Families turn to nursing homes to give their elderly relatives the care and attention they need.  There are about 1.5 million seniors living in nursing homes in the United States.  Unfortunately, a significant number of the nearly 17,000 nursing homes have been cited for abuse to the elderly who have been entrusted to their care. 

The National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) defines elder abuse as the knowing, intentional, or negligent act by a caregiver or any other person that causes harm or a serious risk of harm to a vulnerable adult. Laws differ from state to state, but broadly defined, abuse may be: physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, exploitation, neglect, or abandonment.

The reported abuses were physical, sexual and verbal. All abuse is on the rise, the report said. More than twice as many nursing homes were cited for abuse in 2000 than in 1996. In 1996, 5.9 percent of all nursing homes were cited for an abuse violation during their annual inspections; in 2000, 16 percent of nursing homes were cited.

The report found that in 1,601 nursing homes - about 1 in 10 - abuse citations were made in serious incidents that put residents at great risk of harm, injured them or killed them.  1,327 homes were cited for more than one abuse violation in the two-year period; 305 homes were cited for three or more abuse violations, and 192 nursing homes were cited for five or more abuse violations.

• Negligent personal supervision and care,
• Negligent hiring and retention of employees,
• Negligent maintenance of the premises, and
• Negligent selection or maintenance of equipment.

A nursing home can be held liable for negligence if the injured party can prove the nursing home's owner or employees did not properly care for the injured person and that person suffered an injury as a result of the negligent care.

Some states will charge nursing home owners / employees with criminal activity for the abuse, neglect, or other mistreatment of nursing home residents.  In some cases, failures to provide residents with sufficient food, hygiene, or medical care, have supported convictions for criminal neglect. In other cases, the unjustified use of physical restraint or force against nursing home residents has resulted in convictions for nursing home abuse. 

The National Research Council estimates that between 1 and 2 million Americans age 65 or older have been injured, exploited, or otherwise mistreated by someone on whom they depended for care or protection.

• APS received a total of 565,747 reports of elder and vulnerable adult abuse for persons of all ages (50 states, plus Guam and the District of Columbia). This represents a 19.7% increase from the 2000 Survey (472,813 reports).
• APS investigated 461,135 total reports of elder and vulnerable adult abuse for persons of all ages (49 states). This represents a 16.3% increase from the 2000 Survey (396,398 investigations).
• APS substantiated 191,908 reports of elder and vulnerable adult abuse for victims of all ages (42 states). This represents a 15.6% increase from the 2000 Survey (166,019 substantiated reports).

Contact InjuryLawLitigators.com for an attorney in your area to defend and protect the rights of your elderly family members.

Types of Abuse and Injury:

Financial or Material Abuse/Exploitation is defined as the illegal or improper use of an older person’s or vulnerable adult’s funds, property, or assets. Examples include, but are not limited to, cashing an older/vulnerable person’s checks without authorization or permission; forging an older person’s signature; misusing or stealing an older person’s money or possessions; coercing or deceiving an older person into signing any document (e.g., contracts or will); and the improper use of conservatorship, guardianship, or power of attorney.
Neglect: The refusal or failure to fulfill any part of a person’s obligations or duties to an elder. Neglect may also include failure of a person who has fiduciary responsibilities to provide care for an elder (e.g., pay for necessary home care services) or the failure on the part of an in-home service provider to provide necessary care. Neglect typically means the refusal or failure to provide an elderly person/vulnerable adult with such life necessities as food, water, clothing, shelter, personal hygiene, medicine, comfort, personal safety, and other essentials included in an implied or agreed-upon responsibility to an elder.
Physical Abuse: The use of physical force that may result in bodily injury, physical pain, or impairment. Physical abuse may include but is not limited to such acts of violence as striking (with or without an object), hitting, beating, pushing, shoving, shaking, slapping, kicking, pinching, and burning. In addition, inappropriate use of drugs and physical restraints, force-feeding, and physical punishment of any kind also are examples of physical abuse.
Sexual Abuse: The coercion of an older person/vulnerable adult through force, trickery, threats, or other means into unwanted sexual activity. It includes sexual contact with elders/vulnerable adults who are unable to grant consent and unwanted sexual contact between service providers and their elder clients.