are also potential grounds for bringing a claim against the nursing home for personal injury or the wrongful death of your loved one.

It is in your best interest to speak to a nursing home abuse attorney if you believe that negligence or wrongdoing at the facility led to your loved one’s injuries or death. Prompt investigation is essential for collecting evidence and identifying who is at fault.

Contact a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Today

The challenges of nursing home litigation demand experienced representation. For more than 25 years, Kogan & DiSalvo has been representing residents and their families in abuse and neglect claims.

Our attorneys are committed to pursuing the compensation you and your loved ones deserve. This is not just a case; this is your life, and our team will provide you with step-by-step guidance to ensure you have all of the information and support you need to make informed decisions about your claim so you can move forward with confidence.

Please call Kogan & DiSalvo at (561) 375-9500 today for a free case review. Our nursing home abuse lawyers serve clients in in Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Lakeland, Palm Bay, St. Petersburg, Stuart, Tampa, Vero Beach, and West Palm Beach.

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Unfortunately, the caregivers and staff at nursing homes do not always treat residents with the compassion and respect they deserve. As a result, abuse and neglect of vulnerable seniors are commonplace occurrences.

Diligence is the best defense against mistreatment of a senior citizen in a nursing home. Loved ones can take multiple steps to keep their relatives safe.

If you suspect your elderly loved one is being mistreated, it is important to contact a Florida nursing home abuse attorney, or call (561) 375-9500 as soon as possible. Kogan & DiSalvo can help.

7 Ways to Protect Seniors in Nursing Homes

Nursing homes provide an important service. With many families unable to give full-time care for aging loved ones, these facilities are crucial for helping seniors who are no longer able to help themselves.

Elderly people who live in nursing homes are highly vulnerable. Their ongoing health and safety often depends on the active involvement of family members who can act on their behalf and protect their well-being.

Steps families can take to ensure the safety of loved ones before and after they move into a nursing home include:

1. Screen Caregivers and Facilities

Deciding to move an elderly loved one into a nursing home is never an easy decision. One of the most important questions you and your family must answer is whether a particular facility can provide the care your relative needs.

The senior’s individual needs must be at the forefront of your mind in making this decision, but the following resources can help:

• Search the Medicare website for nursing homes in your area
• Access the Facility/Provider Locator on Florida Health Finder (a public information website operated by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration)
• Read online reviews for each nursing home – these may be posted on Google, Facebook, and other websites

Researching local nursing homes online can help you start to identify facilities that might be a good fit for your loved one.

2. Visit the Facility in Person

The information you find on the internet is a good start, but there is no substitute for an in-person tour of the nursing home(s) you are considering. Walk the grounds and the hallways while observing the interactions between residents and staff.

Administrators and caregivers should be happy to answer any questions you may have. If residents are healthy, well-groomed, and seem content, these are all points in the facility’s favor.

3. Stay Local

If possible, it is best to choose a facility for your loved one that is near your home. This will make it easier to visit and check in on your relative, as well as alleviate feelings of distance and isolation that seniors might feel when living apart from their families.

Should your relative become ill or suffer injury, living nearby will allow you to get to the nursing home quickly and be involved in your loved one’s care. In some cases, sickness and injuries truly are accidents. In other cases, however, these events may be signs of neglect or abuse.

4. Visit Frequently

Abuse and neglect in nursing homes often goes unchecked because caregivers and staff believe they can get away with it. Seniors without close family ties and few visitors are at the highest risk of being mistreated.

Frequent visits give you an opportunity to check up on your loved one. Pay special attention to your relative’s appearance, hygiene, and behavior, as well as the condition of his or her room and the facility itself. If you notice drastic changes, these could be signs of negligence on the part of caregivers and staff at the nursing home.

5. Vary Your Visits

Regularly visiting seniors in nursing homes is important for residents’ well-being and emotional health, as well as maintaining close family relationships. However, if you always visit the nursing home at the same time on the same day of the week, unscrupulous staff members are more likely to “cover up” the signs of abuse, neglect, and exploitation because they know when you will be on site.

Nursing home residents have the right to receive visitors. Florida law also requires nursing homes to maintain flexible visiting hours. With this in mind, maintaining a somewhat unpredictable schedule for visiting your loved one (provided it does not interfere with his/her care or routine) can help you get a sense for how your relative is being treated in the nursing home.

Visiting on different days and at different times makes it more difficult for abuse and neglect to happen. If you come across issues in the course of a visit, it is in your best interest to contact a Florida nursing home abuse attorney as soon as possible.

6. Know Your Loved One’s Medical Needs

Nursing home residents have the right to be involved in their medical care and make their own health-related decisions. However, it is in the best interests of families for one or more trusted loved ones to be aware of seniors’ medical issues and their needs and wishes concerning treatment.

This knowledge will enable family members to identify when residents are not getting the care they need and deserve. In some cases, declining health can occur as a result of neglect and abuse by caregivers and staff.

7. Offer Help with Finances

Financial abuse and exploitation is one of the most overlooked forms of nursing home abuse. Although there is generally no physical harm, the adverse effects on senior citizens and their families can be immense.

Residents of nursing homes have the right to manage their own finances. When a relative is being taken advantage of, it can be difficult for loved ones to raise the issue.

The best way to help senior citizens manage their finances while respecting their independence is to offer to help. Offer to balance a checkbook if your loved one has difficulty writing. Go shopping on their behalf. If you discover irregularities or issues in performing these activities, you can delicately bring it to the elder’s attention – and potentially stop mistreatment by the nursing home staff.

Need Help Protecting a Nursing Home Resident? Contact Kogan & DiSalvo Today

Nursing home abuse can happen despite your best efforts to keep your loved one safe. If an elder is suffering mistreatment or neglect in a long-term care facility, it is important to explore your legal rights and options.

Contact the nursing home abuse attorneys at Kogan & DiSalvo today. We have extensive experience serving the victims of nursing home abuse and their families. We fully investigate to identify all liable parties in your case and pursue compensation for all of your losses.

For a free consultation with a Florida nursing home abuse attorney, please call (561) 375-9500 today. Kogan & DiSalvo has offices in Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Lakeland, Palm Bay, St. Petersburg, Stuart, Tampa, Vero Beach, and West Palm Beach.

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