Nursing homes are a part of everyday life for millions of Americans. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that about two million Americans receive daily care from almost 16,000 nursing home facilities in the U.S. each year, about 70% of which are for-profit businesses. It is especially in these for-profit centers that much of the elder abuse occurs.
A nationwide study of elder abuse ranks Tennessee at number 33 overall in terms of its elder abuse protections. This ranking shows that there is much room for improvement, and that elder abuse is a huge problem in Tennessee.
Nursing home abuse and neglect takes many forms, including:
This negligent caregiver handling or intentional torts like assault and battery.
This applies to the unwelcome sexual touching, sexual battery, or rape of a nursing home resident.
Failure to maintain clean and safe facilities or failing to reposition bedridden and wheelchair-bound patients can lead to serious injuries.
Nursing homes must assess individual fall risks and take precautions to prevent such injuries. A Tennessee care center has been barred from admitting any new patients after it was found that a woman with broken knees, suffered from a fall, was left in agony without proper treatment for nine days.
Poor supervision of residents with dementia or other degenerative neurological conditions could allow them to wander and sustain injuries.
Caregivers must follow prescribing doctors’ orders concerning all patient medications. They must also account for potential interactions when administering new medications or treatments for isolated incidents, such as an illness requiring antibiotics.
Abuse and neglect is not only physical. The misuse of a patient’s funds, coercion and theft are all forms of financial abuse commonly victimizing the elderly. Recently in Tennessee, a woman was arrested for misuse of thousands of dollars, exploiting a nursing home resident.
Unlike other states with less strict reporting requirements, Tennessee state law considers all residents mandatory reporters for elder abuse of any kind. This means anyone who witnesses elder abuse of any kind or who suspects nursing home abuse must file a report to Adult Protective Services immediately. Some of the most common signs of nursing home abuse and neglect include:
If any of these warning signs appear in your loved one, they should be taken seriously and reported immediately. Caring Estates, a home in a Memphis suburb, was recently cited for multiple abusive and neglectful accounts, including keeping one resident in a storage closet for months.
The value of any nursing home abuse or neglect case fluctuates based on several factors. Economic damages include lost income from the family’s time spent caring for an abused or neglected loved one and the cost of additional medical expenses.
The age and overall medical condition of the victim and the nature of the abuse or neglect suffered also influence case outcome and recovery for pain and suffering. A few examples of different possible case values are:
If you suspect your loved one has suffered abuse or neglect at the hands of nursing home staff it is essential to act as soon as possible. Tennessee prosecutes elder abuse cases very aggressively, and an offender may face criminal prosecution and punitive damages in addition to liability for civil damages. A successful lawsuit may even encourage new legislation or policies to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Once you report nursing home abuse or neglect to the appropriate authorities and remove your loved one from the dangerous situation, contact us to discuss your options for legal recourse and the type of compensation you may receive from a successful lawsuit.
Resources:
Attorney Cameron Jehl
Licensed in Tennessee
Tennessee Nursing Home Injury Lawyer Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home