Nursing Home Abuse Information

Nursing home abuse occurs when a resident is abused or neglected in a nursing home resulting in deaths, falls, broken bones, malnutrition, dehydration, decubitus ulcers or wandering off the premises and injuring themselves. If a nursing home fails to give care in a professional and kind manner, and you or your loved one has suffered, you may be entitled to compensation. Here are some different types of nursing home abuse:
- Physical Abuse is the use of physical force that may result in bodily injury, physical pain, or impairment. This may include acts of violence like striking with an object, hitting, and beating, pushing, shoving, shaking, slapping, kicking, pinching, and burning. The inappropriate use of drugs and physical restraints, force-feeding, and physical punishment of any kind also are examples of physical abuse.

- Sexual Abuse is non-consensual sexual contact of any kind with a nursing home resident. Sexual contact with any person incapable of giving consent is also considered sexual abuse. It includes but is not limited to unwanted touching, all types of sexual assault or battery, such as rape, sodomy, coerced nudity, and sexually explicit photographing.

- Emotional or Psychological Abuse is the infliction of anguish, pain, or distress through verbal or nonverbal acts. Emotional/psychological abuse includes but is not limited to verbal assaults, insults, threats, intimidation, humiliation, and harassment. In addition, treating a nursing home resident like an infant; isolating a nursing home resident from his/her family, friends, or regular activities; giving a resident the "silent treatment;" and enforced social isolation are examples of emotional/psychological abuse.

- Neglect is the refusal or failure to fulfill any part of a worker's obligations or duties to a nursing home resident. Neglect may also include the failure on the part of the nursing home to provide necessary care. Neglect typically means the refusal or failure to provide a nursing home resident with such life necessities as food, water, clothing, shelter, personal hygiene, medicine, comfort, personal safety, and other essentials included in an implied or agreed-upon responsibility to a resident.

- Abandonment is when nursing home resident is left or avoided by a nursing home worker who is responsible for caring for the resident.

- Financial Exploitation is the illegal or improper use of a nursing home resident's funds, property, or assets. This could include cashing a nursing home resident's checks without authorization/permission, forging a resident's signature, misusing or stealing a resident's money or possessions, coercing or deceiving a resident into signing any document (contracts or will), or the improper use of conservatorship, guardianship, or power of attorney.