If you suspect that your loved one has suffered abuse in a nursing home, you may have grounds to take legal action, and an El Paso nursing home abuse lawyer might be able to help. Anyone who has abused or neglected a nursing home resident deserves to be held accountable.
Your loved one deserves justice. Ben Crump Law, PLLC represents people who have experienced human rights violations, just like your victimized relative. Our team fights relentlessly and does not back down. To learn more about how we might be able to get justice for your family, call us at (800) 712-9119 for a free consultation. Your relative deserves justice and a legal team who will fight for them at all costs.
The offices of Ben Crump Law, PLLC serve clients on a contingency basis, so you do not need to worry about paying for our legal services until we win for your family.
Abuse Commonly Seen in Nursing Homes
Elder abuse mistreatment categorizes into three different forms of behavior: abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
Abusive Behaviors
- Nursing home staff sometimes over-medicate elderly patients to sedate them. This relieves staff of their responsibility to care for patients, making it much more likely that nursing home residents will not have their basic needs met. As a result, they can suffer ailments, such as dehydration, pressure sores, poor bathroom hygiene (due to a lack of help), and other forms of mental and emotional neglect.
- Verbal and psychological abuse are all a problem in nursing homes. Verbally abusive behavior might include shaming a resident for poor toileting behaviors, talking down to them, or telling them they are worthless. This can include ignoring, threatening, humiliating, or cursing at a resident. This type of abuse can affect a patient’s mental health. There may be an apparent, gradual decrease in confidence, along with an increase in anxiety, depression, emotional detachment, and social withdrawal. This type of abuse can especially occur in patients with dementia who cannot recall specific incidences of abuse or relay them to you.
- Physical abuse of nursing home patients presents itself in numerous ways. Physical abuse may be perpetrated by an employee, visitors, or an intruder by hitting, pushing, grabbing, spitting, kicking, or force-feeding a resident. This abuse can also be inflicted on patient-to-patient. The National Center for Elder Abuse (NCEA) cited that physical abuse makes up 29% of all nursing home abuse cases.
- Sexual abuse is also a risk for patients, which makes up 7% of abuse cases. This can include forcing the resident to perform unwanted sexual acts.
Neglectful Behaviors
Neglect is also a common offense of nursing home staff. Out of nursing home staff that admitted to mistreating nursing home patients in one study, 66% of those occurrences included neglect, as the NCEA reports. Forms of neglect include:
- Failing to take care of wounds, not performing basic, proper wound care procedures
- Failing to do motion exercises or help bedridden patients, causing them to develop pressure sores
- Not helping patients with hygiene as needed
- Leaving a patient alone for excessive periods of time or ignoring a patient
- Not responding to calls for help or call buttons
- Not feeding patients who are unable to feed themselves
Financially Exploitative Behavior
The NCEA found that financial exploitation made up only 7% of abuse cases. Nursing home patients can be financially exploited in many ways, including theft. Bank cards may be stolen and used to make purchases. Patients may be coerced into providing their PIN number for ATM withdrawals or writing checks to the nursing home staff. Valuable possessions, such as jewelry or other personal items, may also be stolen.
For a free legal consultation with a nursing home abuse lawyer serving El Paso, call 800-712-9119
Signs of Elder Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation
There are a number of reasons your family member needs you to discover their abuse on your own. They may not be able to explicitly tell you about it on their own. Patients with dementia are some of those most vulnerable to mistreatment because they are often not able to recall or verbalize specific episodes of mistreatment. Instead, you may have to rely on their behavior and physical appearance.
Another reason your family member may be hesitant to report abuse is a fear of punishment. When reported, nursing home employees may be reprimanded or get negative feedback from superiors and lash out at vulnerable patients in response. Signs to look for include:
- Infected, untreated wounds, or new wounds, infections, or pressure sores
- Seeming withdrawn and less socially responsive
- Unexplained weight loss and/or dehydration or malnutrition
- Increasing weakness indicating a lack of adherence to physical therapy programs
- Missing property or inexplicable unpaid fees
If you have noticed any of these signs, contact Ben Crump Law, PLLC right away to get started on your case.
El Paso Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Near Me 800-712-9119
What a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Can Do for You
If your loved one has demonstrated concerning behavior, or you have proof that they are being abused, an El Paso nursing home abuse lawyer might be able to provide helpful legal advice. There are options for retaliation against abusive employees individually and nursing homes as a whole. They should be held accountable for their behavior.
A nursing home lawyer can help you collect the evidence you need to build a personal injury case against the abusers. If nursing home abuse and neglect tragically caused the death of your family member, you have a right to file a wrongful death lawsuit. The state of Texas gives victims two years in which to file either type of suit, according to Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code §16.003.
You and your loved one deserve justice. Any nursing home responsible for the abuse of innocent victims should have to face the consequences. An El Paso nursing home abuse lawyer can help you fight for justice. If you have found yourself in this situation, Ben Crump Law, PLLC wants to be there for you.
For a free consultation to discuss your case, give us a call at (800) 712-9119.
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