Nursing homes can provide safe environments for elderly individuals who need assistance with certain medical conditions or who just need some extra help completing their day-to-day activities. Unfortunately, however, not all of these homes provide the care or protections they may profess to; in the worst cases, the residents of these homes can sustain serious – or potentially life-threatening – injuries due to abuse or neglect at the hands of the staff who run these facilities.
In this multiple-part blog, we will take a closer look at some of the most common warning signs of nursing home abuse and neglect. For people whose parents, grandparents or other elderly loved ones may be living in nursing homes, knowing these signs of possible nursing home neglect and abuse can be crucial to the health and safety of their loved ones.
When an elderly loved one who is usually engaged and chipper seems to emotionally withdrawal from you (and/or the family), this withdrawal can be an indication that the individual has suffered some type of trauma. In fact, emotional withdrawal is a common symptom of various types of abuse, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal abuse and emotional abuse.
Therefore, if your loved one seems to be exhibiting some dramatic changes in his personality and there is no other medical condition that can explain this (e.g., bipolar disorder), then you may want to start questioning the staff about possible neglect or abuse that your loved one has suffered.
While elderly people may be more susceptible to sustaining injuries (because, for instance, they have medical conditions that make them more sensitive or fragile in certain situations), physical injuries that suddenly pop up with no explanation can be troubling signs of nursing home abuse and neglect.
In fact, things like bruising, broken limbs, etc. can indicate that:
For our continued discussion on the most common warning signs of nursing home neglect and abuse, be sure to check out the upcoming second and third parts of this blog.
If you believe that your loved one may have been victimized by any type of nursing home neglect or abuse, contact the Littleton nursing home abuse attorneys at Bahr and Kreidle.
Since 1983, we have been fighting on behalf of injured people and aggressively standing up against injustice, inequality and intolerance. Our lawyers know how serious and devastating the impacts of nursing home neglect and abuse can be. That’s why we are committed to being here to advocate injured people’s rights, help them hold negligent parties responsible and ultimately get them the highest possible awards for their injuries and losses.
To get more information about your potential case and rights, call us at (303) 794-7422 or email us using the contact form on this page.
From our law offices in Littleton, we represent clients throughout Colorado, including in the Denver Metro Area, Arapahoe County, Adams County, Jefferson County and the cities of Lakewood, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Castle Rock, Westminster, Centennial and Aurora.
