Today in the United States, there are more than one million elderly individuals living in nursing home establishments. Most families resort to nursing homes because their loved ones require moderate to extensive assistance with basic needs and medical care; care that they can no longer provide. The biggest problem in nursing homes, however, is neglect. These basic needs and medical care that should be provided consistently and in conjunction with a doctor’s orders are neglected, or not carried out correctly. Annually, there are over 20,000 complaints of nursing home neglect, which represents only a fraction of the total instances, as recent data shows that only 1 of 14 nursing home incidents is reported.
Be on the Look Out for Falls, Poor Nutrition, and Bed Sores
Falls: Residents of nursing homes, depending on their conditions, are usually very susceptible to falls. Falls can be very dangerous to an ailing elderly person. Broken hips and ribs and/or head injuries often result from nursing home falls. Residents who are more likely to fall are usually marked with bracelets, citing them as fall risks to the entire nursing home staff. If one of these patients is to fall, it is a clear sign of inadequate supervision or, even worse, no supervision at all. Severe injuries suffered from only a single fall could lead to paralysis or even death.
Poor Nutrition: Nursing homes are required to provide proper fluids and food to residents. When a patient becomes sick from malnutrition, it is most certainly because A.) the nursing home is not providing proper nutrition to the resident, or B.) the nursing home is not providing supplemental nourishment in the case of a resident refusing to eat. Nutrition is first and foremost in a list of needs for a patient, and malnourishment is an unacceptable form of nursing home neglect.
Bed Sores: Bedridden or wheelchair ridden patients are to be rotated every 2 hours to prevent the development of bedsores. Although bed sores are certainly treatable when caught early, neglect of a patient can lead to stage III and stage IV bedsores, which can be extremely painful and quickly fatal. When bed sores progress to levels three and four without proper treatment, it is evident that adequate medical attention is not being provided.
Nursing Home Neglect in New Jersey and Philadelphia
If you believe that a loved one, residing in a nursing home or long term care facility, is receiving negligent, abusive, or inadequate care, it is possible that you have some questions regarding nursing home neglect. Please contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation. You may also call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.
A man fell at the health care center but did not receive proper treatment which led to his death. The report issued by the Department of Health Facility Complaints office stated that the man had a “large hematoma, approximately four centimeters by three centimeters, on his left forehead.” The man was not examined until thirty minutes after he sustained the injury and no vital signs or neurological tests were administered in the hours following the accident. Four hours after the fall, when the proper tests were finally conducted, the man’s vital signs were anything but stable and he was no longer responsive. He was then transferred to the hospital and died a mere two days after the initial accident. The death certificate stated that the death was caused by a massive intracranial hemorrhage. Nursing home neglect is far more prevalent than should be the case and it is essential that in the event of abuse or mistreatment, the proper authorities are notified as soon as possible.
The woman’s troubles began in early June, 2010. On June 8th, the resident fell two times causing significant injuries. First, she fell directly out of her wheelchair, causing her to knock her head against the ground. The woman sustained injuries just above her right eye. Later that same day, the resident fell once again out of her chair onto the floor of a lounge area at the care center. Employees should have been aware of the potential for falls because this woman suffered from advanced dementia and this should have been apparent to her caretakers. Less than one month later, on July 5th, an employee did not know how to use a Divided-leg Sling which was attached to a mechanical lift. This lack of understanding led to yet another fall. This led to the development of a significant sized bump on the back of her head. An investigator for the state was able to substantiate these claims of nursing home neglect when he visited the Lutheran Care Center in September of 2010. Nursing home neglect is a growing problem across the map and it is crucial that these problems be reported as soon as possible in an effort to sustain the health of patients and residents everywhere.
After calling an attorney, the next step is often to obtain the medical records. It is often best for the family to initially request the medical records without the help of an attorney. This ensures less of a chance the nursing home would remove documents from the chart, or even re-write them. In order to request a resident’s medical records, you need to have authority to do so. What gives you that authority?