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Most families love and cherish their elderly family members, but there comes a time when an aging loved one requires full-time monitoring and access to medical care that exceeds the family’s abilities. When it’s time to place an elder into a nursing home, we either abide by their wishes in a pre-arranged care plan or seek out the best possible nursing home within the family’s budget or Medicare’s coverage.
While most nursing home administrators and caregivers are well-intentioned, nursing homes in the U.S. have chronic understaffing issues and may also have budgetary problems that lead to safety hazards within the facility, sometimes causing harm to the vulnerable residents in the nursing home’s care. If your loved one has suffered due to negligence, consulting with a Phoenix nursing home abuse lawyer can help ensure that the responsible parties are held accountable. So, what are the top five safety hazards found in nursing homes?
A fall presents a serious risk to the elderly. Aging individuals have brittle, more porous bones that are vulnerable to fractures. Any fracture is more serious in an elderly person, impacting mobility and requiring lengthy healing times, but hip fractures are particularly dangerous. Studies show that seniors over age 65 face a 30% increased mortality risk after a hip fracture, with an alarming 16.7% of hip fracture victims dying within 30 days after the break. Adverse effects from hip fractures include complications from surgery, and medical problems stemming from immobility, including blood clots, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and infected bedsores. The elderly also face the risk of traumatic brain injury (TBI) from falls. Falls are the second-leading cause of TBI. Falls in nursing homes result from the lack of adequate assistive equipment, negligent supervision, lack of toileting aid, cluttered floors, and inadequate lighting.
Sadly, another serious safety hazard to nursing home residents is abuse. An astonishing five million elderly Americans in nursing homes experience abuse each year, and this number is likely under-reported. Types of nursing home abuse include:
Signs of abuse include unexplained injuries, weight loss, broken personal items, torn clothing, poor hygiene, untreated bedsores, unclean bedding, inadequately maintained assistive equipment, unusual financial transactions, and bruises on the breasts and private parts.
Medication errors are common in nursing homes due to chronic understaffing, poorly trained caregivers, communication failures, and medication theft. Medication mistakes can be deadly to the elderly. Common nursing home medication mistakes include:
Medication errors can lead to health problems, worsened conditions, cognitive decline, and death.
Some nursing home residents are bedridden due to serious medical conditions; however, other residents may have the ability to walk with assistive equipment or the help of caregivers. Unfortunately, residents who could otherwise be up engaging in physical activity may remain sedentary, inactive, and spend long hours or days in a chair or bed. A sedentary resident has a high likelihood of developing bedsores which often become infected, sometimes leading to deadly sepsis. Sedentary living is associated with high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and dementia.
Group living always comes with an increased risk of infections, but particularly so in nursing homes, where aged individuals have greater vulnerability to infection. Despite infection prevention protocols, caregivers may inadvertently transfer viral, bacterial, and fungal infections between residents, resulting in spread. Common infections in nursing homes include:
Infections in the elderly are more likely to result in deadly sepsis compared to younger individuals.
Nursing home administrators and caregivers have a duty to treat nursing home residents with quality care. Sadly, not all nursing home staff live up to their responsibilities and promises. When residents and their families are familiar with the elderly resident’s legal rights for long-term nursing home residency, they can be watchful for violations and take action to protect their aging loved ones by ensuring their nursing home upholds their rights and protects their safety and human dignity.
The personal injury attorneys in Phoenix, Arizona, at Knapp & Roberts have the compassion and trial lawyer skills to tell your story to a jury. We will get to know you and your family so that we can help the jury understand what has happened to you and your family and how it has changed your lives. Obtain the compensation necessary for the injuries and losses you have suffered.
