Neglect in Nursing Homes

Let a Maryland Nursing Home Neglect Lawyer Protect Your Loved Ones

If you have a loved one living in a Waldorf, Leonardtown or Laurel, Maryland area nursing home, you probably worry about your family member’s well-being. This is only natural. Family members have to trust strangers to care for their loved ones, and that can be very difficult. Too often, nursing homes are understaffed or workers are not properly supported. The resulting consequences can be serious and can result in a resident’s personal injury or even death. If you have reason to suspect that your loved one is not being properly cared for — that he or she is being neglected or even abused — a Maryland nursing home neglect lawyer can help. 

Common Types of Nursing Home Neglect

There are many types of issues that fall under the nursing home neglect category. These include:

• Neglecting to meet the nursing home resident’s basic needs for things like food, liquids, and a clean, safe living environment
• Neglecting to provide necessary medical attention to address known conditions, as well as conditions that arise from living in the facility
• Neglecting to provide help with maintaining acceptable levels of hygiene
• Neglecting to provide adequate emotional or social support 

Recognizing Signs of Neglect

Often, nursing home residents who are being neglected will not or cannot self-report what is happening. This could be because they are too frail or are cognitively impaired, or it could be that they are just plain afraid to speak out. While a nursing home neglect lawyer can help you determine if a loved one is not being properly cared for, the following information should prove useful. 

The fact is you might not be aware that long-term care facility neglect is even happening. Not all signs of nursing home neglect may be obvious at first. And even if you do suspect something and mention it to your loved one’s caregivers, be prepared for excuses from the staff if you confront them. They might try to blame the issue on your family member — claiming inability to accurately report on care due to some type of impairment — which is why it is important for you to be able to recognize the signs of neglect on your own. Here are just a few: 

• Bedsores, which indicate the patient is not moving or changing positions 
• Body odor or other indications that the patient is not being properly bathed 
• Symptoms of dehydration, such as very dry skin, sunken eyes, fainting, confusion, sleepiness
• Weight loss that could point to malnutrition
• Unexplained changes in behavior or mood, which can follow acts of neglect or abuse
• Evidence of being over-medicated, such as unexplained lethargy or lack of interest in usual activities 
• Evidence that medication is not being properly administered
• Unexplained bruises
• Incidents of falling
• Unsupervised wandering 
• Sudden or unexplained death

How a Maryland Nursing Home Neglect Lawyer Can Help

If you suspect that a loved one may be suffering from nursing home neglect, you need a Maryland nursing home neglect lawyer to fight for you and your family. With offices in Waldorf, Leonardtown, Laurel, Annapolis, and Columbia, the nursing home neglect attorneys at The Law Office of Thomas E. Pyles, P.A. are ready to lend immediate assistance. Contact us today by calling 301-705-5006.