When malnutrition occurs in a person, they are either not getting the adequate amount of foods or are not getting sufficient food. Every individual has a specific recommended daily value that they must meet through consuming foods and if it is not met, the individual can experience malnutrition due to the lack of minerals and vitamins. Malnutrition for individuals with weaker immune systems like the elder can cause them devastating effects. A wide-spread problem that has surfaced within nursing homes is malnutrition. The elders are just not getting enough nutrients and are experiencing the effects of malnutrition.
The problem has become so severe that an estimated one-third of the 1.6 million residents within nursing homes either suffer from dehydration or malnutrition. While in some other nursing homes, the rate of malnutrition can reach as high as 85%. Malnutrition Miami Nursing Home lawyers understand how neglectful and abusive some residents may be living in which is why they fight to make a change.
What Are the Key Factors in Malnutrition?
The effects that malnutrition can have on an elder person can be deadly. When malnutrition is not noticed and no action is taken, the elder might suffer severe injuries. Malnutrition within a nursing home can occur for a number of reasons, including:
- Understaffing; often times nursing assistants are in charge of 15 residents when they should only be in charge of two or three.
- Inexperience; the turnover rate of nursing assistants is at 93%.
Malnutrition in Nursing Home Figures
- Malnutrition may be the cause for 30 to 50% of elders being underweight in nursing homes
- Elderly suffering from malnutrition is at a ratio of 1:3 residents
FAQS About Malnutrition in Nursing Homes
Question: How Can I tell that my loved one is not being properly fed?
Answer: There are a variety of symptoms that may surface once someone has experience malnutrition, including:
- Appearance of canker sores
- Yeast infections in the tongue or cheeks
- Flaccid muscles
- Swollen, red, or glassy corneas
- Irritable behavior
- Presence of dementia
- Yellowish skin color
- Skin underneath nails turn white; and
- More
Question: Can a lawsuit be filed for elder malnutrition?
Answer: When malnutrition takes place, there was either abuse, neglect, or improper conduct from one of the nursing home staff members. When that happens, the damages that an elder person suffers as a result of their actions or inactions can be compensated for. There can be a lawsuit filed for malnutrition of an elder.
Nursing Home Miami Malnutrition Abuse Lawyers
Every resident should be properly fed while they are staying at a nursing home. If a resident develops signs of malnutrition, their family can seek the counsel of an attorney of Malnutrition abuse in Miami at Percy Martinez Law Firm for nursing homes. The firm knows exactly what steps to take in removing the elder person from the situation so that they are not injured any further.
Miami
Email: percy@percymartinezlaw.com