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Elderly people who are victims of nursing home abuse oftentimes feel helpless, isolated, and uncertain. It can be difficult to reach out for help, especially if the elder feels that the person abusing them holds all the power. It's important to provide elders with the tools and resources to stand up for themselves, regardless of their current situation. Elder abuse can happen anywhere: a nursing home, a long-term care center, or even at the hands of family or friends. By making sure your loved ones have constant support and access to information, you can minimize the chances of someone you care for suffering at the hands of an unscrupulous caregiver.
The National Center on Elder Abuse provides help and resources for elder abuse victims. Their state resource directory provides links to state agencies designed to help the elderly and their families to report any suspected abuse or neglect. In California, Adult Protective Services provides a list in .pdf format of the contacts for each county. These agencies can be an invaluable source of information, help, and assistance for anyone suffering from elder abuse.
If you are a victim of nursing home abuse, or if you feel a loved one or friend may be a victim of nursing home abuse, report it! Letting elder abuse go unchecked can have devastating consequences, for both the elder and their family. The Law Offices of Young and Wallin specialize in handling elder abuse cases, and will help you fight back against nursing home abuse. The pain and suffering that a person goes through when abused by a person in a position of power and trust is indescribable. We will work with you to recover damages and to help you get back on the right path.
A sudden change in your elder's attitude, memory, or emotional health can be distressing for everyone. Depression is not uncommon among the elderly, and can include a disinterest in hobbies, eating, or communication with family members, along with memory problems, withdrawal from family and friends, as well as weight-loss. However, each of these may also be a sign of nursing home neglect and elder abuse.
Because depression can signal elder abuse, it can be difficult to know whether or not your family member is being abused. In cases where there is a sudden change in behavior or attitude, speak with the staff, as well as any medical specialists that may be available to you. Some signs that depression may be caused by elder abuse are:
Bruises, burns or other unexplained injuries
Unexplained changes in medication or dosage
Indifference by members of the staff
Sudden, dramatic change in attitude by the elder without notification by the staff
If you feel that your family member may be suffering at the hands of nursing home staff, you must act quickly and decisively to help your elder before the situation escalates any further. The Law Offices of Young and Wallin specialize in handling nursing home neglect and elder abuse cases, and will help you to recover damages and move forward with your life.
Your family's plans for elder care should begin far in advance of the actual need for a nursing home. Age is one condition that is guaranteed to progress, and planning elder care options before they are needed is always a wise move. When choosing an elder care facility in California, keep these considerations in mind:
Cleanliness/Lighting - clean, well-lit facilities demonstrate not only a staff commitment to a hygienic environment, but also a potential health benefit. Some studies have suggested that light therapy can help improve elderly patients quality of life.
Meals - nutrition is an important part of a healthy nursing home experience. Make certain that there are specialized menus available for those who need a restricted diet, as well as a variety of food options, regardless of what type of diet the resident requires.
Staff - ask about training, orientation, and hiring practices for staff members at the nursing home. If there are excessive turnover rates, it may be an indication of possible nursing home abuse through staff neglect.
Communication - make certain that it's easy to contact a manager or supervisor if you have any questions. Staff should be helpful and answer any questions you may have, or refer you to someone who can provide more information if necessary.
Appearance of Residents - do the residents seem happy? If the current residents seem well cared for and get along well with the staff, it can be a good sign.
Amenities and Programs - if your elder is in fairly good health and is active, you will want to be certain there are amenities and programs designed to promote healthy interactions, hobbies, excursions, and other events that can add to the quality of life.
There are many different kinds of elder care facilities available in California. Choosing the right one for your situation can help you pinpoint any time the facility doesn't meet with your expectations. If you find yourself in a situation where the nursing home staff is being abusive or neglectful and you have nowhere to turn, the Law Offices of Young and Wallin can help you get the support you need to make sure the abuse stops and those responsible are punished.
