Warning signs of nursing home abuse and what to do

By: Darrell Castle

If you have a heart for the vulnerable like me, it disgusts you when you hear about the elderly being abused, especially by the people who are PAID to take care of them.

Whether it’s poor training, poor hiring, poor screening or just lack of sympathy and empathy, there’s no excuse for nursing home abuse.

As children and grandchildren, we don’t necessarily WANT to put our loved ones in nursing homes. However, when accounting for our day-to-day grind of working and caring for our family, it sometimes seems like the best move for our loved one is to admit him or her into a nursing home. We feel as though they’ll get the proper treatment and care there – better than we’re able to provide them.

Sometimes, we’re right. But, many times, we’re very mislead and our loved ones not only fail to get proper treatment, but they are totally neglected and sometimes abused.

There are different types of nursing home abuse. Please read the types of abuse below, and if you notice any signs that your loved one is being abused, contact an experienced nursing home abuse attorney immediately.

Physical Abuse
– physical assaults, such as hitting or shoving
– inappropriate use of drugs, restraints or confinement

Emotional Abuse
– intimidation through yelling or threats
– humiliation and ridicule
– habitual blaming or scapegoating
– ignoring the elderly person
– isolating an elder from friends or activities
– terrorizing or menacing the elderly person

Sexual abuse
– contact with an elderly person without his or her consent
– showing an elderly person pornographic material
– forcing the person to watch sex acts
– forcing the elderly person to undress

Neglect or abandonment
– intentional
– unintentional

Financial exploitation
– misuse of an elder’s personal checks, credit cards or accounts
– stealing cash, income checks or household goods
– forging the elder’s signature
– engaging in identify theft

Healthcare and fraud abuse
– not providing healthcare, but charging for it
– overcharging or double-billing for medical care or services
– getting kickbacks for referrals to other providers or for prescribing certain drugs
– overmedicating or under-medicating
– recommending fraudulent remedies for illnesses or other medical conditions
– medical fraud

If your elderly loved one is being abused, call Darrell Castle & Associates today at (901) 327-1212.