Negligence in nursing homes often stems from overworked staff, crowded facilities, and improper treatment. Although you, as a visiting family member, can spot this with certain signs, including physical and behavioral changes, negligence manifests itself further as life-changing injuries.
What Are the Most Common Injuries that Occur in Nursing Homes?
When these forms of neglect go unchecked, residents often suffer preventable injuries that compromise their health, comfort, and quality of life. These conditions can develop gradually or appear suddenly, depending on the level of care and supervision provided. Below are some of the most common and serious injuries linked to nursing home negligence.
1. Bed and Pressure Sores
These are lesions on the body resulting from constant pressure on bony parts. They’re more likely to be on the sacrum, coccyx, ankles, elbows, or heels. Blood flow decreases to these areas, killing bodily tissue in the process.
2. Sepsis
Often a sign of meningitis, this condition indicates a blood infection. White blood cells become overwhelmed by a high presence of bacteria. Residents will display a fever, chills, fast breathing, or a rapid heartbeat.
3. Restraint Injuries
Physical and chemical restraints frequently come with excessive force. What may result are fractures, internal bleeding, a head injury, strangulation, or death.
4. Malnutrition and Dehydration
Workers in a home are required to monitor a resident’s eating and drinking habits. When this doesn’t happen, residents are more susceptible to falls, infections, weakened muscles, and depression. As well, poor nutrition may be a sign a resident has difficulty swallowing or taking medication.
5. Choking
Tied to the point above, choking may result when residents’ eating and drinking habits aren’t monitored. These patients likely have difficulty chewing and swallowing, and as a result, end up choking on their food or medication.
6. Blocked Breathing Tubes
This condition means a resident’s breathing is obstructed, which can result in brain damage or death.
7. Burns
A range of conditions in a nursing home may lead to potentially fatal or life-altering burn injuries: smoking, water that’s too hot, scalding food and drinks, spills, and fires.
8. Medication Injuries
Poor recordkeeping, negligence, and improper medical treatment may mean a resident is given the wrong prescription or an incorrect dosage. In fact, it has been estimated that nursing homes on average have one medication mistake per patient per day. These have potential to lead to serious injuries or death.
9. Falls
The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the typical nursing home reports 100 to 200 falls per year. Anywhere from half to three-quarters of all residents experience a fall during that time, with approximately 2.6 instances per person per year.
10 to 20 percent of these instances result in serious injuries, including disability, functional decline, or reduced quality of life, such as isolation, depression, or feelings of helplessness. 1,800 falls on average result in death.
As well, frequent falls may indicate health issues: muscle weakness, environmental hazards inside a home, medication problems, or difficulty moving.
10. Head Injuries
It’s estimated that one-third of all nursing home residents hit their heads. These frequently result from forward-moving falls, in which a resident hits his or her head against the floor.
What Nursing Homes’ Issues Lead to Negligence and Injuries?
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed drastic changes. What could result would enforce stricter standards for facilities to comply with the organization’s requirements, but in looking at what nursing homes would have to do, a few significant issues pose major hurdles:
A Lack of Quality Care
Perhaps the biggest, the Department of Health and Human Services, found that quality care continues to fall behind. Reports indicate that, as nursing homes became more privatized, facilities seeking more Medicaid reimbursement would simply fill their beds, keep staff low, and not consider patients’ needs.
Because of this approach, the Department of Health and Human Services had started setting guidelines regarding operational matters, including how nursing homes need to handle cases of abuse and fraud.
Stricter guidelines are already reflected in the CMS’s ratings. Evaluations include whether homes excessively use antipsychotic drugs and have sufficient staffing.
Patients Don’t Understand Their Rights
It has been a somewhat prevalent practice for homes to evict a disagreeable patient. But “disagreeable” can be broad, ranging from family members requesting quality care to patients becoming violent.
The Nursing Home Reform Law spelled out what homes can and cannot do, including when and under which conditions a home can evict patients. This document further covers how much influence a patient’s family can have, when physical and drug restraints may be used, and who needs to pay for a resident’s care. Families and patients are advised to understand this law to be fully informed of their rights.
When and How Medicaid and Medicare Can Be Used
Along the lines of who pays for a patient’s care, families often find themselves stuck with higher-than-expected bills. This scenario often occurs because families don’t understand how Medicaid and Medicare work for elder care. On a very general level:
- Medicare provides limited reimbursement for care, but only if it’s tied to a short-term hospital stay. Medicare does not reimburse custodial care.
- Homes have long viewed patients using Medicaid for insurance as “less than.” As a result, facilities take such an approach in how they provide care. Patients and their families need to understand that, even though Medicaid may be used, they have the rights to the same services at the same quality as other patients.
High Turnover
Studies have shown that facilities with higher turnover rates often provide lower-quality care and result in patient behavioral issues. Furthermore, these homes appear to have more patients with pressure ulcers, pain, and urinary tract infections.
Homes looking to improve their reputation and give better care are recommended to focus on this area: if staff members are more likely to stay, patients remain in better condition.
What to Do If a Loved One Shows Signs of Nursing Home Negligence or Injuries
When quality care isn’t provided or, worse, staff members are negligent and abusive, your family member may end up in a perilous situation. If you suspect malpractice, negligence, or abuse, bring your claim to Trantolo & Trantolo’s Connecticut nursing home negligence lawyers. Our law firm has a history of helping the elderly, and our team, in response, can examine your case.
