California Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog
Nursing home abuse in the San Diego area can take many different forms: physical abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, sexual abuse, willful deprivation, and passive neglect. While any of those forms of abuse can result in devastating harm to an older adult in a nursing home or assisted-living facility in Southern California, neglect — unintentional, passive neglect — may actually result in the greatest amount of harm and the highest number of resident fatalities.
What should you know about the dangers of nursing home neglect in the San Diego? Consider the following information, and do not hesitate to reach out to an attorney at the Nursing Home Law Group if you have any concerns about an elderly loved one’s health or safety in a Southern California facility.
Neglect May Be the Deadliest Form of Nursing Home Abuse
As we remarked above, nursing home abuse can take many different forms, including types of intentional abuse where staff members or facilities intend to inflict injury or to cause harm to a resident, or to cause embarrassment or emotional suffering. It is relatively easy to understand how these forms of abuse can have devastating consequences, including severe physical injuries and psychological trauma. Yet according to an elder abuse researcher and assistant geriatrics professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine, Elizabeth Bloemen, passive neglect is the deadliest form of abuse.
In relation to a new program Bloemen is designing to prevent elder abuse in clinical care settings, she explained that neglect “is the type of abuse that most often results in the death of patients.” Passive neglect is not necessarily intentional — many staff members do not intend to cause harm by failing to attend to a nursing home resident’s needs. Yet common issues in facilities — understaffing the most frequent among them — mean residents do not receive the attention and care they need. As a result, they can develop life-threatening injuries and infections such as hip fractures, traumatic brain injuries, and bed sores.
Recognizing the Signs of Passive Neglect
What should you look for if you have concerns about neglect and your elderly loved one’s safety and well-being? According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the following are among the most common signs of neglect, and these should be red flags for families:
- Bed sores;
- Unclean or unsanitary living conditions;
- Injuries from falls; and
- Resident’s report of lack of care or assistance with needs.
Contact Our San Diego Nursing Home Neglect Attorneys Today for Help Filing a Claim Against a Facility in Southern California
Learning that an elderly loved one has suffered serious harm as a result of passive neglect, which was entirely preventable, is a devastating experience that nobody should have. Yet neglect occurs more often than many families think, largely due to issues such as understaffing, high turnover rates, and employee burnout at nursing homes and assisted-living facilities in California. If your elderly parent or other loved one was injured or died as a result of neglect, the facility may be liable. One of our San Diego nursing home neglect lawyers can speak with you about filing a claim against the facility and your options for holding the facility accountable. Contact the Nursing Home Law Group today for assistance.
See Related Blog Posts:
Falls and Choking Among Highest Injury Risks in Nursing Homes
Failure to Provide Proper Medical Care in California Nursing Homes: What Families Need to Know
