When you move an elderly family member into a nursing home, you expect that they will be safe there. Unfortunately, such facilities do not always provide proper care. According to a 2010 study cited by the National Center for Elder Abuse (NCEA), 50% of nursing home staff admitted to mistreating a resident that year.

The Musgrove Trial Firm is dedicated to helping senior citizens in nursing homes throughout Georgia. If your loved one has been abused in a nursing home, contact us today for a free consultation. Nursing home abuse and neglect can take many different forms, from physical to mental to emotional, so read below to learn more about elder abuse and how our Norcross personal injury law firm can help.

Nursing Home Neglect Vs. Abuse

The NCEA categorizes neglect as a type of elder abuse, which is the mistreatment of older adults by those in a position of trust, like nursing home staff. While nursing home abuse often involves direct harm, neglect causes harm through substandard—or a total lack of—care.

Types of Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse

There are four main types of nursing home neglect and abuse:

Types of Neglect

  • Medical Neglect: Failure to properly attend to or prevent a resident’s medical needs.
  • Neglect of Basic Needs: Failure to provide a resident with enough food, water, or a clean and safe environment.
  • Neglect of Personal Hygiene: Failure to properly help a resident maintain their hygiene, including bathing, dental care, and laundry.
  • Social or Emotional Neglect: Failure to provide enough social and emotional care, which may involve ignoring a resident, excessively leaving them alone, and treating them unkindly.

Types of Abuse

  • Physical: Injuries, such as bruising, cuts, and broken bones. Staff members’ explanations of these injuries may seem odd—or they won’t have an explanation at all.
  • Emotional: When a staff member harms the mental well-being of a resident by yelling at them, isolating them from family and friends, or manipulating their decisions.
  • Financial: When a staff member steals money from a resident.
  • Sexual: Unwanted sexual action against a resident by a staff member.

Common Signs of Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse

  • Physical injuries: Repeated falls; sores or strange marks around the genitals; unexplained cuts, bruises, or broken bones; untreated bedsores or other wounds
  • Frequent illnesses or infections
  • Malnourishment and/or dehydration
  • Poor hygiene
  • Loss of mobility
  • STDs
  • Emotional changes, such as a fear of staff members, complaints about treatment, increased anxiety and/or depression
  • Loss of finances

Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers in Georgia

How to Protect Loved Ones from Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse

Before moving a loved one into a nursing home, carefully research the facility. Look for indicators of poor care quality, such as understaffing and unsanitary living conditions. While your relative is living in the nursing home, maintain regular contact. Visiting frequently—or even keeping in touch over the phone—may make it easier to spot signs of improper care.

And if a family member complains of neglect or abuse in the facility, take the claim seriously and investigate it. Call the police—and if they’re in immediate physical danger, the paramedics—and relocate your loved one to a different care facility as soon as possible.

Contact Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers at The Musgrove Trial Firm in Norcross, GA

If you have a loved one who has been a victim of nursing home neglect or abuse, The Musgrove Trial Firm in Norcross is here to listen. Our Georgia nursing home abuse lawyers have the experience and professionalism necessary to handle your case with the utmost level of care. Contact us today to set up a free consultation.