Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Lawyers in Harrisburg

What type of conduct is considered nursing home abuse?

Harrisburg has many nursing homes. Most homes and assisted living facilities provide quality care for their seniors, and charge a great deal of money for the services they provide. When nursing homes fail to make the safety of their residents a top priority, they deserve to be held accountable.

The CDC categorizes elder abuse as follows:

• Physical abuse. Physical abuse includes various types of physical force and distress. Examples include punching, slapping, pushing, and the use of physical or chemical restraints. Severe physical abuse can cause broken bones or fatal injuries. Some of the signs of physical abuse include bleeding, bedsores, rope marks, and bruises. Other signs include malnutrition, dehydration, poor hygiene, and the consequences of not taking prescribed medications.
• Emotional abuse. Untrained staff members may not know how to work with seniors with poor attention spans, dementia, mood swings, and other difficulties. Instead of helping residents, the staff member may punish them, cause them to live in fear, or display a lack of respect. Signs of emotional abuse include isolation, withdrawal, a lack of communication, and other behaviors that show that your loved one just isn’t their usual self.
• Sexual abuse. This horrendous type of abuse involves any type of forced or nonconsensual sexual interaction with a senior. Some of the signs include wounds and bleeding from sexual body parts, sexually transmitted infections, or sexual harassment.
• Financial abuse. Some nursing homes and staff try to take advantage of seniors by pressuring them to sign powers of attorney or buy things they wouldn’t normally buy. Financial abuse also includes stealing, forgery, unauthorized check cashing, and other fraudulent acts.
• Nursing homes need to take proactive steps to prevent seniors from falling, suffering abuse, or living with unnecessary difficulties of old age. Neglect includes failing to have ramps or bars for seniors to hold on to, not ensuring the residents take their medications, a lack of essential healthcare, and not attending to the senior’s diet and appearance.