Sexual abuse in Orlando nursing homes is sadly not uncommon. If you suspect or have learned that your loved one is a victim, you should contact a local nursing home abuse attorney immediately.
Our team at The Florida Firm Injury and Accident Lawyers has a long history of standing up for nursing home residents and holding facilities accountable when their negligence causes harm. We are the firm other lawyers turn to when they need aggressive representation in a nursing home abuse case.
What Constitutes Sexual Abuse in Nursing Homes?
Sexual abuse in a nursing home includes forced sexual contact of any kind. It can also include:
- Sexualizing tasks such as bathing the patient
- Exposing the patient’s private parts unnecessarily or intentionally failing to protect a patient’s modesty
- Another person exposing their genitals to the patient
- Making sexually explicit or suggestive comments to a patient
- Taking pictures of a patient’s body for sexual purposes without consent
Many patients lack the physical or mental capacity to resist unwanted sexual attention, so any conversation or behavior of a sexual nature is potentially abusive.
Most sexual abuse goes unreported. Nursing home patients may feel ashamed, believing they had a part in causing the abuse. Some patients may not remember or understand what happened to them.
If you discover or even suspect nursing home sexual abuse, you should call The Florida Firm Injury and Accident Lawyers for advice. Our Orlando attorneys could review the situation and advise you about the best steps to take to protect your loved one and hold the nursing home and other responsible parties accountable for the sexual abuse.
Know the Signs of Sexual Abuse
Anyone who experiences sexual abuse may have trouble acknowledging and processing what happened to them, and this is especially true for nursing home patients. Victims of sexual abuse in nursing homes may not have sufficient cognitive capacity to recognize the abuse for what it is, or they may be incapable of communicating their experience. Therefore, it falls on family members to know and look for the signs of sexual abuse.
There may be clear indicators, such as cuts or bruising around the genitals, breasts, and buttocks. Bloody underwear requires an investigation to determine the cause. A new diagnosis of a sexually transmitted disease is a sign of possible sexual abuse. If your loved one shows any of these physical signs of recent sexual abuse, you should file a police report and contact our Orlando nursing home injury attorneys immediately.
Sometimes the physical injuries have healed before anyone notices that the patient is showing signs of emotional distress, such as withdrawal from others or an increase in anxiety with no apparent cause. Families and facilities should not overlook the possibility of sexual abuse in these cases.
Nursing Homes Must Protect Residents From Sexual Abuse
Nursing home residents have the right to establish close relationships, and sometimes friendships with other residents become intimate. Nursing homes must investigate to ensure each party has the capacity to consent and does consent to the sexual relationship. If not, the relationship is abusive. The facilities must balance the preservation of the patients’ dignity and personal autonomy with the necessity for patient safety.
Many incidents of nursing home sexual abuse are forcible sexual encounters perpetrated by another patient, staff member, or outsider. Nursing homes must provide adequate security to protect residents against violent attacks. This includes a thorough screening of employees to ensure that nothing in their background indicates a propensity to exploit vulnerable people.
When a nursing home could have prevented the sexual abuse, it could be liable for the harm your loved one suffered. Our Orlando lawyers could bring a legal claim against the nursing home seeking medical expenses for treating the physical and emotional injuries caused by the sexual abuse, damages for the victim’s pain, suffering, and humiliation, and for your emotional distress. We have an outstanding record of obtaining substantial settlements for victims of nursing home abuse.
Contact Our Orlando Attorneys About a Nursing Home Sexual Abuse Case
Sexual abuse in Orlando nursing homes is more prevalent than you might imagine. You can protect vulnerable loved ones by knowing the signs and taking action at once if you suspect your loved one has been abused.
Contact our nursing home abuse attorneys at Colling Gilbert Wright for aggressive representation in a nursing home abuse case. We work on contingency, so you do not pay any fees or expenses until we obtain money for you. Call or text as soon as you suspect your loved one has suffered sexual abuse in a nursing home.