Articles Tagged with Los Angeles nursing home neglect

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When a senior in a Los Angeles County nursing home suffers an injury because of the facility’s negligence or because of an intentional act committed by a staff member, it may be possible to file a claim against the facility in order to seek compensation and to hold the facility accountable. Yet it can be difficult to know when a facility should be sued, especially since there are so many different types of injuries and harm that an older adult can experience. One type of harm that may not be discussed as often as physical abuse in nursing homes but that can cause serious psychological injuries is harm to a person’s dignity. What rights does a nursing home resident have in California concerning rights to dignity and the right to be free from psychological or emotional harm? Our Los Angeles County nursing home abuse attorneys can provide you with more information.

Harm to a Person’s Dignity Can Be a Form of Nursing Home Abuse

It is critical to know that nursing home abuse is a term that can refer to many different types of harm — not just physical abuse. Indeed, there are many kinds of elder abuse and neglect that can occur at nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Southern California. In some cases, a staff member at a nursing home might not even intend to cause harm but may be so busy or overwhelmed that they cannot fully perform the requirements of their job, which results in a nursing home resident suffering an injury. In other cases, various forms of intentional abuse, including physical abuse, psychological abuse, and willful deprivation, may result in harm to a person’s dignity.

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Many people assume that the term nursing home abuse in Los Angeles County refers to situations in which staff members intentionally inflict physical harm upon residents through unnecessary physical restraints, burning, kicking, hitting, slapping, and other forms of physical violence. However, it is essential to know that there are many different forms of nursing home abuse, and the signs or symptoms of certain types of neglect may cause significant damage to a senior’s mental health. What should you know about the various forms of nursing home abuse that can occur and how they can impact an older adult’s mental health?

Physical Abuse Can Affect Mental Health

Physical abuse does not just cause physical harm — it can affect a nursing home resident’s mental health and well-being, as well. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains, forms of physical abuse can result in depression and other mental health consequences.

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It can be difficult to know what to do when you have concerns about an elderly loved one’s safety in a nursing home in Los Angeles County or elsewhere in Southern California. Whether you are visiting a family member in a nursing home or you have other reasons for suspecting abuse or neglect after talking to a loved one or speaking with a healthcare provider, it is important to know what steps you should take. Consider the following tips from our Los Angeles County nursing home neglect lawyers.

Do Not Second Guess Your Instincts

If you have concerns about a senior’s health or well-being in a nursing home, and especially if you have concerns about elder abuse or neglect at a facility, it is critical that you trust yourself and that you do not second-guess your instincts. Many family members feel uncertain about reporting abuse or taking action when they have concerns about an elderly resident. Indeed, some people feel concerned about erroneously making a report about abuse or neglect concerns or moving forward with a complaint against a facility. You should trust yourself, and you should remember that the most important thing is ensuring that a senior you love is not being harmed because of abuse or neglect. As such, making a report or filing a complaint may often be necessary.

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When nursing homes in San Bernardino County fail to provide adequate care to residents who are confined to their beds or have trouble with mobility, those residents can develop bed sores. While early stage bed sores can usually be treated effectively, bed sores that worsen can result in debilitating and life-threatening harm. In fact, in some cases, bed sores can result in fatal infections. What causes bed sores in Southern California nursing homes, and what should you do if you have an elderly loved one who developed bed sores under a nursing home’s watch? Our San Bernardino nursing home abuse lawyers can assist you.

Learning About the Causes of Bed Sores in Nursing Homes

What usually causes bed sores in nursing homes in San Bernardino County? According to the Mayo Clinic, bed sores result from “pressure against the skin that limits blood flow to the skin.” There are major contributing factors that often involve nursing home negligence, as well as risk factors for certain residents. The Mayo Clinic identifies the following as the three major contributing factors to bed sore injuries:

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Nobody should ever have to fear that an elderly parent or relative is being subjected to physical or emotional abuse in a nursing home, or that a loved one is experiencing pain and suffering because of neglect in a skilled nursing facility. Given that nursing homes want to make money and want to keep patients at their facilities, it can often be difficult to get a straight answer from a facility when you have concerns about abuse or neglect. If you are concerned about abuse in your parent’s nursing home, what should you do?

