Indianapolis Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys
Nursing home abuse or neglect occurs when a caregiver fails to provide an elderly person with proper care. This violation generally occurs with senior citizens who reside in nursing home facilities and can no longer care for themselves.
Elder neglect is also known as elder abuse. Elder abuse is associated with physical activities that leave the elder individual injured.
Examples Of Nursing Home Abuse And Neglect
When someone is a designated caregiver to an elder person, they are responsible to maintain and provide them with the care and attention the elder individual needs. When they fail to do so and the elder person is suffering, the caregiver’s negligence is a violation of the law.
Examples of nursing home abuse or elder neglect include:
- Not providing an elder person with the basic necessities of food, water, clothing, and shelter
- Failing to administer medicine or treatment as instructed by the elder’s physician
- Ignoring an elder person’s request to communicate information to another person, especially if this information pertains to the elder’s health
- Keeping an elder person in poor and unsuitable living conditions
- Not reporting an act of elder abuse
- Physical abuse/assault of a nursing home patient
- Sexual assault
Proving elder neglect may be difficult, but it is possible with the proper elder abuse lawyer on your side.
Generally, the elder person must have experienced some form of physical or economic harm. This can be an injury to their body or an unwarranted loss of property. Emotional injuries are also a form of elder neglect, and proving emotional injuries can also be best achieved through consulting with an experienced attorney.
Nursing Home Abuse And Neglect FAQs
Nursing home abuse is likely the last thing you expected when you placed your elderly relatives in a care facility. Unfortunately, abuse and neglect happen to far too many senior citizens. If you suspect that your loved one is suffering abuse or you already have evidence that it is happening, reach out to a lawyer at Ladendorf Fregiato & Bigler.
We help clients in the Indianapolis metro area put a stop to nursing home abuse and neglect. Because this can be such a frightening experience, we have taken a moment to answer some common questions about elder abuse. Arming yourself with information is the first step in ending abuse and bringing the perpetrator to justice.
What is considered abuse in a nursing home?
Abuse can take many forms, including:
- Physical abuse
- Mental, emotional and psychological abuse
- Sexual abuse
- Food or water deprivation
- Neglect
- Financial abuse
- Unnecessary medication or sedation
- Isolation or physical restraint
Remember, abuse is not always physical. The toll that emotional or financial abuse takes can be just as devastating as that of physical abuse.
How is nursing home abuse investigated?
Investigating abuse or neglect in care facilities takes extensive time, research and patience. If an elderly person can no longer speak for themselves, the process is even more difficult. We often work with law enforcement officers, forensic accountants, psychologists and gerontologists to uncover evidence of abuse. Though this can take a long time, there is no stone we leave unturned when it comes to investigating potential abuse.
What are the signs of nursing home abuse?
Knowing the signs of abuse or neglect can go a long way toward keeping your parent or elderly loved one safe. Some of the most common signs of nursing home abuse include:
- Unexplained bruises, welts or cuts
- Bedsores
- Malnutrition or dehydration
- Poor hygiene
- Fear of facility’s caretakers or reluctance to speak around caregivers
- Depression
- Emotional agitation
- Trauma around the genital area
- Unexplained death
One or more of these signs may indicate that your loved one is experiencing abuse or neglect.
How do I keep my loved one safe?
Recognizing the indicators of abuse is an important first step. Keep a regular diary that documents your loved one’s mental capacity, physical appearance and any injuries. Maintain regular contact with your loved one through phone calls, emails and visits. And consult an attorney to learn more about the rights of senior citizens in nursing homes and how to end the suspected abuse permanently.
Who is responsible for elder abuse?
Sometimes, an elder person can have multiple caregivers. The individual who is legally responsible for the elder individual may be the elder person’s:
- Nursing home personnel
- Relatives or friends
- Live-in caregivers, or visiting caregivers
- Medical professionals
When an individual has the explicit legal duty to care for an elder person in any way and fails to do so, they are violating the elder individual’s rights.
Contact Ladendorf Fregiato & Bigler Now
If you or a loved one have experienced the neglect of an elder, contact Ladendorf Fregiato & Bigler at your earliest convenience.
The Indianapolis nursing home abuse attorneys at our firm have years of handling elder abuse cases similar to yours. We believe an elder’s life should never be affected because of the negligence of another party.
For a free consultation, call our office at 317-842-5800.