When you place a loved one in a nursing home, you trust the facility’s medical staff to do their jobs and provide the medical care and attention your parent or family member needs. While most medical care facilities do an excellent job caring for loved ones, others may be understaffed or hire and retain health aids that neglect or outright abuse residents.
While care facility neglect and abuse can take many forms, below are the most common issues that arise in nursing homes.
Under Oregon and federal law, residents of nursing homes and other extended care facilities have protected rights that cannot be waived or neglected by nursing homes. The Oregon Legislature has extensively outlined each and every nursing home right that patients have in Oregon.
Some of the your or your loved one’s rights include:
While it may be difficult to discovery nursing abuse or neglect, there are signs that may indicate it is occurring, such as:
A nursing home abuse lawyer can help you to determine if you have a basis for a claim against your loved one’s nursing home. Frequent claims pursued against nursing homes include the following:
Proving nursing home abuse can sometimes be difficult as often the resident is suffering from some diminished mental capacity which is why they may be in the facility to begin with or may simply be too frightened to tell others about what has occurred. If you suspect that your loved one has been the victim of nursing abuse, you should talk to them immediately and express your concerns. Additionally, be sure to take photographs of any unexplained bruises or injuries and notes summarizing your conversations with care providers and other staff.
If you suspect that your family member or loved one has been the victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, do not delay, contact an attorney immediately and consider reporting your concerns of abuse to the Oregon Department of Human Services. Contact Bend, Central Oregon nursing home abuse lawyer Christopher Kuhlman at Kuhlman Law, LLC at (541) 385-1999 for a free initial consultation.