A number of statistics show that people are living longer these days. As a result, many elderly people end up living in nursing homes after dealing with an extended illness. Depending on the family’s situation, medical insurance and finances, an elderly person may live the rest of his/her life in the nursing home.

Family members put a lot of trust in nursing homes or living facilities to take care of their loved ones. However, due to negligence, there have been instances where the patient ends up in worse shape than when they arrived. Injuries can either be caused as a result of intentional acts or unintentional acts. Regardless, family members should instantly take notice and consult with a nursing home abuse attorney to see what their legal options are.

Intentional and Unintentional Acts of Nursing Home Abuse

A few examples of intentional acts that harm the patient include sexual, physical, or verbal abuse. Unfortunately, many nursing home patients suffer from sexual assault as their physical limitations make them unable to resist. Also, there have been several documented cases where nursing home employees have slapped the patients solely because they were frustrated with a particular resident.

There have been several incidents of verbal abuse as well, like an employee yelling at a patient, using racist slurs or calling them derogatory names. Many events like these have been caught on security cameras, supplying enough evidence of nursing home abuse.

Unintentional acts, on the other hand, are often a result of negligence and not necessarily done on purpose, but harms the patient nonetheless. Many nursing homes are poorly staffed, which makes it impossible to tend to every patient’s requirements. If patients are not bathed daily, they can develop bed sores, which can cause severe or even life-threatening infections if left untreated.

Because nursing homes are understaffed, it also results in employees working overtime. This can either cause them to get overtired or impatient and can directly impact their performance. In turn, this can have an impact on the patients’ well-being. For example, there may come a time when an employee administers the wrong medication to a patient.

How Negligence Can Impact Patients

A well-documented case showed a nursing home employee giving the wrong pills to a patient because he shared the last name of another patient in the nursing home. Fortunately, the patient survived. However, it could have had serious consequences if the patient was allergic to the medication.

It is the responsibility of the nursing home to ensure that they are correctly staffing & vetting employees. It is crucial for all nurses and doctors to have regular on the job training and certification. This ensures that all staff members follow proper practices and can effectively operate medical devices. Failure in this department can be considered as negligence, and a nursing facility can be held responsible for injuries that take place.

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