Atlanta Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers
Nursing Home Abuse
Placing an elderly loved one in a nursing home is one of the toughest decisions a person has to make. It can also be one of the most complicated. Unfortunately, with the increasing awareness of nursing home abuse and neglect across the country, choosing a good nursing home that will provide the best medical and emotional support for your loved one becomes especially difficult. Inadequate background checks, understaffing, poor training, and careless or insufficient administrative supervision are the main underlying causes of nursing home abuse and neglect, and all are inexcusable.
Elder Abuse and Neglect Statistics
According to the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), between 1 and 2 million elders, aged 65 years and older, have been injured, exploited, or otherwise mistreated by someone that they depended on for care or protection. Only about one in 14 incidents of elder abuse ever comes to the attention of the proper authorities.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has determined that more than 500,000 adults over the age of 60 are financially exploited, neglected, or abused annually in the United States. Based on the fact that only one in 14 incidents of abuse is followed up on by authorities, 500,000 is an underestimation.
Types of Nursing Home Abuse
There are six categories of elder abuse recognized by the Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS):
- Physical abuse: Physical force used to inflict bodily harm or coerce.
- Mental, emotional, or verbal abuse: The use of intimidation, insults, threats, harassment, and other traumatizing tactics.
- Sexual abuse: Any sexual behavior, including inappropriate touching or forced viewing of sexually explicit material, directed towards an elder.
- Financial exploitation or abuse: Illegal or improper use of an elderly person’s resources, such as fraud and stealing.
- Neglect: A caregiver’s refusal or failure to provide essential services to the point that it threatens to harm or does harm the elder.
- Self-neglect: The older adult failing to care for themselves.
Signs of Elder Abuse
Because elders are often dependent on the people who are neglecting or abusing them, they will likely never report the abuse, which is also the reason why so many incidents go unreported. It is for this reason that others need to be aware of what signs to look for. Common signs of elder abuse and neglect, according to the NCEA, include:- Malnutrition;
- Slap marks;
- Dehydration;
- Unexplained bruises;
- Poor personal hygiene;
- Sudden change in accounts/finances;
- Altered wills;
- Dirty or torn clothes;
- Unusual bank withdrawals;
- Listlessness and fatigue;
- Withdrawal from everyday activities;
- Constant hunger/begging for food;
- Unexplained sexually transmitted diseases;
- Lack of medical or dental care;
- Bruises around the genital area or breasts; and
- Left unattended for long periods of time.
Protecting Your Loved Ones
A nursing home or other long-term elder care facility is required to provide adequate support and care to its residents; that is the bottom line. There is no excuse for their failure to do so, nor is there any excuse for subjecting patients to maltreatment. If you or a loved one has been abused by a nursing home care provider, the abuser and the home administrator may be held liable for the injuries and suffering they have caused. Contact the dedicated Atlanta nursing home abuse attorneys at The Law Offices of Wayne Grant, P.C. today to learn more about your legal options at 404-995-3955.
