Cleveland, TN Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

As the aging population continues to grow, long-term care facilities such as nursing homes often become necessary to provide proper care to our elderly loved ones. When you place a loved one in a nursing home, you are entrusting that facility to provide suitable medical care. Sadly, many nursing home residents are neglected and abused.

If you are concerned about the care your loved one is receiving in a nursing home, a knowledgeable attorney may be able to address your concerns and answer your questions. A Cleveland, TN nursing home abuse lawyer could prove to be a valuable asset to your claim.

What is Nursing Home Abuse?

Nursing home abuse includes mistreatment by a nursing home staff or any of its employees, and includes physical violence in which employees may strike the patient, push them or tie them up sometimes. It also includes other types of mistreatment, including financial crimes and theft. It even includes sexual, mental abuse, and things that can be said to a patient, and it includes withholding things the patient needs, such as food, medicine, or basic necessities.

How Could a Nursing Home Prevent Abuse from Happening?

Nursing home abuse is a widespread problem. Therefore, there are laws in Cleveland that make nursing home abuse unlawful. Conduct is considered abusive in Cleveland if it causes physical pain, injury, mental anguish, or deprives caretaking services that are necessary to adequately maintain health and welfare.

Working as a caretaker in a nursing home can be labor-intensive and time-consuming. Pressure on nursing home workers to attend to multiple patients, understaffing, inadequate training or a lack of motivation can result in abusive or neglectful treatment. For assistance with filing a claim, reach out to a Cleveland, TN nursing home abuse lawyer.

Identifying Abuse

Signs of nursing home abuse can come in many different forms. Although many nursing home residents suffer from chronic illnesses that may affect them physically or mentally, if visitors notice a condition or injury that is unusual, he or she should try to identify the cause. Indications of physical nursing home abuse include:

  • Bed sores
  • Bruising
  • Broken bones
  • Cuts
  • Malnourishment
  • Dehydration
  • Poor hygiene
  • Incorrect medication

In addition to physical abuse, nursing home abuse can also be emotional. If a patient seems particularly anxious or upset, these may be signs that he or she was treated in a way that is emotionally abusive. Cleveland nursing home laws were enacted to specifically prevent these and other forms of abuse and neglect. Contact a Cleveland, TN nursing home abuse lawyer for more information.

Cleveland Standards for Nursing Home Care

Regardless of a nursing home resident’s illness or mobility, there are required standards of care that must be met by the nursing home relating to cleanliness, nutrition, and medical care. These include:

  • Personal hygiene – nursing home residents should be bathed or showered at least two times per week or more if requested
  • Linens – to prevent bedsores, nursing homes should regularly replace the clothing and bed linens of all nursing home patients
  • Meals – three meals should be provided to nursing home residents within every 24-hour day
  • Discrimination – it is unlawful to discriminate against nursing home residents on the basis of any protected characteristic such as age, religion, sex, gender, or race
  • Medical services – nursing home patients should have access to 24-hour care

Talk to a Cleveland Nursing Home Abuse Attorney Today

Many cases of nursing home abuse go unreported because the victims are unable to speak up for themselves. If you suspect a loved one is being mistreated in his or her nursing home, contact a lawyer immediately. A skilled Cleveland, TN nursing home abuse lawyer has assisted many families. We can help families get their loved ones out of an abuse nursing home setting and seek damages for the abuse they suffered.