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.
Common Signs of Nursing Home Abuse
As family members and loved ones get older, caring for them can become more difficult. You want them to be able to stay at home or under your care, but this isn’t possible for many to manage and can become a safety risk. When this happens, it’s usually in the person’s best interest to put them in a nursing home. You expected your loved ones to be cared for and have their needs met by professionals in a nursing home. Unfortunately, senior citizens in nursing are sometimes the targets of abuse by those meant to ensure their health, safety, and comfort.
If you have a loved one who has suffered from abuse in a nursing home, you need a lawyer who can help get justice for them. When you need a nursing home abuse lawyer in Carbondale, PA, contact The Moran Law Group for help.
If you have a loved one in a nursing home, you may not see them very often. This can make it easy for nursing home abuse to go unnoticed and harder for those suffering from abuse to get the help they need. While you may not be there to watch over your loved one, you may notice some changes that can be concerning. It can be difficult to tell when someone is being abused or neglected, but it’s important to always be on the lookout for signs that can be telling.
Here are a few common signs of nursing home abuse.
Bruises, Injuries, and Infections
Seeing bruises, lacerations, and injuries may be some of the most obvious signs of abuse and might make you ask questions. While everyone gets bruises and injuries, and these can occur more easily for seniors in poor health, they can sometimes mean abuse is occurring. If a loved one suffers from an unusual amount of bruises and injuries, you should look into getting help. A concerning amount of illness and infections can also be a sign seniors aren’t getting proper care, and centers aren’t as hygienic as they should be.
You might also see bedsores on an elderly loved one if they aren’t properly cared for in the nursing home. Seniors with limited mobility who can’t move on their own can develop bedsores from being in one position for too long, such as being left in their bed with no one to help them move. Bedsores can be a sign of abuse or neglect as it can mean seniors aren’t being tended to by caretakers.
Weight Changes
Seniors in nursing homes depend on their caretakers to ensure their basic needs, including eating and drinking, are met. If they aren’t receiving a proper amount of food and liquids, they may begin to lose weight. You may notice your loved one start to lose weight over time as you visit them. This can sometimes happen naturally, but if you see them begin to lose a concerning amount of weight and look unwell, you need to see if they’re being fed.
Emotional Change
People suffering from abuse often exhibit changes in their mood and behavior. However, this might be difficult to pick up on, especially if you don’t see the person regularly. Some may think their loved one is simply having a bad day and ignore the signs. However, you should always pay attention to changes in your loved one’s moods and emotions when they’re in a nursing home, especially if it continues. Your loved one may become anxious, withdrawn, or have other behaviors that aren’t normal for them.
Strange Financial Changes
Often we think of abuse as being physical, sexual, or emotional, but financial abuse also occurs, especially in older adults. Someone may financially abuse a nursing home resident to get their money. If you can, keep an eye on their bank accounts so that you can monitor any suspicious changes and transactions.
Don’t Wait to Get Help
If you suspect that nursing home abuse is occurring, you don’t want to wait to get help from a lawyer. Your loved one should not be subjected to abuse or neglect, especially by those expected to care for them, and these actions need to be stopped immediately. At The Moran Law Group, we can help if you suspect that your loved one is being abused or neglected in a nursing home. Our team can help put a stop to abuse and help your loved one receive compensation for what they’ve experienced.
Contact a personal injury lawyer in Carbondale, PA, experienced in nursing home abuse cases today to get help.
Why Do I Need a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer?
When a loved one suffers abuse or neglect in a nursing home, it may feel like a betrayal. This place of care violated the trust given by your family. In this difficult time, you need a dedicated and experienced advocate on your side.
Look no further than the Moran Law Group in Jermyn, PA. Our team helps families in Jermyn protect the rights, health, and safety of their loved ones in elder care facilities. With us on your side, you will have a skilled personal injury lawyer in Jermyn, PA, to help you seek justice.
Schedule your free consultation with the Moran Law Group today to learn more.
Discovering potential abuse or neglect in an elder care facility can be traumatic. Not only do you have an injured loved one, but you also have the daunting task of determining if a violation occurred.
Our personal injury lawyers in Jermyn, PA, specialize in elder abuse and can help you in this challenging time. Let our attorneys assist you in the following ways:
- Explain the standards of care legally required of nursing homes
- Help gather evidence, like documenting nursing home conditions and accessing charts
- Investigate billing procedures, bills, and Medicare payments
- Secure medical records from any providers
- Research state and federal inspection reports
- File suit or negotiate a settlement, pending the situation and preferences
- Support you from start to finish
What Are Signs of Nursing Home Abuse?
Certain signs could indicate abuse or neglect is occurring. Abuse can result from operation issues, like reduced staffing or poorly trained staff. Failure to follow the law or industry expectations can also be a cause.
Other signs of harm to an innocent elder include:
- Unexplained bruises or fractures
- Constant falls
- Incorrect or missing medication
- Bedsores
- Dehydration and malnutrition
- Silence/reluctance suggesting emotional withdrawal
- Sudden need to change legal documents (could be a sign of pressure/duress)
The results of elder abuse include:
- Bedsores or pressure sores
- Malnutrition
- Medication errors
- Sepsis
- Falls
- Physical, sexual, or verbal abuse
- Choking
- Wandering from the facilities
- Clogged breathing tubes
- Physical restraints
Sometimes mistreatment is not intentional, but it is no less painful. Your loved one might not always tell you if abuse is occurring, and the nursing home may gloss over any ‘accidents.’ It’s important to seek justice and contact our nursing home abuse lawyer Jermyn, PA team today if you suspect abuse to your loved one.
Experienced Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer in Jermyn, PA
Many laws protect nursing home residents. When a facility fails to follow the law, you need an experienced nursing home abuse lawyer on your side to seek justice.
At the Moran Law Group, we use our experience to help you understand the letter of the law and how it applies to your family. Our team has years of experience fighting for your loved one’s right to fair treatment and suitable living conditions.
Schedule Your Free Consultation with the Moran Law Group Today
The Moran Law Group offers confidential, respectful, and convenient consultations. We will learn about your difficult experience and advise you on possible next steps.
Schedule your free consultation to learn how you can recover from nursing home abuse and get justice for your loved one.