Legal Solutions against Elders' Abuse in the Nursing Home

Elder abuse in the country’s nursing homes and long-term care facilities is a growing problem with no end in sight. Hopefully, there are several legal tools families and communities could make use of to prevent the phenomenon. With more than 15,000 nursing homes in the United States, keeping all residents safe same seems very unlikely, but change happens one person at a time.

Elder Abuse in U.S. Nursing Homes: The Stats

As per the World Health Organization’s data, one in six seniors were abused in a nursing home or other type of long-term care facility from 2017 to 2018. With the ongoing pandemic, things have gotten much worse but the numbers are not out yet. Even if the public health crisis ends, nursing home abuse cases are expected to grow due to aging populations.

According to the CDC, around 1.3 million Americans received care in a nursing home in 2015. The number is expected to jump to 27 million by 2050. In the U.S.A., elder abuse in nursing homes is already rampant as one in three nursing homes has been officially accused of abuse and two in three nursing home staff members admit to abusing residents.

But elder abuse is not limited to residential long-term care settings. Elderly individuals are routinely abused even by their family members and loved ones. According to Nursing Home Abuse Justice, five million seniors are abused in the US every year, but just one in 14 abuse cases reach authorities.

Common Types of Abuse

The most widespread type of elder abuse is physical abuse or acts of violence that cause physical pain to the senior. Force-feeding, false imprisonment, and physical punishments are also considered physical abuse.

Emotional abuse is the hardest type of abuse to prove but it can leave lifelong scars in the elder’s mind. Emotional abuse includes verbal violence, verbal harassment, humiliation, and isolation (the “silent treatment”).

Another common type of elder abuse is financial abuse. It includes stealing money from the victim, seeking to gain unlawful access to the senior’s financial information, forging the victim’s signature to cash in their money, tricking the elder into modifying their will, and so on.

Sexual abuse is also a common form of elder abuse. It includes unwanted touching, non-consensual sexual acts, and sexual harassment. Just like emotional abuse, sexual abuse is not obvious due to overwhelming feelings of shame or guilt.

Neglect is another common form of elder abuse; it may include not providing the senior with the necessary food, clothing, medication, or shelter. In severe forms, neglect can turn into physical abuse. For instance, if the caregiver constantly deprives the senior of food, the senior may become ill or even die.

Elder Abuse in Nursing Homes: Legal Solutions

Elder abuse is often hard to spot, but there are several legal solutions families and communities can resort to to reign in the phenomenon and keep their seniors safe.

· Background checks. Instances of elder abuse in nursing homes can be severely reduced if the right people perform criminal background checks and arrest records on nursing home staff. Families could also check local and state abuse registries and complaint registries before putting a loved one in a certain nursing home.

· Planning ahead. There are several legal tools that can prevent the financial exploitation of elderly individuals who can no longer express their wishes. These tools include wills, life care plans, power of attorney designation, advance directives, and so on.

· Reporting the incident to authorities. If you believe your loved one was abused, you can contact your local adult protective services (APS), report the incident through a nursing home abuse hotline, call the police or even the district attorney if there are hints of criminal behavior. This way you will not only get justice for your loved one but also prevent future instances of abuse on other nursing home residents.

· Hiring a lawyer. Sometimes the damage done to your loved one is so extensive that reporting it to the appropriate agencies is simply not enough. An attorney can help you recover fair compensation if the abuse resulted in extra medical bills and out-of-pocket expenses. Look for a law firm that is specialized in personal injuries, elder abuse, or nursing home law, such as the Chicago-based Kryder Law Group. A lawyer can also guide you through the process of joining other abused elders who decided to start a class-action lawsuit against the facility.

· Contact the Attorney General. Under the Nursing Home Reform Act (NHRA), all nursing homes that are granted access to Medicare and Medicaid funding are required to keep their premises safe for all residents. Even if no abuse occurs, failure to abide by this federal law (and relevant state rules) may lead to civil action, which can be brought only by the state AG.