Lawyers for West Palm Beach Nursing Home Abuse

Every issue that an individual has, there is most certainly an organization to resolve it. Victims of criminal acts are often helped by criminal justice organizations and law enforcement, victims of accidents and medical conditions are helped by medical facilities and hospitals, individuals in need of continual care and housing may use a nursing home or assisted living facility. In other words, there is a solution to every problem, but even in a solution, there can come another problem. The issue with nursing homes, even with all of their benefits, they have been known to inflict abuse and neglect on their residents. Negligence has been found in 90% of nursing homes at some point in time in the U.S. Abuse and neglect within these senior homes have been increasing throughout the years.

Nowhere is safe anymore. The easy task of entrusting the life of a loved one was not as it is now. Real dangers are present in the everyday life of residents which is why the fear of placing a loved one in a facility occurs frequently. Once a decision has been made, what actions are taken after will have a great impact on the resident’s well-being. The actions that need to be taken before and after a nursing home decision has been made is known by the West Palm Beach attorneys. A significant amount of responsibility comes from this decision.

Ways That Abuse in Old Folks’ Homes Could Be Seen

There’s an open space when it comes to neglect and abuse because it can occur in many forms. It is not unique to one type. Some of those types include:

• Physical Form: Abuse can take place in the physical form which is the most life-threatening of all types of forms. Physical abuse is when someone is being subjected to physical pain by being either struck with an object, being punched, pushed, shoved, and even restrained against their An elder person who is physically abused is unable to withstand physical abuse for too long. There is a great risk for them to endure an injury that could not be treated.
• Sexual Form: Because elder residents are vulnerable already, them being sexually abused is not far-fetched. Many residents are not able to communicate to others that they are being sexually abused or they might even be fearful to report it. They might have the mentality that it is better to have an abusive caregiver than to not have one at all, but that is not the answer. Sexual abuse is a crime that needs to be punished.
• Financial Form: Financial exploitation is one of the many cases of abuse that are present and a resident is vulnerable to in a nursing home. Nursing homes and family members are often the ones that end up having to monitor the financial funds of the elderly. Financial abuse is the least visible.
• Emotional Form: Abuse in the emotional form is a pressure cooker waiting to release pressure. Its an abuse that slowly builds up and the effects on the victim becomes apparent once the abuse has reached a point of no return. Some early signs of emotional abuse should be noted before the abuse reaches a dangerous phase where the resident might want to hurt themselves.

West Palm Beach Red Flags for Nursing Home Abuse/Neglect

Sometimes, signs of neglect and abuse are not so evident. It becomes hard to detect these signs because not every person who experiences abuse or neglect will reflect the same signs, but there are a number of indicators that might lean towards the possibility that the resident is being abused or neglected including:

• Changes in character like fearfulness, angry state of being, and seclusion
• Resident having medical conditions that arise like infections and bedsores
• Recurring falls happening with resident that is experiencing mobility problems
• Bank account of resident having large withdrawals
• Lack of personal hygiene
• Dirty living conditions
• Wounds

Monitoring the resident and becoming education of the symptoms linked with neglect or abuse of an elderly resident is essential in order to discover its occurrence. This discovery could save the resident’s life.

Neglect and Abuse Background Of Nursing Homes

Every case of neglect and abuse has its own story. Those actions are derived from many occurrences, of which the firm in West Palm Beach is knowledgeable of including:

• Lack of security guards, cameras, and other security devices
• Demands of residents not being fulfilled due to the insufficient amount of employees
• Personal problems being brought to work by the health care providers
• Incompetent assessment of high-risk residents
• Lack of mobility equipment to help residents travel
• Lack of direction of healthcare practice
• Staff not following directions of physicians
• Uncertified and unlicensed professionals being hired
• Candidates for employment not being background checked

Abuse and neglect are not justifiable; it should never happen. No matter how stressed, how much work, or how difficult a resident is, these things cannot happen. Elder residents are human beings and delicate in nature. They require good care to fulfill all of their needs.

U.S Figures of Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

Just thinking that places made to provide comfort, care, and attention are actually neglecting and abusing the residents. These following numbers indicate just how much:

• A total of two million cases of abuse are reported annually, this is not including the number of cases that do not get reported
• Some type of abuse will be inflicted upon approximately 10% of the elderly population
• Throughout the U.S, reports of abuse in nursing homes reaches in the 40 percentile
• Throughout the U.S, reports of abandonment in Old Folks’ homes reaches in the 90 percentile
• Between the year 1999-2001 30% of nursing home facilities were found to have had one deficiency

Neglect and Abuse Can Be Prevented With Help

The aftermath of a resident’s time in a nursing home is dependant upon numerous factors after they have been admitted. Different measures must be taken in order choose the right nursing home before admitting them. These are some actions that could be taken before selecting:

• Finding the nearest nursing homes
• Choosing those nursing homes that have been rated the most and reviewed
• Learning about the positive aspects and negative aspects of the facility
• Involvement of the friends and family in the decision
• Finding the certified facilities
• Research for discrepancies of the facility
• Loved one and friends writing down inquiries for the nursing home facility
• Receiving a tour of the facility

When the time is taken to evaluate potential nursing homes, differences can be made. The life of a loved one can either be made better or worst from the decision.

West Palm Beach Nursing Home Facilities

These are some of the various nursing homes and assisted living locations in West Palm Beach:

• ManorCare Health Services- West Palm Beach
• Joy Living West Palm Beach
• Signature HealthCARE of Palm Beach
• Palm Garden of West Palm Beach
• CityWalk Active Living
• Lakeside Health Center
• Classic At West Palm Beach
• Chatsworth of PGA National
• Darcy Hall of Life Care
• Arden Court of West Palm Beach

Nursing home abuse attorney in West Palm Beach can provide their assistance and combat any of these facilities when a loved one was placed into a nursing home that left them neglected or abused. It is crucial to take numerous factors into account before making the life-changing decision for a resident. It is always smart to follow the first instinct. If something appears wrong, then most likely it is.

Solutions Are Always Present For Problems

No victim or family of the victim should feel alone during this time because The firm of Percy Martinez for nursing home abuse in West Palm Beach is there for them. Hope should never be lost. The firm and their professional lawyers of personal injury are prepared to help.