West Palm Beach Nursing Home Abuse Attorney
Nursing home abuse is a serious problem in West Palm Beach; thousands of residents are physically, emotionally, and financially exploited on a daily basis, and most of these victims have nowhere to turn for help. If your loved one is the victim of an abusive or neglectful long term care facility, it is your responsibility to stop the abuse by contacting an experienced West Palm Beach nursing home abuse attorney with Hale Law
Elder Abuse is a Growing Problem
Roughly one and a half million Americans live in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, and that number is rapidly rising, as by the year 2030, 20 percent of the population will be 65 or older, according to the National Center of Elder Abuse. One in five emergency department visits of an elder care patient is caused by neglect or abuse, according to the Nursing Home Abuse Center. Abuse and neglect have a profound impact on residents’ physical and emotional health, and abuse can actually lead to death. In fact, an elderly person who is abused is 300 percent more likely to die a premature death than an elderly person who has not been abused.
The Five Types of Nursing Home Abuse
- Physical Abuse—Any type of unnecessary physical contact or harm caused to the patient. Physical abuse includes pushing, pinching, hitting, slapping, grabbing, punching, holding down, and the unnecessary restraint of a patient.
- Psychological or Emotional Abuse—Psychological abuse can come in many forms. From forcing a patient to stay in their room or not allowing them to have visitors as a form of “punishment,” to teasing, mocking, name calling, screaming at, or using foul language, psychological or emotional abuse can be just as detrimental as physical abuse.
- Sexual Abuse—Any type of sexual act or touching is strictly prohibited in long term care facilities by a staff member to a patient. This includes groping, sexual intercourse, showing the patient pornography or flashing the patient, and any unnecessary touching of the patient’s genitals, buttocks, or breasts. Even if the act was consensual, many nursing home patients are considered legally incompetent due to dementia, which means that they cannot give consent.
- Financial Abuse—Financial abuse can be as simple as stealing the patient’s wallet or checkbook, or as sly as overcharging for food, toilet paper, medical supplies, and rent.
- Neglect—Neglect is one of the most common forms of abuse. It is simply the negligent act that leads to a patient’s physical injury, illness, or emotional harm. Neglect includes failing to help a patient up out of bed (resulting in a fall), failing to attend to injuries or illnesses, leaving the patient unattended in his or her room for hours at a time, and much more.
Call a West Palm Beach Nursing Home Abuse Attorney
Abuse and neglect have no place in your loved one’s life, and you can take action to keep it from ever happening again by filing a personal injury lawsuit against the facility. To speak to an attorney as soon as possible, call the compassionate West Palm Beach nursing home abuse attorneys at Hale Law today at 941-735-4529 to schedule a free consultation.
