Each year, there are more than two million patients are victims of nursing home abuse. This means that one in 10 seniors will experience some type of abuse during their senior years. Virginia law does provide nursing home abuse victims and their families legal recourse to obtain financial compensation for their injuries. If your loved one has suffered abuse, contact our Virginia nursing home abuse attorney for assistance.
What Defines Nursing Home Abuse?
There are different types of abuse that a victim can be injured by. Some of the most common types of nursing home abuse include:
Physical abuse: This is one of the easiest to identify because of the types of injuries that occur that are visible to family members. The types of physical abuse your loved one has suffered could be biting, hitting, pinching, or being improperly restrained.
Emotional abuse: Another common type of abuse includes staff members criticizing, humiliating, and taunting the patient.
Sexual abuse: This type of abuse often results in the rapid decline of the victim’s emotional state and their demeanor. Sexual abuse can be perpetrated by nursing home staff, as well as other patients.
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Signs Your Loved One May Be Being Abused
There are some tell-tale signs that nursing home abuse is going on. The following are the most common signs of abuse:
- Avoiding conversation with family members
- Avoiding food
- Bed sores
- Dehydration
- Falling with no explanation
- Frequent emotional episodes or outbursts
- Persistent or frequent infections
- Refusing to take medications
- Unexplained injuries, cuts or bruises
- Weight loss with no apparent cause
How Can a Virginia Nursing Home Abuse Attorney Help?
If you suspect your elderly family member is being abused, contact a Virginia nursing home abuse attorney to find out what steps you can take to protect your loved one. Your attorney can assist with the correct reporting protocols to ensure that all municipal elderly protection agencies have been notified.
Your attorney can also assist in advocating for your family with a personal injury lawsuit. Damages that can be recovered by a nursing home abuse lawsuit are medical costs, future medical expenses, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and past and future impairment. Your attorney may also be able to obtain punitive damages if it can be shown that there was malicious intent or extreme cruelty inflicted upon your loved one.
Contact the legal team at Shapiro & Appleton today at (833) 997-1774 for a free consultation to find out how we can help.