Families of nursing home residents would be wise to keep a watchful eye on the care their loved one is getting in a nursing home.  Abuse is not as uncommon as you think.

Making the right choice of nursing home, or other long-term care facility, is an important first step and should be conducted with eyes wide open as family members visit prospective facilities.

But, your work doesn’t end once the family member is settled into their new home.  It is very important for a family member to perform regular body checks on the resident, no matter how reputable the nursing home you choose might be.  Check your loved one for bed sores — the most common form of nursing home negligence – and demand a wound care consultation if redness or blistering is found.

Other cases of nursing home negligence to look out for involve issues such as physical abuse, assault, battery, sexual assault, rape, unreasonable physical restraint, giving too much medication, unexplained injuries, slapping, pushing, shaking, beating and forcing an elderly person to stay in their room, disregard for the necessities of daily living, lack of care of existing medical problems, failure to assist with personal hygiene, unsanitary conditions and poor access to medical services.

Verbal and emotional abuse is sometimes the underlying cause in cases where the resident appears emotionally upset or agitated, extremely withdrawn and non-communicative, or frightened.

Other warning signs include rapid weight loss, unexplained or unexpected death of the resident, frequent illnesses that are not reported to a physician and family, and when staff is not aware of a resident’s repeated wandering.

If any of these situations arise, and become matters of concern for you, it is important that you contact an experienced New York and New Jersey nursing home abuse lawyer, or nursing home negligence lawyer, immediately.

Both Alan Leibowitz and Steven Hess have been recognized by their peers as leading lawyers in the field of personal injury.