Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect
Kerrville Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer
The aging population deserves respect, care, and compassion. Sadly, in various nursing home facilities across the state of Texas, the very opposite happens, leading to a surge in nursing home abuse and neglect cases. If you believe that your elderly loved one is suffering from abuse and neglect in their long-term care facility, you need a Kerrville nursing home abuse lawyer from Janicek Law on your side. Our legal team has decades of combined experience in all facets of personal injury law including nursing home negligence. Our goal is to help elderly victims and their family members obtain justice and fair compensation for their suffering.
Call 210-366-4949 to schedule a free consultation with our Texas nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers today.
What is Nursing Home Negligence?
Nursing home negligence is the failure to provide the required standard of care expected in a nursing home setting. This failure, whether due to lack of care, understaffing, or medical errors, can manifest in many forms. From missed medication doses to overlooking the basic needs of an elderly nursing home resident, these forms of negligence often lead to emotional trauma and worsened physical health for the residents.
Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Statistics in the United States
Unfortunately, neglect and abuse in nursing homes is a lot more common than people like to believe.
In 2013, a study by the National Center on Elder Abuse shed light on the widespread problem of elder mistreatment in the United States. The report indicated that around 6 million seniors faced abuse from family members and/or caregivers. This abuse ranged from neglect and emotional harm to sexual and financial exploitation. Alarmingly, the study also revealed that 91% of nursing homes lacked the necessary staffing to adequately attend to their residents, leading to a surge in neglect cases. Furthermore, 36% of these facilities breached laws designed to protect the elderly from abuse.
If you suspect your loved one is being abused or neglected in their long-term care facility, it’s crucial to reach out to Kerrville nursing home abuse attorneys at Janicek Law. We will thoroughly investigate your elder abuse claim, protect your legal rights, and obtain a fair settlement on your behalf.
Common Types of Nursing Home Abuse in Kerrville, TX
Nursing home abuse refers to wrongful or negligent actions committed against elderly residents. The most common types of elderly abuse in Texas nursing homes includes psychological abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and financial abuse.
It’s not just physical violence that elderly individuals face in nursing homes. Threats, humiliation, verbal abuse, and isolation all constitute psychological abuse, which can lead to severe mental health issues. Mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, can cause nursing home residents to suffer even worse physical health issues that ultimately shorten their lifespan.
Hitting, shoving, or using physical restraints unnecessarily are just a few examples of physical abuse that can occur in a nursing home setting. As a result, nursing home residents can suffer a serious injury, such as bruising, scarring, excessive bleeding, and broken bones, all of which can significantly hinder mobility.
Many people assume that sexual abuse only happens to younger adults, but sexual abuse can happen to elderly people as well. Unwanted sexual contact can come from other residents or even from staff members. Any form of sexual violence committed towards elderly people can result in STDs, bruising, tearing, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Elderly people are very vulnerable members of our society. They can unknowingly fall victim to scams, theft, and forgery, all of which can drain their hard-earned finances. Staff members in assisted living facilities have been known to commit financial abuse against their residents, leaving them with nothing.
Common Types of Nursing Home Neglect in Kerrville, TX
Nursing home neglect is different from abuse, but still incredibly harmful and unacceptable. Abuse usually refers to wrongful or negligent acts, while neglect is often referred to as wrongful and negligent inaction. In other words, when nursing staff members fail to meet the basic needs of their residents, they are committing neglect. Common examples of nursing home neglect can include poor hygiene practices, malnutrition and dehydration, bedsores, frequent infections, and frequent falls.
If your loved one’s nursing home fails to attend to their most basic needs, you have grounds to contact a Kerrville nursing home neglect lawyer at our law firm.
Common examples of poor hygiene in nursing homes can be allowing residents to sit in dirty diapers or pee pads for extended periods of time, failing to bathe residents daily, or failing to help them brush their teeth. Poor personal hygiene practices can lead to a variety of physical health issues, such as infections, skin rashes, poor oral health, strong body odor, and poor mental health.
Without adequate nutrition and hydration, elderly residents cannot have good physical or mental health. Malnutrition and dehydration can lead to a wide variety of health complications in an assisted living facility, including rapid weight loss, chronic fatigue, lack of mobility, gastrointestinal issues, low blood pressure and heart rate, and more.
Bedsores, also known as pressure ulcers, are unfortunately very common in a nursing home setting. They occur when prolonged pressure cuts off blood flow to the tissue in a certain area of the body. In other words, if immobile patients lay in the same position all day long, the pressure from the bed can cut off circulation to the tailbone, the hips, and even the head. The result is a painful sore that, in the first two stages, looks like a bruise. Stage 3 and 4 bedsores are often open wounds that can extend down to the muscles and bones.
Many nursing home residents have no mobility or poor mobility. It is up to the staff members to help them rotate in bed every few hours to prevent bedsores. For some immobile patients, though, bedsores are an inevitable fact of life. So then the job of the nursing staff members is to prevent the bedsores from advancing to stages 3 and 4, which can be deadly for elderly people, especially if the wound becomes infected.
