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Tactics Nursing Homes Use to Cover up Abuse in California

Personal Injury Defense Attorneys for Nursing Home Abuse

Studies show there are around 1,230 nursing homes in California state. These facilities are made for people who do not need to be admitted to hospitals but need special care. You can decide to take your loved one to such a facility if they suffer from a progressive disease like Alzheimer’s. You can also take them to this facility if their medical needs cannot be managed by the people living in your home.

Nursing Home Abuse

Before going to a nursing home, you or your loved ones need to know the steps you will take should misconduct occur. This kind of abuse can result in medical emergencies, death, or trauma. It usually occurs due to different issues such as improper training, burnout, and understaffing.

If you or your loved one is abused in such a facility, you should look for legal help. Particularly from a nursing home abuse lawyer. If you suffered an injury due to physical abuse, you should this type of personal injury lawyer is best able to hold the negligent parties accountable. If you fail to do this, the people working in the nursing home will likely use different tactics to cover up the abuse. Below are some of the tactics that these people are likely to use.

Concealing Injuries and Other Conditions that Indicate Abuse

Nursing homes staff members usually conceal injuries to cover up abuse. They do so by falsifying clients’ treatment and medical records. Some even lie about these injuries. For instance, a staff member in a nursing home may lie that an abuse-related injury was caused by a fall. In other nursing homes, staff members hide abuse-related injuries using long-sleeved clothes and make-up. They do all this to protect their jobs.

In the case of sexual abuse, staff members usually wash the clothes of the sexually abused residents immediately after sexually abusing them. Doing this helps them get rid of any evidence. If this kind of abuse is not recognized early, the abused resident may start suffering from sexually transmitted infections.

Failing to Note Down Changes in the Health Condition of a Resident

Nursing home staff members are supposed to document any changes in a resident’s health condition. However, if they notice that the changes in the health condition of a certain resident indicate abuse or neglect, they will likely not document them. Some of the common health changes that indicate abuse and neglect include:

  • Negative changes in the mood and personality of a resident.
  • Depression, social withdrawal, and anxiety
  • Physical injuries such as burns and cuts
  • Bedsores and different infections
  • Signs of dehydration
  • Unexplainable weight loss

Failing to Report the Abuse

Although nursing homes are legally required to report abuse cases to local authorities, most nursing homes do not. Most of these facilities’ administrators are more interested in making profits than protecting people. That is why they decide not to report these cases since doing so will help them avoid severe fines. Other nursing homes administrators fail to report abuse cases to protect the reputation of their nursing homes.

Threatening Residents to Keep Them from Reporting Abuse Cases

Nursing home staff members usually threaten residents to hide abuse cases. Some of these people tell the residents that they will harm them more if they tell people about incidents of abuse. That makes it hard for families to know the truth concerning the care and treatment that the people in the nursing homes get.

What To Do in The Case of Nursing Home Abuse

Nursing home abuse during Covid-19 has become something that many people are worried about. The good news is that you can file a claim against the abuser. Therefore, if you find out that your loved one is being abused or neglected by the staff members of a nursing home, look for a Los Angeles injury lawyer or a nursing home abuse attorney. Such a lawyer will investigate the matter while protecting your best interests. You should also preserve all your loved one’s medical records as they will help you file the claim.

Nursing home abuse has become quite common. However, administrators of the facility usually use different tactics to hide their inadequacies and misconduct. These tactics include failing to report abuse, concealing injuries, and threatening residents. Nursing home staff members also decide not to document the changes in the health condition of an abused resident in an attempt to hide their misconduct.

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