What Constitutes Nursing Home Negligence?

We all would like to believe that all staff at Texas nursing homes are committed to the wellbeing of their residents. Unfortunately, there are always those individuals who do not provide the standard of care they should. When this occurs, the elderly suffer neglect and abuse. If you and your family are facing this situation, you will need the help of an attorney from the Carabin Shaw Del Rio office to guide you through the legal red-tape as you seek justice.

At Carabin Shaw, our attorneys believe no elder should suffer negligence or abuse and fight to protect the vulnerable in our society. Our team of attorneys is highly skilled in advocating and defending the rights of the helpless and standing by to help you.

Carabin Shaw’s Del Rio nursing home abuse lawyers are frequently asked, “what constitutes nursing home negligence,” and “how do I know if my loved one is a victim of negligence?”

What constitutes nursing home negligence is based on any failure to provide the basic necessities for living, clothing, shelter, food, hygiene, or medical care. Neglect can take the form of emotional, physical and mental abuse. While our attorney can help to prove negligence, as the first line of defense for your loved one, you need to know what is considered negligence in a nursing facility and how to identify its signs and symptoms.

Negligence, or neglect is defined as the failure to provide the basic necessities for living, clothing, shelter, food, medical care. Neglect can take the form of emotional, physical and mental abuse.

Physical: Physical neglect can be observed through a failure to bathe a resident who can’t bathe themselves, or a failure to help with oral hygiene, laundry needs, changing dirty linens, or helping a resident to obtain eyeglasses if needed. Failure to turn a bedridden resident in the bed to prevent bedsores is a sign as well. Physical abuse can also involve hitting, slapping, pinching, and handling residents roughly.

Mental: This type of abuse and neglect may be harder to spot and identify, and sometimes harder to prove. Signs of mental abuse or negligence involve verbal or nonverbal insults, humiliating treatment of the resident, or threats to harm or discipline them.

Emotional: This can include intentionally or unintentionally imposed isolation, such as being left alone for unconscionable lengths of time, or to be left sitting in a chair all day without social interaction or communication from others.

When faced with concerns about neglect or abuse, your Carabin Shaw attorney highly recommends when possible that you document what is heard and observed, as well as what your loved one tells you if they are able to communicate.

Documentation is one of the best actions you can take to support and defend your loved one; by providing your attorney at Carabin Shaw, documentation of first-hand evidence of Del Rio nursing home negligence, you help to build your case and protect your loved one from further abuse and neglect.

Document all your observations and facts in the Del Rio nursing facility, and then allow your attorney to determine what is relevant. Include the date and time, and if possible, names of involved parties. When documenting, be as factual as possible. The following is an example of how and what to document.

• “Monday, June 1, 2017; 8:30 am – arrived to find mother sitting in bed with soiled linen and clothing. She stated she had not been able to get anyone to answer her call to help her to the restroom. ”
• “Monday, June 1, 2017; 7:00 pm – arrived to find mother’s evening meal had not been served, when asked nurse aide Cleo Smith where mother’s meal was Ms. Smith stated “I’m so sorry, they must have forgotten to bring it in. ”
• Tuesday, June 2, 2017; 8:15 am – “ arrived to find mother in tears; she wouldn’t talk with the nurse aide in the room. When the aide left, she stated after I left the night before that the aide yelled at her for complaining about her dinner not arriving. I checked her linens to find her bed sores were worsening. When I asked her when she was last moved, she stated at my visit 13 hours earlier. ”

If you’re struggling with what constitutes nursing home negligence or trying to determine if your loved one in a Del Rio nursing home is being neglected, speak with one of our attorneys. The initial consultation is free, and our representatives are available 24/7 to discuss your concerns. Call the law offices of Carabin Shaw in Del Rio today at 830.339.2824 or toll-free at 1.800.682.1260.