Understand the Signs of Nursing Home Abuse in its Varied Forms

First, be sure you know some of the common signs of nursing home abuse and neglect, recognizing the nursing home negligence can take many different forms. The National Council on Aging (NCOA) cites some of the following as common indicators of abuse or neglect:

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Choosing the best nursing home for an elderly loved one can be a difficult task. Although some information about nursing home ratings and previous safety violations can be located, recent reports suggest that information is often incomplete, or even worse, that it may be incorrect and misleading. Moreover, you cannot always know for certain whether a facility will pose injury risks to its residents based on its history. While a history of safety violations should certainly be a cause for concern, even skilled nursing facilities with clear records can be places where elderly residents sustain serious and life-threatening injuries. 

How can you know what to look for in a nursing home? More often than not, it is important to know what you should not see at a nursing home or assisted-living facility. According to U.S. News & World Report, it is more important than ever to be able to recognize red flags at nursing homes. The following are red flags that should raise concern.

High Rate of Infections and Deaths From COVID-19

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When families in Los Angeles County or elsewhere in Southern California are seeking information about nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities in the state, they often turn to the CMS star rating system and to publicly available information about safety violations. Yet according to a recent report in The New York Times, some of the worst offenses at nursing homes across the country might not be reported to the public. Why are serious nursing home abuse and neglect injuries hidden? The report suggests that a “secretive appeals process” prevents the public from getting the full picture. Our Los Angeles County nursing home abuse attorneys can tell you more. 

Serious Injuries are Not Factored Into the Star Rating System

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) publishes information about nursing homes through its star rating system, which is supposed to provide the public with information about recent safety violations at nursing homes and harms suffered by elderly residents. Yet the recent report, which stems from a New York Times investigation, indicates that “at least 2,700 . . . dangerous incidents were not factored into the rating system.”

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Is a senior in a nursing home at greater risk of suffering a fall-related injury if that senior is more socially isolated as a result of the pandemic? Nursing home staff members are supposed to provide regular and frequent care to nursing home residents, and to ensure that older adults in Los Angeles County nursing facilities are not left unattended for a long enough period of time that a serious or even fatal fall-related accident could happen. Yet according to a recent article in The New York Times, not only can social isolation increase a senior’s risk of suffering a fall injury when that senior is living alone, but social isolation can also put a senior at increased risk of a fall-related injury in assisted-living facilities and nursing homes. 

In short, having fewer people around—friends and family members—can make it more likely that an elderly adult will suffer a fall. Given that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significantly more social isolation for older adults, the pandemic ultimately could lead to more serious and fatal fall injuries among seniors.

New Study Shows Socially Isolated Seniors are More Likely to Fall

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Although nursing homes in Orange County and throughout Southern California are largely focused on issues pertaining to COVID-19 infections and methods of preventing illness and death among residents and patients, it is important to remember that long-term care facilities still have other duties when it comes to resident safety. Nursing homes and assisted living facilities in California need to provide a certain level of care to patients in order to prevent injuries from happening solely as a result of inadequate care. Many injuries in nursing homes happen because a resident tried to get out of bed herself after being unable to reach a nurse, or a resident fell because a staff member was not providing proper observation.

 
To be clear, many injuries in nursing homes do not result from bad intentions, but rather from a lack of care often due to inadequate staffing. As many staff members call in sick with COVID-19 and staff members are swamped with coronavirus mitigation duties, more residents could be at risk of a fall-related injury. The following are five things to know about falls in nursing homes.

 
Adults Aged 65 and Older Fall More Often Than You Might Think

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rawpixel-1055781-unsplash-1-300x201A new federal nursing home bill is designed to prevent elder abuse, and it could help patients at facilities in San Bernardino County and throughout California. According to a recent article in Skilled Nursing News, the proposed legislation “seeks to protect individuals in nursing homes by implementing more stringent staffing protocols—including increased clinical hours and training—among other safety measures for residents.” Nursing home abuse and neglect often occurs as a result of understaffing. If a federal law were to mandate certain staffing numbers in facilities, rates of abuse and neglect could drop. 

Learning More About the Quality Care for Nursing Home Residents Act

The proposed law is known as the Quality Care for Nursing Home Residents Act. The bill is co-sponsored by two Democratic lawmakers, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (Illinois) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut). It has support from lawmakers in both the House and Senate. In addition to requiring certain staffing levels for facilities receiving payments through Medicare and Medicaid, the bill would also make other changes to nursing home mandates. First, nursing staff members would be required to go through “heightened training” and would be subject to heightened “supervision obligations.” This requirement, in connection with the requirement for increased staff numbers, aims to prevent nursing home abuse and neglect by targeting staff at these facilities. Three registered nurses (RNs) would have to be on staff as “management personnel.”

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