Nursing home negligence can occur in long-term care institutions such as residential care homes, adult day cares, assisted living facilities, and nursing homes. Nursing home negligence laws vary from state to state but nursing home abuse is generally defined as neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, or abandonment.

A nursing home abuse attorney may be able to assist your loved ones in the case of nursing home abuse and negligence.

Specifically defined, neglect is the refusal or repeated failure to provide food, shelter, health care, or protection for a vulnerable adult. Signs of neglect include bed sores, bruises, broken bones, falls, unattended medical needs, poor hygiene, weight loss, dehydration, and recurrent infections.

Physical abuse may include inflicting physical pain or injury on a vulnerable adult or depriving them of a basic need. Abandonment happens when a vulnerable adult is deserted.

Any action that falls under these categories can be considered nursing home negligence, and legal action may be taken with the assistance of a nursing home abuse attorney.

Nursing Home Abuse in America

Nursing home neglect is astonishingly common in American assisted living situations. Of nursing home residents, 44 percent reported being abused and 95 percent of residents said they had been neglected or had seen another resident neglected. Individuals who experience neglect have a 300 percent higher risk of death when compared to those who have not been neglected.

People with dementia are at a greater risk of nursing home negligence than those without. Close to 50 percent of people with dementia experience some kind of abuse and 47 percent of people with dementia are directly mistreated by their caregivers. These cases would especially benefit from the assistance and advocacy of a nursing home abuse attorney.

Despite being such a prevalent problem, nursing home negligence is fairly unresearched and poorly understood. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, research on nursing home negligence lags as much as two decades behind research on child abuse and domestic violence. There is an urgent need for a coordinated, systemic approach to nursing home negligence research that includes policy makers, researchers, and funders.

By the year 2050, over 20 percent of the American population will be above the age of 65. With a growing elder population, it is extremely important to be able to recognize nursing home negligence in the living situations of loved ones. Knowing the signs and reporting cases to authorities could significantly cut down on the prevalence of nursing home negligence in America.

Signs of nursing home negligence may not always be present. An estimated 84 percent of nursing home neglect cases are not reported to authorities. If nursing home neglect is noticed, it is imperative that suspicions are reported to the authorities.

If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 for immediate assistance. Calling a nursing home neglect hotline or nursing home abuse attorney will provide additional tools.