Nursing home elder abuse can be a difficult issue to detect for many families with loved ones who are in a care facility. While many skilled nursing facilities can look impressive from the outside to the novice visitor, the fact is that they are only as good as the performance of the nursing staff. Additionally, management policy can have an impact as well when some residents are high-maintenance and have extensive treatment needs. Problems can occur easily, and many times the responsiveness of an understaffed nursing crew and management group is not up to par regarding safety standards and sanitation. Everyone with family in a North Carolina nursing facility should know these basic rights before consulting with a nursing home abuse attorney when they have concerns.
Personal Injury Complaints – Elder Abuse
The first right any resident in a nursing home has is the right of safety regarding treatment that does not produce personal injuries. Even bedsores could be evidence of a lack of training among the staff or even willful negligent when patients must be turned regularly. Other sanitation measures should also meet state standards, including personal cleaning needs. All residents deserve this dignity. Injuries can also occur in other ways such as when medications are withheld or not prescribed and administered properly. [What Is The Role Of An Adult Day Care Neglect Attorney In NC?]
Choice in Scheduling
Many nursing homes and low-intensity rest homes have social schedules for the residents. While most residents will participate, some will not want to or cannot function well in social settings. Being forced to attend when unwilling can be evidence of abuse as well. Residents have the right of choice to participate in facility functions if they so choose. While this may seem minor regarding treatment, elder abuse attorneys can use this evidence in support of other more serious issues when investigating nursing home conditions.
Financial Control
A major issue with many nursing home residents is control of their own money. Individuals who are receiving Supplemental Security Income are allowed very little money by the SSA, but some residents have personal assets that they want to control themselves. This can be a very tedious situation when a nursing facility is restricting access to personal finances, and could even be criminal in some cases.
Right to Privacy
Another issue in a nursing home that often goes unaddressed is the right to privacy. We all have a reasonable expectation of privacy in our home, and the entire facility is not “home” for a resident. Their individual room is their privacy unit even if they are in a shared room situation. And even then, some level of privacy must be maintained regardless of nursing home facility policy. Company policy has actually become a very contentious issue in the recent past for many nursing homes.
External Contact Access
The national medical emergency that has permeated the whole of society in the United States has had a serious negative impact on those living in nursing homes. Many nursing home residents have been in peril for their lives, and many have passed away as a result of contracting the disease due to proximity. One of the primary issues that all residents have had is the family’s inability to visit on a regular basis. Nursing home ownership companies have then used this predicament to their advantage by stopping visitation in as much as they could per instructions from government agencies, which in turn has provided an extra layer of concealment for insufficient or abusive care practices.
Contact a North Carolina Nursing Home Abuse Attorney
Always remember that nursing home abuse can occur aside from actual injuries that are commonly central to any abuse claim. While facilities are inspected regularly by state agencies, these are scheduled visits that the facility management group knows are coming. A nursing home abuse attorney can conduct a thorough impromptu investigation and file a report that requires state agencies to conduct additional checks, often providing additional evidence that can be used in crafting a solid case that can apply to other facility residents experiencing the same problems. Do not delay if you suspect abuse of a family member or friend. Contact a North Carolina nursing home abuse attorney. Call 1-800-ACCIDENT for a free, no-obligation, case review.
