New Jersey Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys

Many very different actions or lack of action can result in nursing home negligence, so no, it doesn’t center on any particular staff behavior. Any care that does not meet the standard of clean facilities, safe conditions, respectful treatment, and appropriate medical care could qualify.

Some examples follow, but this is by no means an exhaustive list:

• Inadequate inspection and maintenance of facilities, allowing dangerous conditions to exist uncorrected, such as those that could make residents slip and fall or incur any other injury.
  Failure to establish and follow proper procedures for keeping residents free from infectious diseases
• Inadequate cleanliness of facilities.
• Failure to provide comfort, such as assistance in maintaining good hygiene.
• Failure to provide residents with needed assistive devices, such as canes or walkers.
• Failure to supervise patients properly, so they wander off and injure or otherwise harm themselves.
• Failure to address reported concerns or any other known problems.
• Errors in administering medication.
• Errors in writing or filling prescriptions.
• Failure to follow medical requirements, or mixing up medical records.
• Mistakes made during medical procedures.
• Incorrect administration of medication.
• Failure to monitor, diagnose, or treat symptoms.
• Failure to provide adequate security, so that criminal activity occurs in the nursing home.
• Failure to block off access to dangerous or restricted areas.
• Failure to ensure that patients receive adequate food and water.

Many different parties can bear responsibility for nursing home negligence. Potentially responsible parties include:

• Individual staff members, for failing to discharge their duties properly.
• Nursing home administrators and supervisors, for failing to adequately supervise staff, oversee resident care and life, or implement appropriate training and hiring procedures.
• Medical personnel, for failing to discharge their duties properly.
• Custodial staff, for failing to adequately maintain and repair the facility.
• People who enter from the outside, such as those who intend to engage in criminal activity.

• First, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish negligent actions from proper actions, because residents are sometimes ill and encounter challenges in ADL and other activities. Is your loved one not getting better because the medical care is inadequate or negligent, for example, or simply because they have a difficult-to-treat condition? Did you loved one slip and fall in the shower because of negligence, or because older people are prone to slipping in the shower?
• Second, some signs of negligence are very similar to signs of other conditions. If a resident isn’t getting proper care, or isn’t being treated well by a particular staff member, for instance, they may act withdrawn and shut down socially. But these responses can also mean the resident is anxious or depressed for another reason.

• Second, check your loved one’s hygiene. Are they bathing regularly? Do they look well cared for, with hair washed and brushed? Are their clothes and bed linens clean? Do they have access to water to drink that is in a safe place for them?
• Third, tactfully examine your loved one for signs of harm or neglect, such as bruises, cuts, scars, or bed sores. If your loved one has fallen, they may have bruises (or pain if you touch them in a particular place). If you notice these symptoms, ask what happened.
• Fourth, check your loved one’s medical reports, if available. What conditions does your loved one have, and how are they being treated? Talk to the physicians, the nurses, and the staff. Make sure the prescribed treatment is occurring. Make sure medications are correct, and that your loved one is receiving them as prescribed.
• Fifth, eat with your loved one. Is the food well-prepared, adequate, healthful, and nutritious? If residents have food allergies, do the staff know about and accommodate them? Talk to your loved ones about the food as well. Are they happy with it? Do they have any complaints?
• Sixth, observe interactions between the staff and your loved one. Look for any signs of negligence, such as failing to help your loved one appropriately or inattention to certain needs. Then, observe the personal interactions between your loved one and their caregivers. People who aren’t treated well, or who don’t trust the people around them, often show it by acting differently about the person they do not trust. They may display a difference in tone or other body language. If your loved one appears to experience fear or anxiety around caregivers, this may be cause for alarm. Discuss this with your loved one if you notice it.
• Seventh, if your loved one is injured, suddenly becomes ill, or suffers other harm, check into the cause. Unfortunately, negligent nursing homes may try to protect themselves by providing an untrue explanation. In other words, you might hear that your loved one slipped and fell because she didn’t want to use her cane, when the fall actually occurred because an understaffed facility let her wander off alone.

If you suspect negligence is occurring, take steps to address it.

First, if the negligence results in a clear threat to a resident’s life or well-being, remove them from the facility immediately. If it’s an emergency, call 911. Take them to a hospital for treatment, if necessary.

If it’s not an immediate threat, the second step is to take detailed notes about what you see. Write down the evidence of negligence, why you believe it is negligence, and the date and time. If your loved one has physical symptoms, take pictures. Take pictures of any injury or harm, as well. If the issue seems to stem from a specific person or people, document who they are, including their names and positions.

Third, make an appointment with the nursing home administrators to discuss your concerns. Some negligence results from inadequate training, supervision, or staffing. See if the administrators are open to your concerns and dedicated to making the condition right. Discuss specific solutions with them.

Fourth, follow up on the discussion. If the administrator promised your loved one would have a new staff attendant, for example, see whether that person was assigned. Did things improve? If food was a problem, does your loved one feel it improved?

Fifth, if the situation does not improve, be prepared to move your loved one to a different facility.

Finally, if the negligence concerns criminal behavior, do not try to deal with the situation yourself. If outside people, or even staff members, are stealing your loved one’s money, checkbooks, credit cards, or property, for example, that’s a crime. You can document it the same way you would document other negligence, by noting missing items and writing it down. But then, deal with it as you would a crime outside a nursing home: call the police.

Required reporting. Nursing homes are required by the federal government, specifically section 483.12 CFR, to report and investigate all allegations of neglect, abuse, exploitation, or mistreatment. This includes injuries for which the source is not known and misappropriation of a resident’s personal property.

Medical professionals are also required to report abuse caused by negligence. Some nursing journals have argued that nurses are well-positioned to report neglect, as they see patients most frequently.

At times, nursing home negligence can be elder abuse. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognizes five types of elder abuse:

• Physical abuse – Assaults or active harm, like hitting, scratching, pinching.
• Emotional abuse – Belittling, criticizing, or frightening residents.
• Sexual abuse – Including rape, unwanted touching, or forced watching of sexual activities.
• Neglect – Failure to provide for a resident’s basic needs.
• Financial abuse – Appropriation or misuse of a resident’s assets or property.

Nursing homes are mandated to report instances of abuse to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Unfortunately, though, nursing home abuse is notoriously underreported. Such reports can impact a nursing home’s reputation, as they are often made public. As a result, nursing homes have an incentive to suppress reports of abuse and to not make CMS reports.

Medical staff may not report abuse because they fear losing their position. Other staff may be reluctant to report out of a similar fear, or fear of reprisal.

Failure to report can also result from poor organization. First, supervisors and medical personnel may not witness negligence or abuse by staff members. Second, staff may not know about the reporting mandate, or be unclear about how to file a report.

If negligence is occurring because of poor organization, staff turnover, or inadequately trained and supervised staff, administrators may choose to focus on fixing these issues rather than reporting.

For all of these reasons, people whose loved ones are in a nursing home should be vigilant about watching for signs of negligence.

Anyone who is negligent and harms another person is legally liable for that harm. Nursing home negligence is no exception.

If you suspect that your loved one has been subject to nursing home negligence, it’s prudent to discuss the matter with an attorney. One avenue for recourse is through filing a personal injury lawsuit in civil court.

If you file a suit, your loved one can receive damages for:

• Medical expenses and other economic losses
• Pain and suffering and other noneconomic losses

Keep all of the notes and pictures you compiled when you suspect negligence. If you called law enforcement or spoke to nursing home administrators, keep records of those discussions as well. All of these things constitute evidence for a possible lawsuit.

If you need more information, contact our Fort Myers Nursing Home lawyers today.