There are a variety of situations that can lead to nursing home abuse and neglect in a nursing home. If your loved one suffered abuse or neglect in a nursing home, you may be eligible to file a claim to recover damages. Reach out to a lawyer who is knowledgeable about the common types of nursing home abuse and neglect in St. Louis. A compassionate nursing home abuse attorney can help you hold the nursing home responsible for its negligent actions.

Substandard Care

Neglect due to substance care can occur anywhere in a nursing home, including the resident’s room, bathroom, hallway, and dining room. A resident can develop bed sores if they are left immobile for a long period of time. Residents can be at risk for bed sores because they cannot reposition themselves or their mental capacity is such that they do not remember to reposition themselves. When the nursing home has a requirement and fails to fulfill the requirement, the resident can suffer due to the substandard care. It is important that the nursing home checks in with the residents to ensure that they are properly being taken care of.

Dehydration and Malnourishment

Dehydration is another form of negligence, as it can cause urinary tract infections, acute renal failure, and renal injuries. Nursing homes are required to make sure that residents are getting the hydration that they need on a daily basis. Other areas of neglect include not helping with feeding. This can lead to malnutrition and other health issues.

Medication Errors

Another one of the common types of nursing home abuse and neglect in St. Louis is medication errors. Sometimes the nursing home mixes up the medication and gives someone the wrong medication, too little medication, or too much medication. This is one of the most serious acts of negligence, which can lead to serious health issues or even death.

Falls

Falls are a significant problem with nursing homes because, often times, residents need two employees to assist them in getting up from a seated position to a walking position. If there is a short staff and only one person is available, then the resident is more likely to fall. Unfortunately, understaffing is a common issue in nursing homes, which means falls can happen more often.

Poor Sanitation

A less talked about common type of nursing home abuse and neglect in St. Louis is poor sanitation. Insufficient sanitation happens regularly where employees do not wash their hands or they fail to change gloves in between treating residents. Staff members sometimes clean up a resident and then go to another room and reposition another resident without washing their hands. Germs and infections are common in nursing homes and failing to wash hands is the most common way to spread infection within a nursing home.

Physical and Sexual Abuse in St. Louis Nursing Homes

Sadly, physical and sexual abuse is far too common in St. Louis nursing homes. There have been cases where employees have raped residents or forced them to perform a sexual act on them. This kind of abuse also happens between residents. Any resident who suffers from dementia cannot legally provide consent. A common instance of physical abuse is when a resident is being difficult to care for and then the worker gets frustrated and slaps or hits the resident. For more information about common types of nursing home abuse and neglect in St. Louis and how a lawyer can help you recover compensation, call us today.