Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect
Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer in Charleston, WV
Overview
If you are like many West Virginians with aging parents, your mother, father, or both invested some of the best years of their lives into making sure you were healthy, safe, and cared for as you grew older.
Now the question is, “Are they?”
With over 14 million people in the U.S. over the age of 65, and more than 1.3 million who were in nursing care facilities in 2011, when the first Baby Boomers entered this age bracket, elder care – and elder abuse – are becoming ever more significant issues.
According to a 2001 study by the House Government Reform Committee, 30% of nursing homes (5,283 facilities) were cited for nearly 9,000 cases of abuse between 1999 and 2001. When compared to the Health and Human Services Minimum Staffing Ratio, 90% of all nursing homes – including those not cited for direct abuse – had too little staff to provide adequate care. While Charleston is home to some of the finest nursing homes and nursing staff in the state, far too many clients still experience the effects of underfunded or understaffed facilities.
Signs of Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
We believe that even one case of abuse, neglect, or inadequate care is too many when it comes to your loved ones. If you have a friend or family member who is experiencing any of the following, he or she may be experiencing harm in a nursing home or special care facility:
Dehydration
Malnutrition
- Unsanitary, hazardous, or unsafe living conditions
Bed sores
Bruises
Welts
Wounds in various stages of healing
Signs of over/under medicating
Signs of being restrained
Broken eyeglasses or lack of eyeglasses and other medical aids
Unexplained venereal disease or genital infection
Bruises around the breasts or genitals
Extreme withdrawal
Sudden and unusual habits, such as rocking, sucking, or biting
Verbal reports of physical, sexual, or verbal abuse
Types of Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
These are a few of many signs that may signal harm is taking place. Among the various types of harm your loved one may experience are:
Physical Abuse:
Willful actions or inactions that result in physical harm, including imprisonment within the care facility.
Sexual Abuse:
Forceful or coerced sexual contact with a perpetrator. Care facilities may also be guilty of indirect sexual abuse if they allow or enable the conditions that allow the abuse to take place.
Verbal/ Emotional/ Mental Abuse:
The threat of physical abuse or imprisonment (including forced isolation) that is perceived as real by the elderly adult or others of sound mind. This kind of abuse may also include constant malicious or belittling comments directed to the client.
Neglect:
The failure of the facility to provide what is necessary for the client’s health and well being, including food, water, safe and sanitary living conditions, and proper medications and/or medical aids.
Phone:
(304) 344-5683
