Nursing Home Neglect Lawyers

in Pennsylvania

As our country’s population grows older, the demands on our medical system to care for our elderly loved ones have grown considerably. At the current time in this country, there are approximately 34 million people over the age of 65, and nearly one in twenty of those elderly Americans will eventually require some form of assisted living.

A special day called Elder Abuse Awareness Day was even created to call attention to this growing problem. June 15 of each year has been designated as this special and serves as a call-to-action for individuals, organizations, and communities to raise awareness about elder abuse, neglect and exploitation.

Nursing home negligence and abuse has become a growing concern to the elderly Americans and their families who are dependent on extended health care institutions for their care.

Because these numbers are so high, our senior citizens are much too frequently becoming the victims of intentional abuse and neglect in our nursing homes and assisted living facilities, especially when those places are understaffed or poorly staff with uncaring, untrained healthcare professionals.

Many Different Types of Abuse

National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) has defined elder abuse as any knowing, intentional or negligent act by a caregiver or any other person that causes harm to a vulnerable adult.

The most prevalent type of abuse is general neglect of the elderly. Neglect is simply ignoring the basic physical, emotional, nutritional and medical needs of the elderly. While physical, sexual, and emotional abuse are usually intentional and purposeful, neglect may occur when a caregiver simply does not care about their elderly patient. Caregivers are being neglectful when they fail to provide some necessary element for the resident’s survival. Blatant forms of neglect may be failure to provide food or water or failure to pay the elderly person’s utilities, depriving them of heat and electricity.

Sexual abuse is, sadly, very common in nursing and assisted living homes. Some of the most common forms of sexual abuse are vaginal and anal intercourse without consent, forced nudity, and inappropriate photography.

Mental abuse may not be as visible as physical abuse or neglect but it can be just as debilitating. Mental abuse can include, but is not limited to, verbal harassment, intimidation, isolating the elderly patient, and insulting or ignoring the patient.

There are numerous signs of physical abuse including bruises, broken bones, burns, unkempt appearance, scratches, broken eyeglasses, torn clothing, etc.

Financial Exploitation

Financial exploitation is the most common type of abuse found in older adults and is defined as the illegal or improper use of an elder's funds, property or assets. Checks may be cashed that belong to the elder adult, signatures may be forged, and possessions may be stolen.

Signs of financial exploitation:

  • Sudden changes in financial situation
  • Additional names found on the elder's accounts
  • Unauthorized withdrawals of money
  • Disappearance of possessions
  • Unexplained transfers of funds
  • Evidence of forged signatures

If you think your loved one is being neglected or abused in a nursing home, you should document your observations and take immediate steps to secure your loved one’s safety. An experienced nursing home neglect/abuse lawyer can investigate your situation and advise you on what your next steps should be.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of elderly abuse or neglect in the state of Pennsylvania, please contact a Pennsylvania Personal Injury Lawyer today to schedule an initial consultation.

 

 

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