Identifying and Documenting Abuse for Reports to Medi-Cal

If you plan on reporting possible abuse to Medi-Cal, you’re going to want to have some documentation of your claims or at least a running record of all the abuse or neglect you have suspected or seen while your loved one was a resident of a nursing home facility.  To do this, you’ll need to know how to identify nursing home abuse and neglect by observing the condition of your loved one and making sure you follow up on any unexplained injuries, infections, or psychological deterioration.  Some of the most obvious signs of nursing home abuse include bruises, repeated fractures, unexplained slips and falls when residents are not supervised, and actual reports from residents that abuse and neglect are occurring.  If you see any of these signs, contact a California nursing home abuse lawyer immediately to preserve your rights and find out what you can do to notify Medi-Cal of the situation.  There are also less obvious signs of nursing home abuse that may not be as direct as seeing bruises or receiving reports of abuse from nursing home residents.  Many of these signs have to do with psychological abuse instead of physical abuse.  While residents may not show bruises and marks on their skin, psychological abuse can bruise their fragile mental states and cause them to engage in different behaviors that can signify that something is wrong.  Irritability, argumentativeness, and other attitudes and behaviors that have never been displayed before may indicate that your loved one has been a victim of nursing home abuse.  If you notice any of these signs and they can’t be explained by a medical condition, contact a California nursing home abuse attorney to find out what your options are and preserver your rights.