Arizona Nursing Home Lawyer shares 9 Signs Abuse Neglect and Negligence

Solomon & Relihan Arizona Nursing Home Lawyer wants your loved ones to have a safe staying in their selected care facility. Arizona nursing home patients have rights and nobody deserves to be abused. Nursing home neglect and abuse can be stopped if you recognize the signs of Arizona medical negligence. If you experience or see any of the following occurring, take the next step in stopping Arizona nursing home neglect and abuse by contacting the proper agencies and Solomon & Relihan, Arizona Nursing Home Lawyers.

1. Pressure Sores (Bed Sores)

Arizona nursing home neglect is more likely to happen to anyone whose mobility is hampered or who is confined to a bed or wheelchair. This group of nursing home residents is at risk for developing pressure sores (bed sores) on their buttocks, heels, hips, and shoulders.

Solomon & Relihan Arizona Nursing Home Lawyers want you to know that the nursing home staff is responsible for regularly turning and repositioning immobile patients to encourage adequate circulation. If the nursing home staff fails to regularly reposition their patients, then pressure sores are likely to develop.

A family member of a Arizona nursing home resident should regularly check the pressure points (buttocks, heels, hips, and shoulders) for evidence of pressure sores.

Pressure sores start out as reddened areas that do not blanch (lose their color) when pressed. If not attended to properly, the pressure can cause underlying tissue to break down and become infected. If left unattended, they can be life threatening to a nursing home resident.

Briefly, there are four stages of pressure ulcers. The types of pressure ulcers are described below:

1. Stage I pressure ulcer is a non-blanchable erythema of intact skin, i.e., red skin that does not turn white when pressed.
2. Stage II has partial-thickness skin loss involving the epidermis or dermis.
3. Stage III has full-thickness skin loss involving damage or necrosis of subcutaneous tissue that may extend down to the underlying fascia; it presents as a deep crater with or without tunneling.
4. Stage IV involves full-thickness skin loss with extensive destruction, tissue necrosis, or damage to muscle, bone, or support structures.

2. Falls

Arizona nursing home patients with balance problems or who have difficulty walking require assistance. When the nursing home has no plan to regularly assist the patient in walking or the patient’s desire to walk is ignored by the nursing staff, falls result.

Medical negligence can result in falls that can be very dangerous in the elderly and can result in serious injury or death.

3. Dehydration

Lack of fluid is also another type of medical negligence that can cause confusion in a patient which may be misdiagnosed as dementia. Lack of fluids can also cause other conditions such as urinary tract infections, kidney failure, and skin breakdown.

When the nursing staff fails to regularly ensure that their patients consume an adequate fluid, dehydration is likely to result. This too is classified as a type of Arizona nursing home neglect.

4. Malnutrition

When a nursing home patient needs help with eating but doesn’t receive help, weight loss is likely to occur. If the nursing home staff fails to spend the time to assist their patients with eating, patients will not receive the proper nutrition they are require to remain healthy.

When the nursing staff involved in feeding their patients don’t take the time to allow their patients to properly chew their food, choking, aspiration and pneumonia can occur. A Arizona medical negligence claim should be filed in the event of nursing home neglect. Contact a Arizona Nursing Home Lawyer if you are concerned about your loved one.

5. Poor Infection Control

Infection control is poor in many nursing homes. Nurses are often reluctant to call doctors until a nursing home resident’s symptoms become serious. To avoid Arizona nursing home neglect, nurses should notify the patient’s doctor when the patient has a fever, a burning sensation during urination, dark, cloudy or foul smelling urine, or a lack of energy. Infection left unattended can quickly become life threatening in the elderly.

6. Failure to Toilet

When a nursing home has insufficient staff to assist patients with toileting, the nursing home staff may place the patient in diapers. If this occurs, the patient is likely to lose the ability to regulate their bowel and bladder function and become incontinent.

Incontinence can lead to urinary tract or other infections and may be life threatening. If you suspect infection due to failure to toilet, contact your local nursing home regulation agencies by visiting our helpful resource page, and hire an Arizona Nursing Home Lawyer to further your case.

7. Unnecessary Use of Restraints

There are two kinds of restraints: Physical and Chemical. Physical restraints prevent a person from moving by being tied to a fixed object such as a bed or wheelchair. Chemical restraints are drugs intended to control a person’s behavior.

When the nursing home staff uses restraints for their convenience, a patient is likely to be injured or permanently harmed. This is against the law and is considered nursing home neglect and abuse. By contacting Solomon & Relihan Arizona Nursing Home Lawyer for a free consultation, you can determine if the restraints used on your loved one go against the law.

For the use of restraints to be proper, the restraints must be medically necessary and ordered by a physician.

8. Medication Errors

It is not uncommon for a nursing home patient to receive the wrong medication or the correct medication in the wrong dosage. When a patient receives multiple medications, there is an increased likelihood that the medications will interact with each other. This may cause confusion, depression, or loss of appetite.

9. Inadequate Staffing and Training

Nursing Assistants provide most of the hands-on care giving in a nursing home.

If the ratio of nursing assistants to patients is more than 9 to 1, it is likely that patient needs will go unmet.

We have found that poor nursing assistance is often responsible for abuse and neglect in nursing homes. Much of this is caused by inadequate screening, training and staffing.

If you suspect neglect or abuse, the sooner you take action, the better. This is because your right to seek redress and fair and just compensation must be brought within a limited period of time. Contact Arizona Nursing Home Lawyer Solomon & Relihan and tell us your concerns. You can call us at 602-387-3000, 1-877-871-7800 (toll free), or email us. See email link. If we are able to help, we will explain your options and help you decide the next step.

In addition to the physical signs of nursing home neglect, check the patients charts and medical records for additional discovery.