If you or a loved one has been a victim of abuse in a nursing home or elderly care facility, you may be entitled to compensation for your suffering. There are many different ways that the elderly and those with disabilities may endure abuse. We describe the most common types of nursing home abuse below.
Financial abuse occurs when a healthcare professional caring for you or your family member begins taking money from the victim. Some signs of financial abuse might include missing money, changes to important financial documents, use of the victim’s credit and debit cards without authorization, and various types of fraud, to name a few.
More than two million people are victimized by emotional abuse in nursing homes every year. A resident of a nursing home facility might be enduring emotional abuse if they are being called names, belittled or have been subjected to victim blaming, intimidation, threats, yelling, menacing, or terrorizing.
Physical abuse is one of the most commonly thought-of types of elder abuse. Signs of physical abuse might include unexplained bruising, burns, broken bones, and cuts. It is important to remember that most cases of nursing home abuse are not limited to physical abuse, and the perpetrator may be able to hide physical abuse from friends and family of the victim.
It is the responsibility of the caregiver to ensure that the patient is properly cared for in every regard. When a healthcare provider fails to provide the victim with food, water, or the appropriate medications, or if they are not afforded proper hygiene and develop bedsores, the victim has been subjected to neglect.
Sexual abuse can often be the most difficult form of nursing home abuse to discover. Victims of sexual abuse will often withdraw socially, have bruises or bleeding around their genital area, or even unexplainably develop a sexually-transmitted infection (STI).
Whether you have been personally victimized by your caretaker, or you suspect that a family member is being abused, you may be able to take legal action against the abuser, the nursing home facility, and anyone else who may have allowed the abuse to continue.
If you are interested in filing a civil claim, get in touch with an experienced Rockford nursing home abuse lawyer at Mahoney & Mahoney, LLC. You can visit our website or call our firm directly at 815-656-4600 to schedule your free consultation.
