Nursing home neglect spikes during the holidays: Here’s what to do about it.
Key Takeaway:
If you discover an injury while visiting a loved one in a nursing home, you should seek medical care, document the scene, report the incident, and consult a personal injury attorney to protect both their health and legal rights.
Care facility residents are more likely to experience neglect during the winter holiday season.
For many families, December is a time of celebration, travel, and long-awaited reunions. But inside nursing homes, the holiday season often looks very different. Facilities face heavier workloads, staffing shortages, and disrupted routines — a combination that can leave elderly residents increasingly vulnerable to neglect.
If negligence is involved in a senior’s heatstroke injury, they may be eligible to file a claim.
As Elder Abuse Awareness Month is coming to a close, temperatures are skyrocketing across Texas, putting seniors at risk.
You can sue for nursing home abuse and neglect in Texas.
Victims of nursing home abuse and neglect may be eligible to file a civil lawsuit against the long-term care facility.
Elder abuse cases are on the rise in Bexar County.
1 in 10 adults ages 65 and older is expected to experience some form of elder abuse in the United States.
Texas individuals who admit their loved ones into nursing homes do so with the expectation that the nursing facility will provide their family members with appropriate medical care and treat them with respect and compassion. However, the sad reality is that many people suffer abuse and serious injuries because of reckless, negligent, or careless Texas nursing home personnel. In these cases, families should take steps to pursue a Texas nursing home abuse lawsuit against the at-fault individual or entity.
Many families who try to pursue claims against Texas nursing homes face roadblocks because of arbitration agreements they agreed to upon admittance. For over twenty years, nursing home and long-term care facilities offered arbitration agreements as a way to solve disputes. Arbitration provides the parties to present their case to a neutral party who will decide on the matter. In some cases, arbitration can save both parties the time and expense of a long and drawn-out trial process. However, arbitration agreements are often one-sided and favor the party who offered the option, such as a nursing home.
These agreements are not only one-sided, but they were often a requirement for those wishing to enter nursing home care. Additionally, there was overwhelming evidence that nursing home arbitration agreements were detrimental to the safety of long-term care facility residents. To address the inherent unfairness in the rule, in 2016, lawmakers changed the rules. They explained that any facility that requires residents to sign arbitration agreements to enter the facility would not be eligible for federal funding. Even with the favorable public reaction to the ban, in 2019, a new rule took effect. The current law allows nursing homes to include arbitration agreements in their admission packets. However, it is important to note that nursing homes cannot require residents to sign the agreement as a pre-requisite to admission. Additionally, nursing homes must provide residents with at least 30-days to rescind their agreement.
America’s population is aging, and individuals are living longer as life expectancy continues to increase. As a result, nursing homes are becoming a part of more Texan’s lives, and families are often tasked with choosing an institution for their loved ones. Choosing a Texas nursing home is an incredibly important decision, because residents – who are often weak and vulnerable – will likely be there for the rest of their lives. Families, of course, want to ensure that their loved ones are safe and well taken care of. Unfortunately, however, far too many families end up placing their loved ones in subpar institutions, either due to financial concerns or lack of thorough research. Unfortunately, nursing home abuse and neglect is a chronic and persistent problem in Texas, victimizing hundreds of elderly residents every year.
For example, according to a recent report, out of 62 nursing homes in San Antonio, five were recently flagged by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for severe instances abuse and neglect of their residents. These instances include neglecting and ignoring residents’ medical needs, physical assault, verbal attacks, and even sexual abuse. While these instances would be concerning in any situation, they are of particular concern in nursing homes, where the victims are often incredibly vulnerable, reliant on their nursing home for all aspects of their care, and may lack the funds needed to transfer institutions.
The best way to avoid nursing home abuse of your loved ones is to do careful research of nursing homes in your area. One useful tool is Medicare.com, which allows families to search every Medicaid and Medicare certified nursing home in Texas. In addition to providing information on staffing and health inspections, the website will report recent incidents of nursing home abuse in each facility, so families can be aware of which institutions to avoid. Doing this research may take a little extra time, but the knowledge about the potential problems can spare a family, and a victim, immense pain and suffering down the line.
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