Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog
Nursing homes are hardly known for the diligent and caring staff members they choose to hire. In fact, the opposite is often true. It seems that lately there have been countless news reports of abusive aides getting into physical altercations with elderly residents.
In the most recent of these reports, an elderly Guatemalan woman was mistreated and abused in a Culver City, California nursing home facility. According to one local news report, the elderly woman had a colostomy bag that collected her feces. As a part of the care that was to be provided to her, her nurses and nurse’s aides were to periodically empty the bag. However, one of the nurse’s aides used the opportunity to assault the woman with a hook that held the bag at the woman’s side when the woman asked for the aide to be less rough with her.
This event was just the culmination in a series of abusive acts taken by the nurse’s aide. After the elderly woman called her son and told him what had happened, she also explained to him what else had been going on for the past several months. Evidently, the aide had been speaking to the woman in a derogatory manner for some time. In addition, the aide would often move the woman in a rough and uncomfortable manner. It was after the elderly woman asked for the aide to stop pushing her that the aide used to hook to hit the woman in her leg.
The nurse’s aide no longer is employed by the nursing home.
Nursing Home Abuse in Maryland
The woman in the above story had not told her son of the aide’s rough handling until the aide physically abused the elderly woman. Often, elderly nursing home residents refrain from reporting all but the most serious and life-threatening nursing home abuse because they don’t want to be seen as complaining. In fact, it is estimated that for every resident who reports the abuse they are experiencing, 23 do not.
Once a pattern of abusive language and conduct is established by a nurse or an aide, it can escalate as it did in the story above. Eventually, abuse can gradually transition from verbal to physical. It is therefore very important to take any report of nursing home abuse very seriously.
Do You Have a Loved One in a Maryland Nursing Home?
If you have a loved one in a Maryland nursing home, and you have reason to believe that he or she may be experiencing some kind of nursing home abuse or neglect, you should speak to a dedicated Maryland nursing home attorney immediately. It may be that you or your loved one is entitled to monetary compensation based on the abuse that he or she has suffered. There may also be the possibility of recovering from the nursing home itself for its negligent hiring practices. To learn more about Maryland nursing home abuse, call 410-654-3600 to set up a free initial consultation with an attorney today.
See More Blog Posts:
Nursing Home Video Catches Employees Abusing Elderly Patients, Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog, published December 5, 2014.
Elderly Woman Killed in Nursing Home Accident, Family Settles Suit, Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog, published November 13, 2014.