Florida Injury Lawyer Blog
South Miami elder abuse is a serious problem for anyone who has an elderly loved one in a nursing home or assisted living facility. While these facilities are designed to help provide safe supportive environments for elderly residents who can no longer care for themselves, instances of South Miami nursing home abuse and negligence can occur. When an elderly loved one is the victim of physical, emotional, sexual, or financial abuse, the results can be devastating for the entire family. According to experts, there are ways to reduce the risk of something like this from happening to your family:
1) Research nursing homes carefully before making any decisions. If you have an elderly loved one who needs assisted living facilities, compare several nursing homes and facilities. Do your research carefully by checking to see whether there are any complaints against the facility. Speak to other residents and families about their experience and tour the facilities multiple times, checking staff and patient interaction as well as the standard of care in the facility.
2) Make sure to consider fellow residents as well as staff when evaluating the risk of abuse. Staff are not the only ones who can inflict abuse on a resident. In some cases, abusive residents can target fellow patients. Make sure that you determine what steps a facility takes to prevent this type of abuse. As well, check what the policy is for admitting patients and residents with criminal histories.
3) Make regular, unannounced visits to an elderly loved one. In many cases, keeping an eye for worrying symptoms – such as unexplained bruises or South Miami head injuries – is the best way to notice any signs of abuse. Unexpected visits are also more effective than planned visits as you can observe staff and residents at a time when a visit is not set up to make the facility look its best.
4) Find out what the policies are at the nursing home. Nursing homes should have clear, written policies to prevent abuse. These policies should include clauses to prevent injuries and abuse (for example, no-slip treads to prevent South Miami trip and fall and slip and fall accidents) as well as clauses that explain exactly what should occur if an accusation of abuse is made. Staff should be well versed in these policies so they know how to act when they see abuse take place.
5) Err on the side of wariness. No one wants to accuse nursing home staff of abuse or wrongdoing. However, if an elderly loved one is suddenly losing weight or has unexplained injuries it is your right to ask for an explanation and investigation. Willingness to dismiss troubling symptoms may allow abuse to continue.
6) Keep communication with a loved one as open as possible. In many cases, elderly residents at a nursing home are afraid to report abuse because they are embarrassed or afraid. Visiting your family member of friend at a nursing home and nursing home often and staying in touch via phone or letter can be an important way to ensure that an elderly loved one feels comfortable enough to share any concerns with you.
In some cases, despite a family’s best efforts, nursing home abuse and negligence still takes place. If this happens to your family, contact the Flaxman Law Group immediately for a free accident consultation to discuss your case and to discuss how to get your elderly loved one to safety.