What Is Neglect In A Nursing Home?

When a loved one starts living in a nursing home, you put your faith and trust into the hands of the staff. Sadly, even though there are plenty of rules and regulations surrounding the treatment of these facilities’ residents, negligence and abuse are still very common.

Most people assume that abuse is limited to just physical trauma, but it can also encompass emotional and mental mistreatment and neglect, which can lead to severe injuries or death. 

If your loved one is a resident of a nursing home, you should get to know what is neglect in a nursing home and which types of neglect and abuse allow you to file a lawsuit against the facility. 

Nursing home neglect and why it happens

Nursing home abuse or neglect happens when the staff harms the residents of an assisted care facility. Both unintentional and intentional harm can be considered negligent as it can result in medical emergencies, trauma, or even death, regardless of the underlying intent. 

While it’s true there are bad people out there who will go out of their way to harm residents in their care, the actual reason why neglect is so common is entirely different. Most nursing homes are understaffed, the staff isn’t properly trained to do their job, or they’re suffering from burnout. 

All of it leads to often taking out their frustrations on the elderly patients in their care. 

Examples of neglect in a nursing home

With an understanding of what is neglect in a nursing home, you’ll gain an even better grasp of the topic by going through a few examples of what constitutes neglect in a nursing home setting.

Here are some common negligent behaviors:

1. Neglecting a resident’s personal care

The majority of nursing home residents are unable to perform tasks associated with personal care. For instance, they may need help washing or combing their hair, using the bathroom, bathing, or even something minor like brushing their teeth. 

Neglecting these needs will cause the patient to live in unsanitary conditions. As such, they could develop bed sores, infections, and other conditions from spending time wearing dirty clothing or sleeping in a soiled bed. 

2. Not providing adequate medical care

Senior citizens living in these facilities may require extensive medical care. They may need someone to provide them with medication, check blood sugar levels, and monitor blood pressure, among other things. 

Failure to perform any of these tasks could lead to the resident quickly falling ill. Even worse, missed medication could result in severe diabetic shocks, heart attacks, and strokes. Similarly, failing to care for an even minor wound could give rise to sepsis. 

Due to the serious nature of these offenses, the nursing home staff or individual staff members may be responsible for medical malpractice.

3. Neglecting basic needs

To ensure they are as healthy and as happy as possible, the nursing home has to provide the residents with sufficient fluids and healthy meals. This isn’t always the case, and depending on the circumstances, it can be considered negligent.

Many patients can’t feed themselves, let alone procure food and prepare it. Hence, the staff members may need to sit with the patient as they eat or provide some assistance. 

4. Neglecting emotional needs

Social interactions release oxytocin, a hormone that promotes positive feelings. Nursing home residents are in a bad position, especially if they lack the mobility to leave their rooms. These patients may only have interaction with staff members, and they rely on that interaction to make their lives a bit happier. 

If staff ignore them for hours or even days in some instances, not only will they suffer physically, but their emotional well-being will be in jeopardy.

This is referred to as emotional neglect and can lead to depression and behavioral issues, such as refusal to take medications, eat, or bathe. 

5. Failing to provide a safe environment for patients

Nursing homes can also be held accountable for negligence if they fail to provide a safe environment for their residents.

This category is pretty wide. For example, a nursing home should make certain there are no hazards that can lead to falls and implement protocols that prevent them. This is because even small issues like torn rugs or debris could be deadly in the nursing home environment.

Moreover, if a patient is suffering from a medical condition stopping them from walking unassisted, the nursing home has to implement safety features like rails or alarms that alert staff if these patients leave their bed on their own. In addition to this, nursing homes need to have mechanisms that prevent residents from leaving the property without supervision. 

What should you do if you suspect nursing home neglect?

If you suspect your loved one isn’t being treated well, or is abused or neglected by nursing home staff, before thinking about filing a lawsuit, you first need to make sure they’re safe. If the resident in question is in immediate danger, call 911 immediately. 

Alternatively, call the Florida Adult Protective Services hotline by dialing 1-800-962-2873 and they’ll assist you in keeping your loved one safe.

Then, hire a lawyer and file a complaint about the facility with the Florida branch Agency for Health Care Administration. 

File a nursing home negligence lawsuit now

Along with reporting the abuse to relevant authorities, you can recover compensation on behalf of your loved one by filing a civil suit against the care facility. In doing so, you can get recompense for pain and suffering, any medical bills incurred, as well as relocation costs. 

To achieve this outcome, you need to hire a personal injury attorney experienced in nursing home abuse. While you may not have the patience to do this as no amount of money can erase what your loved one has endured, it can help improve their life quality and allow them to start moving on from the traumatic events. 

Plus, filing a civil claim will push the facility to acknowledge its subpar level of care, which may prevent future instances of abuse.

For best results, get in touch with the Law Offices of RITE. With decades of experience handling nursing home abuse cases, our legal team can negotiate on your behalf, and if needed, support your case in the court of law. 

Call (904) 500-RITE (7483) or send us an email at info@rite4justice.com, and we’ll evaluate your case free of charge. 

Note: 

The information in this blog post is for reference only and not legal advice. As such, you should not make legal decisions based on the information in this blog post. Moreover, there is no lawyer-client relationship resulting from this blog post, nor should any such relationship be implied. If you need legal counsel, please consult a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.