10 Warning Signs of Abuse
Protecting Your Loved Ones in Nursing Homes: 10 Warning Signs of Abuse
As family members, we expect nursing home staff to be experts in providing our loved ones with adequate medical care and personal assistance. Our elderly frequently experience difficulty managing their needs and require assistance from aides and nurses. They would require more supervision and be treated with compassion and care to reduce their anxiety. In general, it is reasonable to assume that the primary function of all nursing care facilities is to provide for their residents. However, that is not always the case.
In less than a year, nearly two million elderly individuals in Georgia have claimed maltreatment at the hands of caretakers and other residents. These concerns have been increasingly prominent throughout the COVID pandemic. During the pandemic, three were approximately 133,000 deaths within nursing homes, accounting for nearly 20% of the nation’s pandemic fatalities. Given the pandemic, nursing homes have been understaffed, directly impacting patient care. Your loved ones may have been left unattended for long hours with soiled briefs without being turned frequently. Or, they may have fallen while getting out of bed or trying to get to the bathroom.
Hearing these horrible facts about nursing homes may give you reservations concerning placing a loved one in a nursing home. It is best to regularly visit your loved ones so that you can spot potential signs of abuse.
Types of Abuse
- Neglect occurs when a caregiver refuses or fails to provide essential services (food, water, shelter, medical care, etc.) to the degree that it harms or threatens to harm an older and disabled adult.
- Self-neglect: failing to perform essential self-care such as depriving oneself of necessities such as food, water, or medication and consciously putting oneself in harm’s way or being unable to handle day-to-day living needs because of medical, mental health, or other disabilities. Self-neglect is not a crime.
- Emotional abuse involves tactics such as harassment, insults, intimidation, isolation, or threats that cause mental or emotional anguish. It diminishes the person’s sense of identity, dignity, and self-worth. This type of abuse may cause your loved ones to withdraw from social activities or limit their contact and relationships with others. They tend to have fears and mistrust issues due to constant and exhausting manipulation and harassment. Even worse, they could intentionally hurt themselves because they can no longer endure the pain.
- Physical abuse: using physical force to coerce or inflict bodily harm. It often, but not always, causes physical discomfort, pain, or injury. It may include the willful deprivation of essential services, such as medical care, food, or water.
- Sexual abuse: any sexual behavior directed towards an at-risk adult without the person’s full knowledge and consent. A spouse, partner, family member, or other trusted person can perpetrate sexual abuse.
- Financial abuse or exploitation: improperly or illegally using a person’s resources for the benefit of another person, for example, using a Power of Attorney to gain access to an adult’s assets for personal gain or using undue influence, false representation, and other means to gain access to an adult’s monthly government checks.
Warning Signs of Abuse
Given the numerous types of abuse, it is vital to recognize some warning signs, such as changes in your loved one’s behavior, including behaviors suggesting agitation, apathy, withdrawal, fear, or anxiety. Additionally, an adult’s comments about being mistreated or the refusal of the caregiver to allow you to visit the adult alone could be indicators of abuse. Here is a list of the Top Ten warning signs of abuse:
1. Numerous falls and unexplained falls;
2. Intentional injuries such as bruising, burns, broken bones, or pain;
3. Threatening someone with violence, nursing home placement, abandonment, or neglect;
4. Verbal abuse including threats, insults, harassment, name-calling, and intimidation;
5. Any nonconsensual sexual contact, harassment, or inappropriate touching;
6. Failure to provide or purposely withhold shelter, clothing, food, water, medical care, or other basic needs;
7. Malnourishment, dehydration, or weight loss inconsistent with medical diagnosis;
8. Bedsores or rashes;
9. Wearing soiled or ragged clothes; and
10. Untreated medical conditions or injuries.
Your loved ones have the right to:
a. Be treated with dignity, compassion, and respect.
b. Be free from abuse, harassment, and feelings of isolation that may cause trauma.
c. Receive adequate and appropriate care, treatment, and services for their condition.
Contact Us for Help with Nursing Home Abuse
Contact our experienced nursing home abuse lawyers at Crumby Law if you suspect your loved one is being abused. Our mission is to fight for the silenced, neglected, and unheard. That is why our team is here to help protect your loved ones, who took the time to take care of you.









