Even if you know the rights that your loved one has in their nursing home, you might not know what to look for to know that they are being abused. Whether your loved one is being abused physically, emotionally, sexually, or financially, they don’t deserve it. When you know what to look for, you can more easily spot the mistreatment of your loved one and will be able to report the abuse to the proper authorities.
In general, these are the most common signs of nursing home abuse of any form:
- Unexplained bruises or other injuries
- Untreated injuries
- Drastic weight loss
- Dehydration
- Poor hygiene
- Bedsores
- Socially withdrawn
- Easily agitated
These could be signs that your loved one is being abused physically, emotionally, or mentally. But there are other ways that your loved one could experience mistreatment in their long term care facility. Sexual abuse is one way they can be exploited. When your loved one does not consent to these acts, it is considered sexual abuse. Some signs of this are:
- Unexplained bruising around their genitals
- Unexplained sexually transmitted diseases and infections
- Torn clothing
- Depression
In nursing homes, your loved one is also vulnerable to being financially exploited. A staff member could take advantage of your loved one’s confused mental state or use threats to steal money or expensive objects from them. Here are some signs that your loved one in a nursing home is being financially abused:
- Unexplained transactions
- Names added to their bank account
- Changes in their will
- Missing valuables
Most of the signs above have something in common—they’re unexplained. If you notice that your questions are not met with valid explanations, you may begin to become suspicious of how your loved one is being treated in their nursing home. On the other hand, you should also be wary if a staff member offers you explanations that are too good to be true, or don’t seem right. This could signal that things aren’t right as well.
If you suspect that your loved one is not being treated correctly in their nursing home, you should get help from a Dayton nursing home abuse lawyer so that we can assist you through the legal process and launch an investigation. Your loved one deserves to be treated with proper care and respect, and we will see to it that they are compensated for any form of abuse that they endured.