Nursing Homes & Long-Term Care Facilities: Abuse, Neglect, Risk & Liability

Unfortunately, nursing home neglect is an all-too-regular occurrence in the United States. The misfortune happens when residents or patients in care homes aren't given enough attention and endure physical or mental health problems.

 

"Neglect is the failure to meet an older adult's basic needs. These needs include food, water, shelter, clothing, hygiene, and essential medical care."

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

 

The National Center for Victims of Crime has reported that one out of every six (15.3%) elder abuse case in nursing homes is due to neglect.

 

Most retirement homes treat seniors with honor and respect. Yet, tragically, some nursing home staff members may fail to give proper care to elderly occupants. Regardless of the time available, staffing levels, or the type of facility, neglecting to fulfill a senior's fundamental necessities is always inexcusable.

 

Nursing Home Neglect: Causes

Frequent instances of disregard in nursing homes result from insufficient staffing. Nurses and caregivers who are burdened or overburdened might need help to supply the caliber of attention necessary to protect inhabitants and keep them safe and sound.

 

Widespread triggers of caregiver strain encompass improper guidance and insufficient personnel. Moreover, nursing homes may not correctly investigate or complete background checks of the hired workers.

 

Aspects that should be considered when evaluating a Nursing Home or Long-Term Care facilities risk and liability for malpractice or negligence are:

 

• Negligent hiring practices - not properly screening applicants for a history of drug or alcohol use or having been subjected to maltreatment as they are statistically prone to abuse others. Nursing homes might even hire ex-offenders that are not fully rehabilitated and so not well enough to care for their vulnerable residents.

 

Unfortunately, inattentive recruiting strategies can even go beyond singular facilities and to those heading notable nursing home sequences.

 

For instance, Arizona's governor dismissed a board of nursing home directors after they hired a felon to manage a nursing home community when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, as the manager of the facility required workers who tested positive for COVID-19 to still report for work - exposing vulnerable residents, staff and the entire facility to the virus.

 

• Need for more staffing - according to a report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, 20% of all nursing homes in America were understaffed as of December 2020.

 

This chronic understaffing situation often means an inadequate number of people are available to appropriately tend to residents, diminishing the standards of care throughout the facility. In addition, unmanageable workloads lead to exhausted personnel who cannot complete their responsibilities and are far more likely to make mistakes.

 

There is a widely held belief that low pay combined with the stress of working in a nursing home or long-term care facility that is understaffed and has impossible workloads only adds to the struggle facilities face when trying to hire and retain employees long-term.

 

• Lack of Training - although freshly-hired staff may make it through a background check, they can only perpetrate negligence in nursing homes if they are not suitably educated by the establishment.

 

A Wisconsin nursing home was required to shut down operations after multiple accusations of misuse, mishandling, and neglect. Accounts showed the staff was not given even the most basic training to take care of others satisfactorily. Consequently, the crew made mistakes such as medication errors that resulted in serious harm to the residents and patients they were charged with taking care of.

 

• Medical Neglect - medical negligence happens when a caretaker in a nursing home fails to provide appropriate health care for a resident/patient.

 

This may incorporate:

• Omitting to give prescriptions as needed
• Inadequate medical treatment for pre-existing conditions like diabetes or Alzheimer's disease
• Failure to consistently reposition occupants who have limited mobility putting them in danger of developing pressure ulcers
• Not disclosing indications of pressure ulcers, infections, or other ailments to nurses or physicians.

 

In a 2018 case, more than $1 million in damages was awarded to a 72-year-old nursing home resident based on case evidence that carelessness caused her to endure grave bedsores. Her attorneys reported that the female patient was never seen by a physician while living at the facility, even though the nursing home personnel knew she had bedsores.

 

Signs of Neglect In Nursing Homes & Long-Term Care Facilities:

This is a short list of indicators, and it is essential to understand that recognizing neglect or disregard can be highly difficult.   To be recognized, it might need evidence or testimony from the resident or an observer. It can become even more troublesome if the patient is elderly or has Alzheimer's, dementia, or cognitive impairment, as they may not be able to disclose their version of the incident.

 

• Bedsores (pressure ulcers/pressure sores)
• Broken bones
• Bruises
• Burns
• Dehydration
• Insomnia
• Malnutrition
• New or untreated medical conditions
• Personal hygiene issues
• Repeated falls
• Significant personality changes
• Other unexplained injuries

 

Various signals may demonstrate that a personnel member needs to fulfill their duty to the residents/patients.

 

Possible indicators that a staff member is neglecting the care of any resident/patient but in particular the elderly may include:

• Demonstrating a biased state of mind toward providing care of and tending to a patient
• Administering inaccurate or ineffective doses of medication for lengthened periods
• Giving out prescriptions or medications with known adverse interactions or intense side effects

 

Neglect vs. Abuse What's the Difference?

Besides the notion of nursing home abuse only encompassing physical injuries, many do not realize that disregard can also be a type of abuse. If the neglect inflicted by a staff member results in harm or untimely wrongful death, then they should be held accountable.

 

Accidental nursing home negligence can also be detrimental or troublesome in some cases; for example, furnishing an elderly individual with the incorrect medication dosage can have dire outcomes. Nursing home abuse does not only apply to physical injuries, but neglect is also an all too common type of abuse.

 

Any worker or staff member who deliberately neglects to take care of a resident should be held liable if their conduct results in any damage or wrongful death. Even accidental neglect can be harmful. For example, giving any patient the wrong type or dose of medication can have life-threatening consequences.

 

Liability & Risk

Nursing homes, and long-term care facilities, are ever more susceptible and answerable for adverse events and occurrences. Issues such as patient falls, pressure ulcers, medication errors, and resident abuse cases are a problem for the industry overall and represent serious liability and financial risk as they invite medical negligence and malpractice lawsuits.

 

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) states that approximately 17,000 claims are filed annually for pressure ulcers. In addition, the Joint Commission has estimated that as many as 1 million patient falls occur annually in healthcare settings alone.

 

A significant percentage of nursing home abuse and neglect cases occur in long-term care or rehabilitation facilities.

 

It is estimated that roughly half of nursing home residents experience a fall yearly. A University of Chicago article also revealed that nursing home pressure ulcers were not documented correctly. However, it stated that 41-54% of short-stay nursing home occupants had stage IV wounds.

 

This wide-reaching issue is found not just in the United States but all across the globe. A look into a Swedish review of 173 problematic nursing home events uncovered that 89% of serious incidents included tumbles, medicinal oversights, and unmanaged nursing considerations. Commonly observed contributory components were:

 

• Insufficiency of capability – lack of training
• Omission of / incomplete paperwork – lack of proper documentation
• Inability to collaborate efficiently – lack of teamwork
• Flawed communication – lack of communication

 

Recently, there has been a significant rise in the number of dangerous patient occurrences. Healthcare workers in nursing homes and long-term care facilities are responsible for being disciplined and diligent – and for devoting the time, effort, and initiative to follow reliable best practices, direction, and techniques to provide excellence in resident and patient care.

 

The ever-growing number of negligence and malpractice lawsuits is evidence of an almost incredible number of needless safety mistakes that cause tremendous patient damage, exposing nursing homes and long-term care facilities to significantly increased risk and liability.