Common Types of Nursing Home Abuse Injuries
- Reviewed By
Anthony C. Lanzone, Founding Partner
Nursing homes are obligated to support and safeguard their elderly residents. Unfortunately, nursing facilities don’t always abide by this duty of care.
When abuse or neglect does occur, it often leads to severe injuries, compromising the health and quality of life of the resident. Family members must be vigilant in identifying nursing home abuse injuries and other signs to protect their loved ones and take appropriate legal measures if needed.
Identifying the Most Frequent Nursing Home Injuries
Nursing home injuries are highly prevalent and often result from poor care and negligence by the facility staff. A recent study published in the medical journal Cureus found that more than 10 percent of people aged 65 and older experience elder abuse in one form or another, and the rates are often higher in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes.
Given the astounding prevalence of abuse, neglect, and the resulting injuries, families have to know the signs of common nursing home injuries to protect their loved ones. The most common types of nursing home injuries include the following:
Bedsore Injuries
Pressure ulcers, or bedsores, are areas of skin damage caused by constant pressure, which limits blood circulation. In some cases, bedsores develop into open wounds and become infected.
Most bedsores injuries are preventable by changing the patient’s position throughout the day and offering proper care. If infected sores go untreated, they may lead to bone infection and sepsis.
These are some of the most common injuries suffered by residents at long-term care facilities. A study in the medical journal Advances in Wound Care estimates that 11 percent of nursing home residents develop pressure ulcers, often on the sacrum or heels.
Falls
Nursing home fall injuries are also very common. A fall may cause further injuries, including fractures, severe head trauma, hematomas, spinal injuries, or even death.
Injuries left untreated can become life-threatening. For instance, common fall injuries like head trauma or broken bones could prove fatal without intervention, especially in elderly adults.
Fractures
Bone density naturally decreases with age, increasing fracture risk. After age 50, bone breakdown, or reabsorption, outpaces bone formation, causing the gradual loss of bone density. Because of this, bone fractures are common in elderly patients.
Slip and fall incidents and poor patient transfers, such as moving a patient from a bed to a wheelchair, are common causes of broken bones. Fractures can lead to lengthy recoveries, periods of immobility, and subsequent complications, such as infections and deep vein thrombosis, a serious condition involving a blood clot in a deep vein.
Physical and Chemical Restraint Injuries
Nursing home restraint injuries occur when nursing home staff use force, devices, or sedative medications to restrain residents. Physical restraint may cause bruises, abrasions, or nerve damage, all common nursing home abuse injuries. On the other hand, chemical restraints can result in oversedation, which may lead to respiratory distress and increase the risk of falls.
Federal law strictly regulates both, especially chemical restraints, allowing staff to use them only as a last resort. Many states, including California, have laws further tightening the limitations on physical and chemical restraints.
Dehydration and Malnutrition
Unfortunately, many nursing home residents do not receive adequate hydration and nutrition to satisfy their needs. Deprivation of food and liquids leads to serious weight loss, weakness, lethargy, and susceptibility to disease, particularly in older adults.
Dehydration can cause adverse complications such as kidney damage, confusion, and higher risks of falls. Malnutrition can lead to slower healing, weight loss, muscle weakness, and a weakened immune system.
Infections
The most frequent complications in nursing homes are infections, which can result from poorly treated wounds, poor hygiene, or untreated conditions. These infections can range from mild to life-threatening. Some common infections among nursing home residents include pulmonary and urinary tract infections. In severe cases, an untreated infection can lead to sepsis, a critical infection throughout the body.
Wound infections resulting from pressure ulcers or surgery are common, particularly when residents don’t receive appropriate wound care. UTIs often occur in residents requiring catheters or those with limited mobility and can lead to more serious health problems that may affect the kidneys or blood circulation.
Choking
Choking is a serious risk among nursing home residents, especially among those with swallowing difficulties, or dysphagia, and cognitive conditions like dementia. These individuals may struggle to eat solid foods or swallow medications without choking.
Staff must take proper precautions for residents with heightened choking risks, such as offering softened foods or supervising meals and medications. For example, a nursing home resident with Parkinson’s disease might require pureed foods to reduce choking risks. If staff are inattentive and fail to provide the right type of meal, the resident could experience a choking emergency that may require immediate medical intervention.
Burn Injuries
Burns in nursing facilities often result from scalding liquids, including hot drinks and food, or the use of unattended heating pads and other electric appliances. Injuries of this kind tend to be most prevalent among residents without complete mobility or a diminished state of mental ability to respond appropriately to dangerous situations.
