Though seemingly safe, the staff, residents, and visitors of a nursing home may be abusive toward your loved one. Follow along to find out such signs of abuse and how one of the proficient Panama City nursing home abuse attorneys at Manuel & Thompson, PA can help you appropriately respond via legal action.
What are signs that your loved one is being abused in a nursing home?
There is no one way in which a nursing home resident may be made the victim of abuse. That is, physical, mental, emotional, sexual, and financial abuse are, unfortunately, all possibilities. In turn, there is no single indication that such abusive practices are happening. This means you must be overly observant of your loved one’s physical, mental, and emotional state to detect for any potential warning signs from its onset. Examples of potential signs are as follows:
- Physical signs of your loved one being abused in a nursing home:
- Your loved one may have bruises along their wrists and ankles.
- Your loved one may be wearing ripped clothing and undergarments.
- Signs seen within your loved one’s mental health:
- Your loved one may appear withdrawn and isolate themselves from fellow residents.
- Your loved one may have to go on medication for their depression or anxiety, which they never suffered from before.
- Signs seen within your loved one’s emotions:
- Your loved one may have uncharacteristically drastic mood swings or exhibit hostile behaviors.
- Your loved one may grow irrationally fearful when in the presence of a certain staff member or resident.
What are my legal options after my loved one is made the victim of such abuse?
Upon discovering that your loved one has been made the victim of nursing home abuse, you may immediately remove them from the care facility. With this, you may have to pay the cost of transferring them to another care facility, or temporarily take care of them yourself and miss out on your anticipated wages. What’s more, if they received bodily injuries from the incident of abuse, you may have to pay for their hospitalization and other related medical bills.
Evidently, this is an unfair situation all around. The best way you may achieve some justice in this matter is by filing a nursing home abuse claim, on your loved one’s behalf, against the negligent care facility. If successful, you may be able to recover their incurred economic and non-economic damages.
In addition, you may report the incident of abuse to the Florida Department of Elder Affairs. The Department’s hotline is 1-800-963-5337. This may work to ensure that no other elderly individual experiences the same abuse or neglect in the future.
In conclusion, if you are still unsure of your next move, resort to one of the talented Panama City personal injury attorneys. Someone at Manuel & Thompson, PA will know which legal option works in your best interest. So call our firm today.
