If your loved one has been the victim of abuse in an Oklahoma nursing home, our attorneys can help you pursue justice and compensation.
According to a recent report by CNN, approximately one-third of all nursing homes in the United States have been cited for nursing home abuse or other violations, which is equal to more than 5,000 of the more than 17,000 nursing homes in the country. The violations that the nursing homes were cited for all had the potential to at least harm the residents, and 1,600 of the violations were considered severe enough to cause serious personal injury or wrongful death. Abuse in nursing homes can range from noticeable physical abuse to the harder to detect: neglect, emotional abuse, sexual abuse (such as molestation and rape), and verbal abuse. If your loved one has been victimized by abuse in an Oklahoma nursing home, contact our skilled attorneys at Oklahoma Legal Center today for legal help.
Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
Neglect is a form of nursing home abuse, and involves a caregiver neglecting a patient’s needs or failing to provide the patient with the proper level of care. Neglect comes in a variety of forms, including failing to properly monitor patients in order to prevent injury, failing to properly feed patients, or failing to administer necessary medication at designated times.
Assault and Physical Abuse in Nursing Homes
Physical abuse is a very disturbing and harmful form of negligence in nursing home facilities. It is a difficult decision to entrust the care of a loved one to an elder care facility in the first place, and learning that your family member has been the victim of physical abuse is devastating. Signs of physical nursing home abuse may include the following: bruises, burns (cigarettes, caustics and acids), cuts, open wounds and welts. Actual physical abuse may occur from kicking, punching and the unnecessary strapping down of patients. If the nursing home facility cannot provide an adequate explanation as to the origin of these symptoms, it may be necessary to discuss your legal options with an experienced attorney in your area.
Emotional Abuse in OK Nursing Homes
There are strict standards in place in the state of Oklahoma to ensure that all patients in nursing homes across the state are treated properly by staff members. Unfortunately, these regulations are not always followed by nursing home employees, often resulting in physical, sexual, verbal or emotional abuse. Common forms of emotional abuse in a nursing home include unnecessary punishment or isolation of patients, intentionally keeping them by themselves and prohibiting interaction with other residents. Symptoms of emotional elder abuse may include extremely withdrawn and non-communicative patients; emotionally upset and agitated patients; and unusual behavior like sucking, biting and rocking.
Contact Our Reputable Lawyers Today
With life expectancy on the rise and the number of abuse violations in nursing homes increasing rapidly (twice as many nursing homes were cited for abuse in 2000 as in 1996), families need to exercise extra caution when deciding where an elderly family member will reside. If you suspect a loved one has been the victim of emotional, physical, verbal or sexual abuse in an Oklahoma nursing home, contact our knowledgeable lawyers at Oklahoma Legal Center. We have experience handling these cases, and we can review your elder abuse claim today.