Many people have heard about the abuse and neglect that take place in nursing homes, but did you know that a common form of abuse is bribery? That’s right; nursing home employees will actually play on the needs of the elderly to get what they want. This twisted form of abuse is more common than many people think and causes a great deal of emotional and psychological damage to victims. In nursing home bribery, the abusive staff member may use many things to bribe residents. Basic necessities like food and water may be withheld so that employees can bribe residents by offering to give them food and water in exchange for information, money, or personal property. Employees may also offer to break the rules or make special arrangements in exchange for something that they want for the resident being bribed. Nursing home employees can use bribery to keep residents quiet about nursing home incidents or to get money, jewelry, access to a bank account, or the use of the resident’s former vehicle. Residents often don’t report bribery because they fear getting hurt by the employee who bribed them, so this unfortunate practice continues without much notice from lawmakers and nursing home administrators. The only way that nursing home bribery can be curbed is if family members stay involved in the care of their loved ones and watch for missing money and other personal property. If this is noted, a discussion with the resident in question may yield claims of bribery. If these claims are taken seriously, administrators can take positive steps to eliminate this travesty from the nursing home system. If you feel your loved one has been a victim of bribery in a nursing home, contact a Riverside nursing home abuse lawyer to take action against the abuser. If you have questions or comments and have concerns about the care a loved on is receiving at a California nursing home facility please feel free to contact Nursing Home Neglect Attorney Michael Young for a FREE NURSING HOME ABUSE CONSULTATION on your nursing home abuse matter. The California Nursing Home Abuse Law Offices of Young and Wallin has offices throughout southern California to serve you including an elder abuse law office in Orange County, Riverside and San Bernardino County. Mr. Young handles nursing home neglect cases throughout the state of California on a case by case basis.
If someone finds that a loved one has been abused or neglected by a staff member in a nursing home facility, it stands to reason that the family members will immediately report the abuse. This isn’t always the case with nursing home abuse situations for a wide variety of reasons. One of the major reasons is that the loved one begs family members not to tell for fear of retaliation or because of shame. Abuse can often lead to feelings of guilt, shame, and worthlessness. Abused residents can also feel that the abuse is their fault because they did something wrong or didn’t do something that a staff member wanted them to do. Whatever the specific reasons, many residents prefer to leave the abuse in the past and try to move on with their futures. Family members may also fear retaliation if nursing home abuse is reported. Instead of exposing their loved one to more severe abuse, these family members choose to keep the abuse to themselves. Other family members may question if abuse really happened, especially if their loved one has dementia or other conditions that can cause confusion in elderly people. While no one would think a loved one was making up abuse, some people may question how abuse occurred if the stories told by loved ones don’t match up with other circumstances. Not reporting abuse just allows it to continue and doesn’t do anyone any good, so please report nursing home abuse if you know it is happening. If you need help with finding more information on reporting nursing home abuse, contact a California nursing home abuse lawyer for more information on how to proceed. The Nursing Home Neglect Law Offices of Young and Wallin provides free consultations to all those in need. If you suspect a loved one may be the victim of nursing home neglect or abuse contact Mr. Young immediately to explore your options and preserve your rights. Elder Abuse Attorney Michael Young handles cases throughout California including Fresno, Bakersfield, San Diego, as well as nursing home abuse cases in Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange County and San Bernardino. Mr. Young is also will and able to handle nursing home neglect cases in Northern California including San Francisco, San Jose and Sacramento.
One of the most common reasons that nursing home abuse goes undetected is that many facilities are understaffed. Finding highly qualified and well-trained people to work in these facilities is difficult, so administrators must often settle for hiring individuals with little to no nursing home experience. Some abuse and neglect may occur just because these untrained individuals do not know what is expected of them in terms of patient care. Those who are abusive are able to get away with abuse because other employees are busy caring for patients and trying to do extra work to compensate for being short staffed. Instead of being supervised and held accountable for their actions throughout each shift, abusers can get away with abuse because other workers are too busy to provide adequate supervision. If activity logs are kept, they can be falsified easily because supervisors may be busy dealing with the needs of residents and may not know what is really going on during each shift. Having a facility that does not have an adequate amount of staff members to meet the needs of residents is one of the top reasons why nursing home abuse and neglect occur. If you feel this is one of the reasons why your loved one has experienced abuse, contact a San Diego nursing home abuse lawyer to find out what the best course of action is for preventing more abuse and holding the abusers responsible.
The Nursing Home Neglect Law Offices of Young and Wallin provides free consultations to all those in need. If you suspect a loved one may be the victim of nursing home neglect or abuse contact Mr. Young immediately to explore your options and preserve your rights. Elder Abuse Attorney Michael Young handles cases throughout California including Fresno, Bakersfield, San Diego, as well as nursing home abuse cases in Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange County and San Bernardino. Mr. Young is also will and able to handle nursing home neglect cases in Northern California including San Francisco, San Jose and Sacramento.
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