N.C. Medical Malpractice Attorney
Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect
There are approximately 17,000 nursing homes in the United States caring for over 1.6 million adults. Increasingly, we hear about nursing home patients being injured or dying because of abuse and neglect. Reported violations have increased every year since 1996.
More than 30 percent of the country’s nursing homes have been cited for violations that put residents at risk. Nursing home violations often include physical or sexual abuse by staff or by other residents -- with little or no staff supervision to prevent this type of behavior. Injuries such as fractured or broken bones, lacerations, and/or cuts and bruises are all too common.
Other problem areas include:
- Pressure sores which are areas of injured skin and tissue. They are usually caused by sitting or lying in one position for too long. The pressure reduces the blood supply to the skin and the tissues under the skin. When a change in position doesn't occur often enough and the blood supply gets too low, a sore may form. Pressure sores are also called bedsores, pressure ulcers and decubitus ulcers and can go all the way to the bone and result in death.
- Malnutrition
- Dehydration
- Inadequate sanitation and hygiene
- Elopement – when a patient is allowed to wander away unsupervised and unnoticed.
- Assault and Battery
- Sexual Abuse
- Unreasonable physical or medication restraint
- Medication Errors
- Physical neglect: disregard for the necessities of daily living
- Medical neglect: lack of care for medical problems
- Infections or the failure to treat infections
To enforce the standards, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services contracts with the states to conduct annual inspections of nursing homes. Individual states are also required to investigate individual abuse complaints.
Nursing home industry representatives attribute the increase in violations to a difficulty in attracting and keeping quality staff. CNA’s and unlicensed nursing home staff often make as little as $7 to $9 per hour.
If you suspect that you or your loved one is being, or has been, abused or mistreated, call our Asheville and Western North Carolina nursing home abuse attorney at the Elmore Law Firm. You should also bring the abuse to the attention of the nursing home management. Let them know that you are documenting the treatment received and that you will file a report with the following.
If it is a skilled nursing facility, report any suspected abuse to:
- The North Carolina Division of Facility Services – phone 1-800-624-3004 (within NC) or 919-855-4500; and / or
- Your local state Ombudsman. In the Asheville area this would be the Land of Sky Regional Council – 1-800-727-0557 or 828-251-6622.
If the facility is a Rest Home, report any suspected abuse to your local county Department of Social services.
If you feel that you or a family member was seriously injured by nursing home abuse or neglect, please contact our Asheville and Western North Carolina nursing home abuse lawyer at 1-828-253-1492 or 1-888-775-7876 or online at info@theelmorelawfirm.com
For more information on personal injury claims, please review our Personal Injury FAQs page.
