Nursing home abuse occurs when residents suffer neglect or injuries while residing in a nursing home or assisted living facility. The mistreatment of elders or mentally incapacitated may lead to mental health issues, serious injuries or illnesses, emotional trauma, or death. If a nursing home employee negligently causes injury to a resident, an experienced personal injury attorney could hold the facility and its employee liable for the damages.
People entrust their loved ones to nursing care facilities with the expectation that the staff will do all they can to take care of them. Unfortunately, some facilities prioritize profits over safety. The best way for a facility to save money and make more money is by reducing their overhead costs, including their payroll. Many nursing home employees are underpaid and overworked.
If someone you love is injured in this way, a Florence nursing home abuse lawyer can make the case against the responsible parties in order to hold the nursing home accountable and achieve justice.
Nursing Home Neglect in the United States
Nursing home abuse or neglect is unfortunately an all-too-common issue. Many nursing homes are seriously understaffed, which magnifies the problem and makes it challenging to provide the residents with adequate care.
Another problem in cases of abuse in nursing homes and long-term facilities is that the person in their care often cannot report what is happening to them because of some degree of cognitive disability, physical disability, or death. Any person who believes a caregiver is abusing someone they love should contact a nursing home abuse attorney in Florence to put an end to it and to recover damages.
How Nursing Home Abuse Happens
To make changes, it is necessary for the safety of elder care residents that the family is aware of the mistreatment that occurs in these facilities. Nursing home cruelty, abuse, and negligence can come in many forms. Among the most common are:
- Bedsores or pressures sore: These injuries are particularly common for bedridden or immobile patients who cannot move independently and require assistance to rotate. The lack of adequate assistance results in pressure sores which can cause extreme pain.
- Open wounds which can become infected if not properly treated and protected
- Malnutrition and dehydration: some residents do not get the appropriate amount of nutritious food, becoming weak and malnourished
- Violent or sexual abuse towards the elderly residents
- Failure to provide residents with necessities, such as water and food
- Social neglect, such as ignoring the residents or not allowing them to have regular social time
- Medical negligence, such as forgetting to administer medicine regularly properly
- Poor personal hygiene, including dirty clothing or sheets and poor dental hygiene, including lack of regular flossing and brushing teeth and other problems
- Unclean living space
- Failure to report illnesses, injuries, or complaints residents make against other staff
- Falls: Residents can fall while recovering from surgery or because of their advanced age, resulting in broken bones, head injuries, and other problems
- Emotional, psychological, or verbal abuse towards the residents
A Florence nursing facility abuse lawyer can answer any questions you may have about long-term facility abuse and neglect settlement lawsuits.
Kentucky’s Long-Term Facility Statute
Residents of nursing homes have rights that the federal government and state laws protect to ensure they receive proper care. Kentucky Revised Statute § 216.532 forbids any long-term facility care center from being run or operated by a person with a history of abuse of the elderly. It also requires that a person proven to have neglected or abused someone under their care registers on the nurse aide abuse registry. A skilled Florence lawyer can help you navigate this registry and use the state statutes to prosecute a case against a negligent nursing facility owner. A civil action means that the defendant might also be added to this registry, potentially protecting future patients.
Seek Assistance from a Florence Nursing Home Abuse Attorney
If you suspect that someone you love is suffering from neglect at the hands of a caregiver in a long-term facility or nursing home, you have the right to take legal action. A Florence nursing home abuse lawyer can review all the evidence and decide the best plan of action to keep them safe and recover monetary damages for the harm they endured. Give us a call as soon as possible so that they do not have to take any more abuse than they already have.
