I always assumed that personal injury cases where pretty straight forward. After being in an accident, any financial losses that you suffered would be reimbursed by the liable party's insurance company. Unfortunately, things only work this way in a perfect world. In the real world, personal injury cases are extremely complex and getting the insurance company to pay a fair settlement requires the expertise of an experienced injury lawyer. Unfortunately, it took me several months to finally seek out the legal assistance I needed. As a result, I waited much longer than necessary to get the compensation I so desperately needed. During this time, I learned more about personal injury law than I ever thought I would. It is my hope that this blog will allow me to share that knowledge with you so that you can avoid making some of the same mistakes that I did.
If you have a loved one who is in a nursing home, you probably count on the facility to provide your loved one with proper care. However, you should know that nursing home abuse does happen, and it happens in many forms. You might know to watch out for physical signs of abuse, but emotional abuse in a nursing home is something that happens, too. These are a few signs that your loved one might be emotionally abused in the nursing home.
1. Your Loved One Seems Isolated
Your elderly friend or family member should be able to participate in fun activities as much as possible. Many nursing homes offer bingo, movie nights and other similar activities, and if your loved one is well enough, he or she should be encouraged to participate. Nursing home staff members should also spend time communicating with your loved one. If your parent or other friend or family member seems to be isolated and does not seem to be around others very often, it could be a sign of emotional abuse.
2. You've Noticed Signs of Fear
Does your loved one appear to be afraid of those who work in the nursing home? If he or she seems to shrink up in the bed when someone approaches, has a look of fear on his or her face or otherwise seems to be intimidated when around nursing home staff, it could be a sign of either physical abuse or emotional abuse in the form of bullying, taunting or intimidating. It could even be a sign of both.
3. Your Loved One Seems Overly Embarrassed
For many elderly people, accidents happen. Bathroom accidents and spilling of food or drink are both things that can occur and that a worker in a nursing home setting should be accustomed to and able to handle with a smile. If your loved one does not seem to want to tell anyone if there is an accident, it could be because he or she has been shamed and embarrassed for such things in the past.
Although these three things don't necessarily mean for sure that your loved one is being emotionally abused, they are red flags that you should check into. If you do a bit of investigating and feel that there is a chance of nursing home abuse, it's a good idea to work with a medical malpractice attorney who has handled nursing home abuse cases before. Then, you can get justice for your loved one. To learn more, check it out.
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