When you place your loved one into a nursing home, you have certain expectations. Most importantly, you expect the nursing home owners, administrators, and staff will provide your loved one with the highest standard of care. You expect that the facility you select will have well-trained staff and procedures in place so that nothing bad can happen to your loved one. One of the main reasons why an elderly adult is placed in nursing homes is in part to keep them out of harm. But sadly, we all know that nursing home residents are sometimes injured in the very same places that there placed to keep them safe. A nursing home facility that does not have adequate monitoring measures in place can be potentially dangerous to its residents. Monitoring is important to keep residents from experiencing the following types of harm:
Harm from staff.
Unfortunately, the same people who have been entrusted to care for residents are some of the same people who cause residents harm. Nursing home abuse or neglect can come in many forms. Nursing home residents are at risk for physical, psychological, verbal, financial, and even sexual abuse. Examples of neglect include residents not receiving the following:
- Adequate nourishment or hydration
- Prompt attention for medical needs
- Help with personal hygiene needs
- A clean and sanitary environment
- Acceptable opportunities for social interactions
Harm from other residents.
While most people think of resident harm coming at the hands of staff, resident on resident abuse is also on the rise. In most cases, a resident who acts in an abusive manner to another resident is rarely at fault. Residents that act in a physically aggressive manner towards other residents often suffer from dementia or some other organic brain condition that causes them to act out. Proper supervision of residents is one of the keys to making sure residents are safe from abuse from other residents.
Harm from themselves.
Another important reason why resident monitoring is vital to overall resident well-being is that in many cases residents are often a danger to themselves. Diseases like dementia or just general confusion can cause residents to try to leave the facility. Nursing homes need to have appropriate monitoring measures in place to keep residents from improperly leaving the facility. For example, in January of 2018, an Ohio woman died from hypothermia only 30 feet from the nursing home where she resided. The woman had dementia and was known to wander off. At the time of her death, she was wearing a device that should have set off a 90-second alarm. As part of the investigation into the woman’s death, staff reported that the alarms did not always work and two aides admitted that they never completed checks on the woman, despite marking that they had.
If you believe that your loved one has been a victim of nursing home negligence or abuse it is critical that you speak with an experienced Kansas City Personal Injury Attorney as soon as possible. Proving a case of nursing home negligence or abuse requires key knowledge of the law and due diligence to investigate the facts. The Personal Injury and Elder Abuse Attorneys at Hubbard & Kurtz, L.L.P. have helped countless injured nursing home victims around the area, both in Kansas and Missouri. Our attorneys know how to win a case. To speak with an attorney about your loved one, contact our office at (816) 472-4673 to schedule a consultation. At Hubbard & Kurtz, L.L.P. we fight for justice.