The resulting burn could vary from mere redness of the skin to severe third-degree burns, which destroy deeper layers of the skin and require extensive treatment. Without proper treatment, the resulting burn might also lead to infections, protracted pain, and permanent scarring.
Medication Injuries
Injuries in nursing homes often result from medication errors, such as prescribing inappropriate medications, dispensing inappropriate dosages, administering incompatible drugs, and providing medication to the wrong patient. The results can be catastrophic. Adverse drug reactions can worsen certain medical conditions and, in some cases, have life-threatening consequences.
For instance, if a diabetic resident receives medication intended for a person with hypertension, it can cause the diabetic resident’s blood sugar to plummet to an alarmingly low level. Likewise, mixing certain medications without taking into account possible interactions may trigger serious health conditions such as respiratory distress or kidney damage.
Understanding Why Nursing Home Injuries Happen
All too often, an injury in a nursing home results from a systemic problem, such as chronic understaffing, poor training, or lax safety practices.
Of these, perhaps the most pervasive and serious is understaffing. Inadequate staffing leads to inadequate attention from staff, who lack the ability to provide the proper level of care to all the residents. This creates an extremely hazardous environment. An all-too-common problem in the long-term care industry, insufficient staffing fosters neglect, meaning residents are more likely to suffer harm from dehydration, malnutrition, pressure ulcers, falls, or bedsores.
In other cases, injuries result from blatant abuse by frustrated staff members who have received inadequate training for dealing with difficult behaviors. For instance, they may improperly use physical or chemical restraints or resort to physical abuse to deal with a resident.
Likewise, policies that neglect to properly maintain sanitary living conditions or fail to observe basic safety precautions also increase the risk of injury.
Knowledge of these underlying causes can help families prevent and address abuse and neglect of their loved ones. They can strive to reduce these risks by advocating for their loved one’s facility to focus on increasing staffing, training staff regularly, and following state and federal codes related to safety.
Recognizing the Warning Signs of Abuse in Nursing Homes
While some nursing home injuries are truly accidental, others can be indicative of abuse or neglect. Family members can watch for warning signs, such as the following:
- Untreated bedsores
- Unexplained bruises
- Open wounds
- Falls
- Poor personal hygiene
- Unsanitary living conditions
- Sudden weight loss
- Recurring infections
- Unexplained medication changes
- Use of restraints
- Personality changes, such as anxiety and fearfulness or a reluctance to interact with staff
Documenting such issues and any other incidents, including photos of injuries and detailed written records, can help build a case of abuse or neglect.
If you suspect abuse, take action immediately. Call the nursing home administration to report your suspicions and ask them to investigate. You may also contact a practiced nursing home injuries attorney to further advise you on the next steps you can take to keep your loved one safe and receive justice for any injuries sustained.
Lanzone Morgan, LLP Advocates for Victims of Nursing Home Neglect
If you suspect your elderly family member is a victim of nursing home neglect or abuse in California, Lanzone Morgan, LLP, is here to advocate for nursing home abuse victims and their families. With years of experience in handling complex elder abuse cases, our firm has recovered compensation for injuries such as bedsores, fractures, and other preventable conditions.
We recognize the emotional toll of nursing home abuse and neglect on a family and work relentlessly to hold negligent nursing homes accountable. Our nursing home injuries lawyers have helped many victims and their families fight for justice and can help you do the same.
The results we’ve obtained for our clients speak to our dedication to victims of nursing home abuse and neglect. Here are some notable settlements and verdicts we’ve recovered:
- $3 million settlement for a skilled nursing facility resident who developed an infected coccyx bedsore
- $2.3 million judgment against Country Villa Wilshire Convalescent Center for the abuse and neglect of an 84-year-old female resident that resulted in severe and permanent injuries
- $750,000 settlement for an elderly victim who developed a coccyx bedsore while at a skilled nursing facility
Suspect Abuse? Speak With Our Nursing Home Attorneys Today
If you believe your loved one has been harmed by nursing home abuse or neglect in California, do not delay in taking action. Our skilled team at Lanzone Morgan, LLP can help you through the often complex process and help you hold negligent facilities accountable.
Call us today at 888-887-9777 or complete our online contact form to start with a free consultation.
- Fact-Checked
This content has been legally reviewed and approved by nursing home abuse attorney, Anthony Lanzone. Anthony holds notable memberships with professional organizations including the American Association for Justice and Consumer Attorneys of California.
VIEW SOURCES
- Fact-Checked
This content has been legally reviewed and approved by nursing home abuse attorney, Anthony Lanzone. Anthony holds notable memberships with professional organizations including the American Association for Justice and Consumer Attorneys of California.