Physical abuse in a nursing home includes any injury to a resident that was avoidable. Examples can include a pressure sore because the staff was not turning a patient regularly, failure to provide the necessary care and supervision resulting in a patient falling and breaking a hip, or not taking the time to properly feed a patient leading to the person losing a lot of weight. It is defined as any injury that, with good care, could have and should have been prevented. If a loved one has been physically abused in a nursing home, an individual should consult a capable and compassionate nursing home abuse attorney. A skilled Palm Beach Gardens nursing home physical abuse lawyer could help you hold the negligent party liable.
Warning Signs of Physical Abuse
Warning signs of physical abuse in a nursing home include new pain that has not been present before, bruising, loss of mobility, and the residents themselves communicating that there is a problem. People have to listen to the resident.
The types of patients that are most vulnerable to physical abuse are the ones that are not able to speak for themselves, including people with significant memory loss and residents who do not have family members or friends that visit them often. A Palm Beach Gardens nursing home physical abuse lawyer could protect vulnerable individuals.
Appropriate and Inappropriate Uses of Force
It is almost never appropriate to use force when dealing with residents, but there can be some circumstances in which a resident is such a danger to themselves or others that they need to be temporarily restrained until less restrictive measures can be taken. That is an incredibly rare circumstance.
An example of force being used inappropriately is the nursing home using restraints to tie somebody down not because the person is a danger to themselves but simply for the convenience of the nursing home when they do not want to be bothered coming in and helping the person out. Other examples include leaving people sitting in their own waste and actual physical attacks by either an employee of the nursing home or another resident.
Recoverable Damages in Physical Abuse Cases
In nursing home abuse cases, clients can recover for medical bills that are caused by the neglect and abuse, and they can recover for the pain and suffering that they go through as a result of being neglected and having an injury. In cases in which the neglect or abuse causes the death of a nursing home resident, the nursing home resident’s spouse or children can recover for the pain and suffering related to the untimely death of their loved one. A Palm Beach Gardens nursing home physical abuse lawyer could help people recover the damages that they deserve.
Importance of a Palm Beach Gardens Nursing Home Physical Abuse Attorney
If somebody believes a person is being physically abused in a nursing home, the first step is to do whatever they can to make the resident safe, get them away from the abuser, and get the abuser away from them. The second step is to call the authorities, call the police, and call in the state agency for healthcare to investigate. Once they have done that, an individual should consult a Palm Beach Gardens nursing home physical abuse lawyer, to find out what their rights are.