Overlooked Forms of Nursing Home Abuse

January 8, 2018

Many stories have spread of over the years of the clear and obvious types of nursing home abuse. You may have heard of physical violence against nursing home patients and well as total neglect for patients and their well-being. However, there are many types of nursing home abuse that many never hear or read about. It is important to educate yourself on all types of nursing home abuse.

Financial Exploitation

This type of abuse occurs whenever a home or a caretaker takes advantage of the access he has to a patient’s financial matters by stealing from the patient or overcharging the patient without the patient’s knowledge. This is seen in many forms of home care and may include direct theft, theft from bank accounts, or applying for credit cards using the resident’s information.

In January of 2016, an Indiana woman by the name of Julie Lagos was charged with theft after stealing the credit card of a 79-year-old woman who was in her care at the time. Lagos used this card to purchase tattoos, televisions, and even a divorce.

Psychological Abuse

Many think of abuse as strictly physical. However, some of the most devastating cases of nursing home abuse are strictly psychological matters. This is hard to recognize in many cases, but it may include yelling at a patient, being overly critical, or going out of the way to humiliate her. Often, the only way to catch this type of abuse is by recognizing changes in your loved one’s behavior and questioning this further. Some of these changes may include:

• Avoiding eye contact
• Sense of hopelessness or fear
• Seeming depressed or withdrawn
• Sudden changes in eating or sleeping patterns
• Sudden mood swings.
• A sudden desire to harm herself

Abuse From Another Resident

Nursing home abuse is typically characterized by a member of the staff abusing a resident. However, abuse can also occur if staff does not protect a resident from another resident. This abuse can be physical, psychological, or some combination of both.

Another common form of resident-on-resident abuse is when one resident enters another’s room uninvited and harasses the resident in some way. In cases like this, the nursing home may be liable for not maintaining a safe environment for all residents.

A 2014 study by Cornell University found that one in five nursing home residents in state facilities were involved in at least one aggressive encounter with another resident of the home in some form, whether physical or verbal.

Help from an Indiana Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

If your loved one has suffered any form of nursing home abuse, you could be entitled to compensation. Call Hensley Legal Group today for a free consultation or contact us online.