Elder Abuse and Negligence in Nursing Homes

Elder Abuse and Negligence

Have you got a few grey hairs? Are you getting on in years?

Then you might be like the Senior Partner in our law firm. He is getting older but hates to be called old.

What he hates even more though is when elderly people are abused. He really hates that.

Elder abuse can take many different forms and can happen just about anywhere, even in nursing homes. The abuse can be financial, physical, or psychological.

Right now we want to provide a bit of information about elder abuse in nursing homes.

How does it happen?

Elder abuse in nursing homes is becoming more widespread. As much as you might love your mum, dad, grandmother, or grandfather, you can’t be there every minute of the day to look after them.

Sometimes that abuse can be at the hands of employees of nursing homes, sometimes at the hands of relatives, and sometimes not intended but rather through neglect.

Nursing homes are often found to be negligent in a variety of circumstances. These include, for example, not attending to medical conditions such as diabetes, heart conditions, or pneumonia as well as many others.

Other forms of neglect can include psychological abuse such as intimidation of elderly people.

Parking an elderly person in front of the television for 8 to 10 hours a day with no mental stimulation in our view can amount to elder abuse.

It can cause depression, anxiety, or even aggravate dementia. There can be physical assaults made on older persons in nursing homes.

You often hear about nursing home patients being dropped because of a lack of staff or being left sitting in a bath for hours without a means of getting out.