What Causes Nursing Home Abuse?

The elderly generation is the most vulnerable part of our society. Caring for your parents, grandparents, or any aging loved one is a large responsibility, which is why many families choose to hire an at-home caregiver or move their family member into a nursing home facility. Elderly men and women often have failing health and require regular care to make sure medications are taken as prescribed and that their general needs are being met—nutrition, hydration, and personal hygiene.

Unfortunately, the caregivers and nursing home staff you trust to make sure your family member gets everything he or she needs may neglect their responsibilities or abuse them. While you may believe that the nursing home staff are doing their best for your loved one, it’s essential to understand nursing home abuse and neglect. That starts with understanding its cause.

Florida is notoriously a state where retired persons flock to enjoy their golden years in the sun. That also means that we have a higher population of seniors than other states, putting a heavier burden on nursing homes and caregivers. Our injury lawyers in Orlando specialize in nursing home abuse and neglect cases. Some of the most common causes of nursing home abuse that we’ve seen include:

1. Understaffed Nursing Homes

Care facilities often don’t have the number of staff members that are necessary to meet the needs for all of the elderly patients under their care. That means that hygienic standards are neglected, causing bedsores and infection. Your loved one may go an entire nursing shift or longer without seeing a staff member, which is unacceptable, considering many aging patients are unable to move around by themselves.

2. Poorly Trained Caregivers and Staff

Some nursing homes fail to hire staff that have the proper training, leaving residents in jeopardy of mismanagement of medications, health conditions, and more. Improper hiring practices is another huge concern in nursing home facilities. It’s crucial that Administrators perform the necessary background checks to ensure their entire staff not only has the certifications required but haven’t been convicted of any crimes, which would disqualify them from working in the medical facility. When those steps are missed, abusive people may be hired. Nursing home abuse involves a variety of unconscionable actions against already vulnerable persons, which includes sexual assault and rape, verbal abuse, physical abuse, and financial exploitation.

3. Nursing Home Mismanagement

Sometimes the administrators in charge of the nursing home facility put profit over people, lining their own pockets instead of funding the care facility properly and paying staff adequate wages. That pay disparity can lead to hiring staff that are woefully unprepared for the large responsibility of caring for dozens of elderly patients during each shift.

There are other causes of nursing home abuse that go beyond what we’ve discussed. You can help identify nursing home abuse and neglect by visiting your loved one often and doing your research on the facility before moving your family member there.

Contact Our Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect Lawyers in Orlando

If you suspect your loved one is a victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, contact our lawyers in Orlando immediately at (407) 712-7300 for a free consultation. Colling Gilbert Wright will act quickly and pursue justice for the harm your family member has endured. We serve clients in the surrounding areas of Florida and nationwide.