NURSING HOME NEGLIGENCE AND ABUSE
A nursing home or other care facility is the last place you expect a loved one to suffer an injury from neglect or abuse. Placing a loved one in a nursing home is a difficult decision, but when nursing home residents are mistreated and sustain injuries from the people trusted to care for them, it can be emotionally devastating. At Eastend Eder Law, we are dedicated to pursuing abusive and nursing home negligence, holding the guilty parties responsible and seeking compensation on your – or your loved one’s – behalf.
Types of nursing home neglect in Kentucky
Nursing home negligence is the failure or purposeful refusal of caregivers to provide food, water, clothing, shelter, personal hygiene, medicine, comfort, protection and other essentials for a person in their care. Nursing home neglect is not limited solely to nursing homes but can also apply to in-home caregivers and people with the fiduciary responsibility to provide adequate care. Families should look out for the following potential signs of neglect:
- Elder abuse or mistreatment – Elder abuse and mistreatment includes deliberate acts by a caregiver or other trusted individual who causes harm to an elderly adult. Elder abuse also involves the caregiver failing to provide for the basic needs of an elderly person.
- Bedsores – Bedsores, also called pressure sores, develop in persons left in the same place too long by their caregiver.
- Falls – A nursing home resident is more prone to fall. A common reason for this is staff and management neglect.
- Dehydration and malnutrition – Malnutrition results from an unbalanced diet, the poor absorption of nutrients or merely not getting enough food. Dehydration occurs when a resident does not get enough liquids and his or her fluid loss drops more than three percent of his or her normal body weight. It may be caused by a decrease in fluid intake, a fever, diarrhea or diuretic-type medications. Dehydration and malnutrition can be devastating.
- Medication errors – Nursing home staff often negligently commit medication errors, either by giving the wrong dose or wrong medication or by using the wrong method of administration.
- Emotional neglect – Emotional neglect is the failure to offer social interaction, by leaving an elderly person alone for lengthy periods.
Helping families enforce Kentucky nursing home laws
It’s important to know your rights as a resident. Kentucky law requires nursing homes to comply with many regulations, including that of giving residents the right to a dignified existence, access to family, friends and services outside the facility, all necessary nursing and medical services, and freedom from physical or chemical restraints. Nursing homes must also remain free of accident hazards and provide a safe environment, to name only a few of the requirements.
Many nursing homes in Louisville and throughout Kentucky remain simply fail to comply with regulations designed to protect residents. The number of nursing home residents who suffer personal injuries because of neglect is far too high.
Using our knowledge of nursing home and personal injury laws, we go after negligent nursing homes to stop neglect and obtain compensation for victims and their families. Residents should never have to suffer from neglect while in a nursing home, and you should never lose a loved one because of nursing home negligence.
Before you choose a nursing home for a loved one, consult with our legal team in Louisville at East End Elder and Probate Law. We can provide you a free copy of the latest state nursing home inspection record. This report details any complaints filed against the nursing home and the results of investigations into these complaints – and the Kentucky Nursing Home Residents’ Bill of Rights requires it to be made available by the nursing home at no cost to you.
CONTACT US
East End Elder and Probate Law
Located in Middletown, Kentucky
11921 Brinley Avenue, Suite 201, Louisville, Kentucky 40243, United States
East End Elder and Probate Law is an assumed name of Walker Law, PLLC