A recent review of nursing home injuries prompted Medicare beneficiaries to visit the emergency room throughout 2015 and 2016, identifying more than 100 cases of suspected abuse.
The nursing home abuse report details that these cases involved claims of nursing home abuse in 33 separate states.
One in four issues included in the nursing home abuse report were never reported to the police, even though all of them were ultimately referred to the state office of the attorney general.
Nursing home abuse can take many different forms, including physical, verbal, emotional, and sexual. Nursing home abuse is often difficult to identify, because the victim in question may not be able to speak for themselves, or detail the circumstances that occurred.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General conducted this audit, and released their preliminary findings in August.
Eight randomly selected states will be included in a further analysis of the nursing home abuse report in the future.
Up to 80 percent of the cases included in the recent nursing home abuse report include allegations of sexual assault, or rape..
The government agency CMS has not taken any enforcement actions, or assessed any penalties currently for failing to report these issues. All of those issues involved comparing emergency room records and Medicare claims.
In addition to claims of abuse and neglect carried out by the staff in nursing homes, more recent research has also illustrated that patient-on-patient abuse is very common.
Nursing homes should put the dignity and safety of all residents as a top priority, but it is all too often the legal claims filed on behalf of an injured patient or these nursing home abuse report files put together that identify the severity of the abuse and neglect problem.
Many nursing home residents can suffer the impacts of abuse for weeks or months before the behavior is curbed..
All of these actions are illegal as well as demeaning for the patient, which is a leading reason why affected family members might take legal action with the help of a lawyer after they have determined the presence of nursing home abuse.
The discovery that your love one may be coping with nursing home abuse can be devastating, and may prompt you to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer. Since nursing home abuse can take so many different forms, and can be difficult to identify, the right attorney to represent your loved one’s claims is important.
Raising concerns about nursing home abuse sooner rather than later may stop the cycle of abuse, and enable you to pursue legal action to stop others from suffering in similar situations.
If you suspect that your loved one was raped, sexually assaulted, or otherwise abused as a result of being in a nursing home, consult with an experienced nursing home abuse lawyer as soon as possible. Contact McDonald Worley today for a free case review.