Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer
Elderly Abuse Lawyer in McKinney
There are a standard list of reasons that elderly residents in facilities suffer nursing home abuse and neglect:
- Nursing home workers are too often low-paid,
- Nursing home workers are often overworked and poorly trained.
- Nursing home owners try to cut corners by skimping on staff or training.
Sometimes, the worst cases of nursing home neglect and abuse happen at facilities that, on the outside, seem clean, professional and well-run. Often, management is aware that a problem exists.
One of the most prevalent forms of nursing home abuse today is that of neglect. Nursing home neglect is frequently overlooked and results in a decline in general health and sometimes the death of the elderly resident entrusted to the nursing home facility. Neglect can occur anywhere and can take many forms. What makes neglect worse is that it can be overlooked or ignored for so long since the effects can be subtle over time. Upon repeated visits by a family to a nursing home, the signs of elder neglect can remain invisible.
Quite normally, the residents of nursing homes are at an elevated risk of several ailments. These ailments can occur more frequently or with greater effect due to a lack of appropriate care. What follows is a listing of the most common ailments associated with nursing home care neglect:
Falls
The most frequent and potentially severe cause of injury in the elderly is a fall that results in a bone fracture. In a facility without proper observation, it is possible that a resident could lie on the floor for hours, exacerbating any additional trauma that he or she may have experienced due to the fall.
Bed-Related Strangulation and Suffocation
According to the federal government, 20 to 30 deaths occur in nursing homes each year because of strangulation or suffocation associated with bed rails or falling between a poorly sized mattress and the bed frame. The longer an elderly person is in bed, the more the chance of an injury or death due to strangulation increases.
Bedsores
A bedsore results from unrelieved pressure and persists for hours or even days, indicating that appropriate attention is not being given to the resident. A bedsore can range in severity from mild to lethal. In the severe form, a bedsore can result in a wound that penetrates through muscle and, in extreme cases, into the bone.
Dehydration
Where dementia prevents an individual from responding to their normal bodily needs, dehydration can cause a number of illnesses or disease states, such as kidney failure, and it can be lethal. Dehydration can be avoided by maintaining a rigid schedule of hydration for residents and assuring that staff regularly assesses the dietary and hydration needs of the residents.
Malnutrition
Improper nutrition can result in weakness and fragile bones, resulting in falls and fractures. Malnutrition can compromise the immune system so much that the resident may not be able to survive an infection caused by a bedsore or other trauma. Every resident should be evaluated on a regular basis to make sure that all of their nutritional needs are met, and that if they are not, both a doctor and the resident’s family should be made aware so they may work together to formulate a solution.
Elder Abuse in Nursing Home
Unfortunately, some elders in nursing homes do face abuse. If someone you love lives in a nursing home, you need to be prepared to face this situation.
More and more people today need nursing home care. Despite these homes’ extensive vetting processes and your own in-depth research into various facilities, abuse often happens when we least expect it. That’s why it’s crucial to have an experienced nursing home lawyer on your side. If your loved one has been either neglected or abused, the Lucé Law, PC team can help.
Nursing home patients deserve the utmost respect and attentive care – unfortunately, they do not receive this sometimes. Occasionally, patients are neglected, given the wrong medications, abused, or unsupervised. Sometimes, nursing home staff do not receive appropriate training. At other times, nursing home providers are simply more concerned with making a profit than with caring for other human beings.
This is unacceptable. That’s why we at Lucé Law, PC are committed to helping your loved ones achieve justice and receive compensation for any wrongdoing.
Contact a McKinney Nursing Home Injury Attorney to Get the Personal Support You Need
Let our firm help you build a strong personal injury case for you. Our personal injury lawyers are available for a free legal consultation. Call (972) 632-1300 for help with accidents and injuries in North Texas. Joe Lucé represents clients from Ft. Worth, Sherman, Denison, and throughout Collin County, including McKinney, Plano, Frisco, and Allen.
