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Many different types of abuse occur in nursing homes throughout the country. While many nursing home residents are neglected because their facilities are understaffed or unequipped to handle their needs, others face explicit abuse at the hands of their caregivers. This abuse can be physical, psychological, emotional, financial, and sexual.
When your loved one faces any type of nursing home abuse, you need to be a voice for him or her. It is up to you to recognize when your loved one is being abused, to get him or her the treatment he or she needs, to report the abuse to the Minnesota Department of Health Adult Abuse Reporting Center, and ultimately, to pursue compensation for your loved one’s damages related to the abuse on his or her behalf.
The following statistics come from the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR) and illustrate the prevalence of sexual abuse in America’s nursing homes:
There are ways to reduce your loved one’s chance of facing sexual abuse in his or her nursing home. One of these is to thoroughly vet every potential facility for your loved one before choosing one. Inquire about each facility’s past citation record and whether there is a hotline or another procedure in place for reporting instances of abuse. Once you choose a nursing home, your job as an advocate is not finished. Visit your loved one regularly and get to know the people who care for him or her each day. This way, you will be better equipped to recognize symptoms of abuse and take action if necessary.
Sexual abuse can take many different forms. Examples of sexual abuse that can occur in a nursing home include:
Sexual abuse can occur independently or alongside other forms of abuse. For example, a caregiver who sexually molests residents might also employ emotional abuse tactics, telling the residents that their families do not love them or psychologically abusing them by denying that the abuse is occurring and telling them they are imagining it.
Sexual abuse can impact a resident physically, emotionally, and psychologically. Physical symptoms of sexual abuse include:
Other symptoms of sexual abuse include:
A resident can suffer long-term, potentially permanent complications from the sexual abuse he or she faces. This can include permanent disabilities stemming from injuries sustained due to sexual violence, depression and other mental health disorders related to the abuse, and complications from sexually transmitted diseases like HIV/AIDs.
Through a nursing home abuse claim, you can seek compensation for the following damages on your loved one’s behalf:
Often, determining the full scope of a sexual abuse victim’s damages requires a thorough investigation of the case. This could mean numerous medical diagnostics, interviews with the facility’s staff members, and an evaluation of the victim’s mental and physical health to determine the type of treatment he or she needs and how much he or she realistically will recover.
When you fear your loved one is being abused, discuss your concerns with him or her and with his or her caregivers. No matter what type of response you receive, have your loved one examined by a doctor and keep a record of this examination. If you do file a nursing home abuse claim, this record will be an important piece of evidence to support the claim. Making sure your loved one receives prompt medical treatment can also improve his or her chance of recovering completely from any physical injuries he or she suffered.
If your loved one was sexually abused in his or her nursing home, be his or her advocate and contact an experienced nursing home abuse lawyer to learn more about your loved one’s rights and your legal options for pursuing compensation for damages on his or her behalf. Contact Kosieradzki Smith Law Firm LLC today to set up your free consultation with us to learn more. We are here to help you be the most effective advocate you can be for your loved one.
