While many nursing homes provide excellent care to their residents, far too many fall appallingly short. For some nursing facilities, the focus on the “bottom line” results in understaffed nursing homes with untrained and underpaid employees. These facilities’ residents can suffer terribly in their last days due to neglect and abuse at their caregivers’ hands.
If this has happened to you or someone you love, and you need a nursing home abuse lawyer in Scranton, PA, call the Moran Law Group. We regularly help abuse and crime victims to reclaim their legal rights and secure just compensation.
Elder Abuse in Scranton, PA
Elder abuse targets one of our most vulnerable populations and comes in many forms, including physical, emotional, and financial. By familiarizing yourself with the most common forms of nursing home abuse, you can recognize the early warning signs and help protect your loved ones.
Physical elder abuse is the non-accidental use of physical force against an elderly individual. It may result in pain, impairment, or even death. Physical abuse also includes improper use of drugs or the unnecessary use of physical restraints. This type of elder abuse is often easy to identify by observing bruises or other injuries, whereas other types of abuse are far less obvious.
Unfortunately, many nursing home residents are the unidentified victims of a far more insidious problem – emotional elder abuse. This may include verbal abuse or passive behaviors such as ignoring or isolating the elderly resident. This type of treatment can leave the residents in states of pain, distress, anxiety, or fear. Left unchecked, these emotional responses can trigger physical symptoms that drastically affect the resident’s overall health.
Financial exploitation is one of the most common forms of elder abuse. While it is often perpetrated by family members or others known to the victim, it also comes at professional caregivers’ hands. Abusers may use their position of authority to extort money, or they may gain the resident’s trust and embark on a grand scheme to deplete the person’s accounts.
Nursing Home Falls
As we age, our bodies may become weaker, our vision degenerates, and our balance isn’t what it used to be. In addition, elderly nursing home residents may be taking medications that cause impairment. Falls account for nearly 30% of injury and death in senior citizens. Even seemingly mild falls can result in permanent injury or death.
When a resident moves into a nursing home, the facility is required to design a care plan that includes a fall-risk assessment. The purpose of this assessment is to determine what assistance the resident may need to move around safely. Most falls in nursing homes are caused by the caregivers’ negligence and can be due to various factors, such as poor lighting, wet floors, poorly fitted wheelchairs, or improper bed height.
Falls can be prevented, with or without the use of restraints such as bed rails. Restraints are typically a last resort, as studies have shown that limiting a person’s mobility can contribute to fall-related injuries. Walking and physical conditioning programs, lowered bed heights, raised toilet seats, and avoiding clutter can all help prevent falls. Additionally, facilities should ensure there is adequate staff available to assist residents with getting around.
Pressure Sores
Pressure sores, also known as bedsores, are all too common in nursing homes. Tragically, the vast majority of pressure sores result from inattentive care and could have been prevented. Pressure sores can be incredibly painful, causing disability and greatly increasing the resident’s risk of sepsis or gangrene complications.
Some very basic preventive measures have been proven to protect residents from this type of injury, including turning residents at regular intervals, keeping them clean and dry, ensuring they are well hydrated and properly nourished, and utilizing the latest technological advances in cushions and mattresses.
Let Moran Be Your Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer in Scranton, PA
If you or a loved one has been the victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, contact experienced elder abuse or malpractice lawyers in Scranton, PA. At the Moran Law Group, we will fight for your loved one’s legal rights and work to right the wrongs they have suffered. We will be your partners as we secure the financial compensation to which you are rightly entitled.
If you or a loved one is having a problem in a nursing home, it must be investigated immediately by a nursing home abuse attorney so the appropriate care and treatment can be provided. Additionally, there may be hidden complications that are not apparent until it is too late to take legal action.
Call the Moran Law Group today, and let a nursing home abuse lawyer in Scranton, PA, represent you in the fight for your justice.