How to Know if Your Loved One is a Victim of Nursing Home Negligence
More than one million geriatric men and women currently reside in a nursing home.[1] That’s more than one million grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts, uncles, mothers, and fathers living in the care of men and women you have entrusted with their health and well-being. Unfortunately, that trust is too often abused—more than 40% of elderly men and women have reported abuse in their nursing home.[2] Here’s how to know that it’s time for you to take action for the one you love:
- You notice bruises, cuts, swelling, welts, broken bones, or fractures without receiving notice of a fall
- Your loved one has bed sores
- You notice signs of dehydration (unusually dry mouth, sudden headache or dry skin, increased thirst, dizziness)
- Sudden refusal to comply (refusing to: take medication, eat, speak, etc.)
- Body odor/lack of cleanliness
- Unexplainable weight loss
- Staff refuses to leave your loved one alone with you or others
- Sudden change in psychological state
*Not all patients with these symptoms are subject to nursing home negligence or abuse.
If you think these symptoms describe the current state of your loved one in elderly care, please contact Potter Burnett Law as soon as possible.
[1] Source: http://www.nursinghomeabuseguide.org/
[2] Source: http://www.nursinghomeabuseguide.org/nursing-home-abuse-statistics/