Bakersfield Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

Placing a loved one in a nursing home is one of the most emotional decisions a family can make. While it is an act of ultimate love and selflessness, it can feel like you are giving up on them instead of watching out for them. Knowing they are in a safe and loving facility goes a long way toward helping ease those feelings of guilt. Unfortunately, even a nursing home that seems fabulous can be dangerous. Nursing home abuse is a common problem, and it is not always easy to foresee or predict. When it happens, the impact on victims can be substantial, leading to emotional trauma, long-term adverse health effects, or even death.

If you think your loved one is being abused, the most important thing is their safety. You need to act quickly to stop any abuse, but that can be more complicated than it sounds. You need to determine whether you think a particular staff member is responsible or if the abuse is more of a systemic issue. Stopping it and the steps to take next may depend on the type of abuse. Reporting physical or sexual assaults to law enforcement may be essential, but you may want to secure your loved one in a different facility first. An experienced Bakersfield nursing home abuse lawyer can help you explore your different potential remedies, including a personal injury claim.

What Is Nursing Home Abuse?

Nursing home abuse includes a wide range of mental, emotional, financial, physical, and even sexual predatory behaviors. Including such a wide range of behaviors means it can be challenging for people to identify the warning signs of abuse, hindering the ability to stop it.

Physical abuse includes any intentional act that leads to physical harm. It can include overt acts like hitting, shoving, or slapping the victim. However, given the delicate physical condition of many older adults, it is essential to keep in mind that some physical abuse can be subtle and still result in harm or physical danger. Rough handling, pulling hair, rough transfers, and improperly using restraints can be more subtle forms of physical abuse that can still be incredibly frightening to physically vulnerable people.

Emotional abuse includes verbal threats, isolation, ridicule, intimidation, and withholding comfort. Other names for emotional abuse include mental abuse and psychological abuse. This abuse may not cause physical harm, but it can lead to depression and anxiety, exacerbating underlying physical conditions. While anyone is vulnerable to emotional abuse, it can be particularly devastating for people with dementia or other cognitive impairments.

Financial abuse includes anyone who uses their power over an older adult to misappropriate any of that person’s financial assets. It can involve outright theft, such as a staff member taking a piece of jewelry or cash from the resident. It can also involve more subtle forms of abuse, like a staff member gaining a resident’s trust and using that to get access to their loved one’s accounts. No nursing home staff member should be involved in the resident’s finances.

Sexual abuse can be one of the more horrifying types of abuse. Residents may fear reporting the abuse because of the stigma associated with sexual assault or fear of retaliation. This type of abuse can range from harassment to non-consensual contact and even sexual assault. A Bakersfield attorney can help families identify any potential elder abuse.

Understanding Elder Neglect

While abuse includes actions designed to harm the individual, neglect, a subtype of abuse, involves inaction. Neglect is prevalent. Anytime a caregiver or a facility withholds any essential care—food, water, medical attention, or hygiene—it is neglect. Some neglect is unintentional, such as a facility that is understaffed. Other times, it is intentional—there is adequate staff to attend to resident needs, but they choose not to do so.

Whether neglect is intentional or a side effect of a poorly planned facility does not change the impact on the victim. Neglect can lead to depression, anxiety, a depressed immune system, and health complications from things like bedsores. A nursing home abuse lawyer in Bakersfield can help family members identify signs of neglect.

Talk to a Bakersfield Nursing Home Abuse Attorney

When dealing with suspected nursing home abuse, the most crucial step is to ensure the resident’s safety. If you are the victim, talk to a trusted family member, contact authorities, or schedule a conference with a Bakersfield nursing home abuse lawyer. An attorney can help you explore all your potential remedies.