Red Flags: How to Recognize Nursing Home Neglect
When is it time to finally connect with a Florida nursing home attorney?
This is a simple question with serious ramifications. If you suspect that a beloved senior has been victimized at his or her nursing home, what signs would confirm your diagnosis? Fortunately, you need not guess. The symptoms are straightforward, if also disturbing:
Common Symptoms of Florida Nursing Home Neglect
Look for these important warning signs that nursing home patients are being neglected. If you spot these practices, you need to take action. Lives are at stake:
- Medication errors (e.g., a senior is overdosed or under-dosed by a caregiver)
- Multiple instances of “slipping and falling”
- Infections that recur regularly or that persist despite thorough treatment
- Patients wandering off the facility
- Bed sores
- Hygiene problems (e.g., the resident does not appear groomed or clean when you visit)
- Evidence of malnourishment or lack of hydration
- Suffocation or strangulation. A federal government survey estimated that up to 30 deaths happen every year in nursing homes due to suffocation or strangulation in bed
- Rapid weight gain or weight loss
- Nursing home failure to report illnesses or other changes in health to the family promptly
Note that this list of symptoms is neither comprehensive nor definitive. In other words, just because a senior presents some symptoms does not mean she has been victimized. On the other hand, a senior can be suffering from neglect, even if she exhibits none of these signs. Still, this list should help you start to clarify your thinking.
When to Call a Florida Nursing Home Attorney
As noted above, diagnosing neglect is challenging, both emotionally and legally. But there is no need to wait for certainty before getting legal help. Indeed, if you wait too long, the patient may get worse or suffer additional injuries — or even death.
Connect with a Florida nursing home and abuse lawyer at the Law Offices of Craig Goldenfarb, P.A., immediately for a free and confidential consultation.