If your elderly loved one has suffered from frequent bedsores in their nursing home, it’s time to call Kerrville nursing home abuse lawyers at Janicek Law.
The average elderly person has a very weak immune system compared to a young, healthy person. Therefore, they are much more susceptible to infections such as COVID-19, gastrointestinal infections, MRSA, and urinary tract infections. If nursing home residents also have poor hygiene and bedsores, these infections can be incredibly frequent and even deadly.
Without preventive measures such as adequate lighting, handrails, and constant supervision, nursing home falls can lead to serious physical injuries, like traumatic brain injuries, and even death among elderly people. It’s crucial for assisted living facilities to take every possible measure to prevent residents from falling. Failing to do so is a sign of nursing home neglect.
Why Does Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Happen to Elderly Residents?
The most common factors that lead to nursing home abuse and neglect include understaffing, poor training, and overworked and underpaid staff workers.
Understaffing
A survey from June 2022 conducted by the American Health Care Association (AHCA) revealed that 87% of nursing facilities surveyed are facing medium to severe staffing shortages. To put this in perspective, a mere 2% of the skilled nursing facilities indicated they had adequate staffing levels at this time.
Due to these pervasive staffing deficits across the nation, a staggering 99% of the nursing homes in the survey stated they’ve had to request staff to put in overtime. Moreover, 61% have had to restrict new patient admissions. Alarmingly, 73% of these nursing facilities expressed fears of potential closure because of the chronic understaffing issue.
If a nursing home doesn’t have enough staff members to take care of its residents, then staff members almost have no choice but to provide low quality care.
Poor Training
In order to address the understaffing issue, some nursing homes may resort to hiring staff who are under qualified and poorly trained just for the sake of bringing in more hands. Nursing homes may even provide poor training to its current staff members, leading to overall poor medical treatment and even medical malpractice to elderly residents.
Overworked and Underpaid Staff Members
Working in the healthcare field is undoubtedly demanding, especially now that COVID-19 is a part of our lives. The hours stretch on, the pressures mount, and often, the salary doesn’t match the effort put in. Delivering top-tier medical care is not only physically and emotionally draining but also poses significant financial challenges. Maintaining the operations of skilled nursing facilities is so resource-intensive that it often leaves limited funds for staff wages.
As a point of reference, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that the mean hourly wage for a nursing assistant in 2019 stood at $14.77. Even if these nursing home employees clocked only the standard 40-hour work week (though many work beyond this), their yearly earnings would amount to a mere $30,000, which is not sustainable for a decent living in the U.S.
Furthermore, certain nursing homes deliberately operate with a skeletal staff to minimize expenses. However, this lean approach jeopardizes the well-being of residents. A thinly spread staff increases the chances of neglect and potential abuse towards the elderly residents they are entrusted to care for.
How to Report Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect in Texas
Ensuring adequate staffing and extensive training are key measures in preventing elder abuse and neglect in skilled nursing facilities. However, implementing this is not as straightforward as it sounds. To enhance the quality of care for seniors, nursing homes must focus on the psychological and financial well-being of their staff. By doing so, they can mitigate the emotional and physical adversities faced by the elderly.
As we await significant reforms in the U.S. nursing facility sector, it’s crucial to know where to voice concerns about elder abuse, especially if your elderly loved one is experiencing severe injuries or illnesses in their facility.
Should you suspect elder abuse, you should file a report with one of these state or federal agencies:
- Adult Protective Services
- State Survey Agency
- State Licensure Office
- National Center on Elder Abuse
- Medicaid Fraud Control Unit
- Long-Term Care Ombudsman
If your concerns are not being addressed promptly, don’t hesitate to reach out to our dedicated team of Kerrville nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers at Janicek Law. We firmly stand against the maltreatment of nursing home residents and are committed to assisting you and your loved one in seeking justice against the negligent nursing facility.
How to Prove Nursing Home Negligence in Kerrville, TX
Gathering evidence is a crucial part of proving nursing home neglect or abuse. From photographs and medical records to witness accounts, every piece helps a Kerrville nursing home abuse lawyer to build a strong case. The legal team at Janicek Law, with its vast elder abuse practice areas, can help elderly victims and their families navigate this complex process efficiently.
Can You Sue for Wrongful Death in a Nursing Home?
Yes. If you suspect that nursing home neglect or abuse directly resulted in your loved one’s death, you may have grounds to file a wrongful death lawsuit in the state of Texas. Each Kerrville personal injury attorney at Janicek Law has years of experience in litigating wrongful death cases as well. We can guide families in seeking justice and compensation.
Nursing Home Negligence Damages
A successful nursing home abuse case can provide financial compensation for numerous types of damages. The two main types of damages you can recover following a lawsuit are economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are quantifiable losses suffered as a result of neglect or abuse in a nursing home. Common examples include medical bills, physical therapy bills, funeral and burial costs, and lost earnings.
Non-Economic Damages
Meanwhile, non-economic damages are those that have no monetary value. However, that doesn’t mean that these damages are any less important than economic damages. Common examples include the elderly victim’s pain and suffering, mental trauma, and diminished quality of life.
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