Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect Risks

Nursing home residents are sometimes the victims of abuse or neglect.  Families place their loved ones in nursing homes, believing that they will receive quality care and be safe from harm.  However, several risk factors put nursing home residents in danger.

If you have a loved one living in a nursing home, you should be familiar with the risk factors associated with nursing home abuse and neglect.  To help protect your elderly family member, you should visit him or her often in the nursing home to ensure that adequate care is being provided.

Some of the risk factors linked to nursing home neglect and abuse fall into three categories – facility, resident and relationship.  Facility risk factors include poor staffing, staff indifference, staff burnout and stress, which can all lead to abuse of nursing home residents.  Resident risk factors include those related to behavioral issues.  For example, if a resident has dementia, social isolation or unmet needs, then that resident may become more vulnerable to neglect or abuse.  Relationship risk factors include the resident’s relationship with his or her family members and the interaction with the staff members.  When a resident is missing a relationship bond, then he or she is more susceptible to abuse.

Nursing home residents have legal rights and the nursing home can be held responsible for abuse or neglect.  If you feel that your loved one may be the victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, you need to take immediate action.  An experienced Virginia nursing home abuse attorney can help you file a claim against the nursing home.  Contact Weisberg & Zaleski, P.C. at (800) 690-0235 for advice regarding your case.

The article, Risk Factors Associated with Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect, has more information regarding this topic.