Putting a loved one in a nursing home is rarely a decision made gladly. Usually, it’s done when their medical conditions advance to the point where they can no longer live on their own or even with members of their families.
They enter a nursing home in order to receive higher levels of care than can otherwise be provided. That’s why it is especially jarring to learn that your loved one suffered injuries or a worsened condition due to neglect at the nursing home.
Since friends and family members of the resident are usually the ones who notice the neglect and its consequences, it is important that you better understand just how nursing home neglect can affect your loved one.
If the resident is too sick or debilitated to feed themselves, neglect could cause them not to be fed and to become malnourished. Bed-bound patients may develop painful bedsores that can fester and cause all sorts of deadly complications. Leaving incontinent residents to sit for hours in wet or soiled diapers can lead to rashes in the genital area.
Also, residents who are still mobile but may not be as steady on their feet as they once were can fall and break bones if they get up to try to do something for themselves that the nurses overlooked or forgot to assist them with.
There are many ways nursing home residents can experience neglect. It’s our job to hold those who neglect them accountable for their inactions. If your loved one suffered needlessly due to neglect at a nursing home or long-term care facility, let us help you win them justice.