When Are People Victims of Nursing Home Neglect Vs. Abuse?

People move loved ones to nursing homes in the Washington D.C. area for a variety of reasons, but it is generally so their loved ones receive the care they need. As people grow older, they may not be able to maintain the proper care for their various health needs. Nursing homes can provide that care and the expectation is that the nursing home will actually provide the proper care for their loved ones.

Unfortunately, there are many instances though when loved ones do not receive the proper care. Many people are the victims of nursing home abuse or neglect. Both of these can be very detrimental and create a terrible situation for loved ones who are there to receive care they cannot provide for themselves. While both nursing home abuse and nursing home neglect are both detrimental, there are differences between the two and those differences can lead to different damages for the loved one.

Nursing home abuse can be physical, verbal or psychological. Examples of this are being too rough when handling the patient; yelling at patients; hitting, slapping, kicking or other physical assaults of a patient; threatening or saying mean and derogatory statements to patients and other overt acts.

Nursing home neglect occurs when staff does not provide the proper care. This could be failing to complete exercises with the patient, not changing patients who have soiled themselves or helping them to the bathroom when they need to go; not giving routine baths; not properly caring for wounds; not keeping them hydrated or failing to perform other routine cares.

Neither nursing home abuse nor neglect are acceptable for patients at nursing homes in the D.C. area. It is important that people’s loved ones are receiving the proper cares and if they are not, it is important that the nursing home is held accountable for their actions. Victims of nursing home abuse and/or neglect may be entitled to compensation and the nursing home could receive punishments to prevent it from occurring to future patients. Abuse and neglect are not always readily apparent or easy to prove though and consulting with experienced attorneys could be beneficial.