Signs of Nursing Home Abuse

California Nursing Home Lawyers

At Young & Wallin, our lawyers represent abuse victims and grieving families in the Los Angeles area and throughout the state of California. Attorneys Michael Young and Thomas Wallin have each been handling nursing home abuse cases for more than a decade. As a result, they know exactly how difficult it is to uncover the truth about nursing home abuse and neglect.

Signs of Elder Abuse

Signs of nursing home abuse to look for include:

• Unexplained injuries or explanations that just don't make sense
• Frequent "illnesses"
• Extremely withdrawn and non-communicative
• Unusual behavior or emotional agitation
• Messy or disorganized living conditions
• A basic neglect of hygiene
• Lack of care for existing medical problems
• Rapid weight loss or weight gain without physician or family notification and a change in treatment being provided
• Residents wandering unattended
• Unresponsiveness or dementia
• Unexplained or unexpected death of the resident

Profits over People: The Crux of the Problem

Staff-related issues are the single biggest reason that residents of nursing homes and patients at other facilities are injured or do not get the care they need — despite the profit that these "non-care providers" accumulate annually.

In general, these jobs are low-paying, have a high turnover ratio and are often filled by members of immigrant groups who may come from cultures that have a different standard of living than our own. These jobs can also be attractive to financial or sexual predators that see an easy opportunity in these circumstances. Training of staff is also an issue. In many cases, training new employees and keeping the skills and knowledge of existing staff current is an afterthought. But the biggest problem typically is that there are not enough staff members to take care of the people who need to be taken care of.

In addition, nursing home managers are often paid bonuses based on profits. This gives them an incentive to cut costs wherever possible, a task most easily accomplished by cutting their overhead costs for labor. Many facilities have what is known as a "no-replace" policy when it comes to accounting for workers who call in sick or do not show up for work.

Dignity and Justice — Call 1-888-444-7210

You can do something to stop nursing home and assisted living facility neglect.

Call our Los Angeles area law offices directly or contact us online right now with a brief description of your concerns. Initial consultations are free of charge and you will pay no attorneys' fees unless we are able to obtain a verdict or settlement on your behalf.