Nursing home patients are unique because they need almost constant attention, physically and mentally. Though this is what our loved ones deserve, it is often not the treatment they receive.

By Joseph Caprara of CBLAW posted in Elder-Abuse-Neglect on Friday, September 7, 2012.

Nursing home patients are unique because they need almost constant attention, physically and mentally. Though this is what our loved ones deserve, it is often not the treatment they receive.

Research suggests that between 4 and 10 percent (65,000 to 130,000) of Ontario seniors suffer from some form of elder abuse. But because it is often difficult for a nursing home resident to communicate whether they are being abused, it is necessary to be acquainted with the warning signs of nursing home abuse and neglect. Studies also show that only 1 in 14 incidents are brought to the attention of authorities. There are four main types of abuse in a nursing home: physical, emotional, sexual, and financial.

Physical abuse is the most obvious and most easily realized form of neglect in a nursing home. Any physical pain or injury that is willfully inflicted upon a person or unreasonable confinement or punishment, resulting in physical harm, is abuse. There are a multitude of signs of physical abuse to elders, but some include bedsores, mysterious bruising or bleeding, cuts or swelling, burns, soiled clothing, evidence of over or under-medication, infections, frozen joints, considerable weight loss or weight gain, malnutrition, dehydration, signs of restraint, and unexplained death. If a nursing home resident behaves awkwardly around a certain worker or if a worker refuses to allow the resident to be seen alone, it is possible that the worker is attempting to hide something.

Emotional abuse often comes in the form of neglect, which is when an employee or personal support worker does not perform the level of care necessary for a nursing home patient. Possible instances of emotional abuse are verbal threats, insults, the silent treatment, babying, manipulation, humiliation, isolation, and harassment. Signs of nursing home neglect include depression, anxiety, sudden erratic behavior, emotional withdrawal, disappearance of personal items, mood swings, agitation, seclusion, and low self-esteem. Since these are often-times difficult to easily realize, it is important to regularly communicate with a nursing home patient and stay alert and perceptive at all times.

Sexual abuse is another serious form of nursing home abuse where a personal support worker or employee engages in non-consensual sexual contact with a patient. Possible occurrences of this include sexual assault or battery, rape, sodomy, forced nudity, sexually explicit photography, and sexual harassment. Signs of sexual abuse in a nursing home include bruises around the genital or chest area, unexplained genital infections, trouble walking or sitting, stained or bloody clothing or sheets and vaginal or anal bleeding. These actions can be carried out by a nursing home worker, by another resident, by a stranger, or by a family member. One study showed that more than ½ of nursing home residents who were victims of sexual assault died within one year of their victimization.

Financial abuse is the most common form of elder abuse, financial abuse, often refers to the theft or misuse of money or property like household goods, clothes or jewelry. It can also include withholding funds and/or fraud. Signs of this abuse are abrupt changes in a patient’s will or other financial documents, the signing of contracts without the family’s involvement, unexplained withdrawals from bank accounts, forged signatures, and changes in banking practices.

For further insight to elderly abuse, visit The Ontario Network for Prevention of Elderly Abuse website at www.onpea.org.

To receive a favorable outcome though, quality legal representation is
very important. If you have a loved one that you believe may be the victim of
nursing home abuse or neglect, you may be eligible to receive compensation. The trauma lawyers at CAPRARA BARRISTERS, help many injured victims across Ontario. Feel free to call us and speak to a member of our trauma trial lawyers.

Joseph Caprara