Also called pressure ulcers or decubitus ulcers, bedsores are one of the most dangerous forms of nursing home neglect. If left untreated, bedsores can cause infection, hospitalizations, and other life-threatening problems. Bedsores usually develop on the hips, back, feet, and other areas where bone is close to the skin.

If a bedsore develops during a nursing home stay, it’s a sign that staff isn’t caring for the resident properly. Bedsores need to be treated and monitored immediately. If a resident enters a nursing home with a pre-existing bedsore, staff must make sure it heals. Allowing a bedsore to get worse leads to infections, forced surgery, and even death.

Falls cause the vast majority of bone fractures in elderly people. Nursing home staff must identify residents who are at high risk of falling and do everything they can to prevent it. Sometimes, staff cause broken bones by dropping residents or not responding to calls for help moving around.

If someone you love suffered a bone fracture in a nursing home, we will investigate and pursue a legal case if neglect or abuse caused it.

Elderly people who are abused have a 300% higher risk of death than those who are not. Abuse can take many forms, but if your loved one died suddenly or suspiciously, the facility may be to blame. We will investigate the circumstances and help you navigate the legal system to get the justice you need and deserve.

Verbal and emotional abuse is one of the most cruel and debilitating forms of nursing home abuse. Although there may not be any physical abuse, the psychological effects are devastating. Some of the most obvious signs of emotional abuse include changes in personality, loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy, withdrawing or fear around staff or other residents, and worsened depression.

Most falls are preventable. If falls happen often, or you suspect the falls are being caused by mistreatment from the staff, it could indicate abuse or neglect.

Any number of things – from medications to malnutrition – can cause a resident to fall. It’s the nursing home’s responsibility to identify a resident’s risk factors and protect them from harm. When they fail to do so, resident and families can take legal action.

Residents who don’t get proper nutrition and hydration are more at risk for bedsores, infections, and falls. Nursing homes must prevent malnutrition by carefully logging how much residents eat, offering a comfortable environment to eat in, and serving appetizing food.

Most residents are on several medications. Mistakes in dosing, scheduling, and following doctors’ orders happen often, and they can have devastating consequences.

One of the most dangerous and severe forms is overmedicating residents. This is called using “chemical restraints” to subdue residents. It happens most often in understaffed facilities, where workers use strong antipsychotics or sedatives when they can’t supervise residents properly.

Nursing home residents are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse. Many with advanced dementia cannot tell their families what is happening, so loved ones must be hyper-aware of this threat.
Physical signs of sexual abuse include sexually transmitted infections, unexplained cuts or bruising, bleeding in the genital area, and extreme fear of a staff member or another resident.