Southern California Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog
Nursing home abuse and neglect can happen at any facility in Riverside County and throughout Southern California. There are ways to reduce the risk of moving an elderly loved one into a facility where abuse or neglect may be more likely, such as by reviewing facility ratings, researching safety records, and visiting the facility to look for common red flags associated with abuse, neglect, or negligence. Yet even when you take all the precautions, abuse or neglect injuries can still happen. We often think about adult children of elderly residents being the ones to spot the signs of abuse or neglect, but spouses can also be extremely important when it comes to identifying symptoms of elder abuse.
If your spouse is now living in a nursing home and you are still living independently, what should you look for when you visit? The following are some of the most common signs that something is not right, and you should seek advice from a Riverside County nursing home neglect lawyer as soon as possible.
Physical or Visible Injuries
Nursing home abuse can take many different forms, and that includes physical abuse as well as sexual abuse. These forms of abuse most often produce physical or visible injuries, such as unexplained bruises, cuts or lacerations, burns, restraint marks, or broken bones. When these types of injuries appear around a person’s breasts or genital area, they may be a sign of sexual abuse.
Changes in Behavior
Changes in a nursing home resident’s behavior can be a sign of many different kinds of abuse. If your spouse has suddenly become despondent or depressed, or has unexpectedly lost interest in certain activities they enjoyed, those changes in behavior could be indications of psychological or verbal abuse, physical abuse, or sexual abuse.
Unexplained Infections
Even when staff members at a nursing home or assisted living facility do not intend to harm a resident, residents can suffer serious injuries if they do not receive the degree of care they need. Due to issues such as understaffing and burnout, residents in nursing homes may not always get sufficient care. When that happens, they can develop infections that can become severe if they go untreated, such as bed sores. According to the American Psychological Association, neglect can be unintentional or intentional (in the case of willful deprivation), but the important thing to remember is that untreated and unexplained infections need to be addressed quickly because they may be a sign of nursing home negligence.
Contact Our Riverside County Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorneys Today for Assistance
Have you recently moved your spouse into a nursing home for care? We know that this can be an extremely difficult time for loved ones, and we also know how important you can be when it comes to identifying any risk factors for and signs of nursing home abuse or neglect. If you have any concerns at all about a loved one’s safety or well-being in a nursing home or assisted-living facility in Southern California, an experienced Riverside nursing home neglect attorney at our firm can speak with you today. Contact the Walton Law Firm to have your questions answered and to receive more information about how we can help you and your elderly loved one.
See Related Blog Posts:
When Are Bed Sores Most Likely to Occur?
When Nursing Home Neglect is Intentional: Understanding Willful Deprivation
