When someone places a loved one in a nursing home, they expect them to be cared for and respected. The last thing anyone expects is for their elderly loved one to become a victim of mental and emotional abuse. When someone is emotionally or mentally abused, it can result in severe depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety.
Every case is unique, and everybody is affected differently but, certainly, if someone is being emotionally and mentally abused, then there can be depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress. The repercussions of abuse are long-lasting and can have a long-term impact, which is why if someone you love is showing warning signs of being mentally or emotionally abused at a Cherry Hill nursing home, you should contact a lawyer.
Behavior Monitoring
A lot of times, with emotional and mental abuse, the loved one will often get a bit distant and shut down. Specifically, if a nurse that is actually doing the mental or emotional abuse enters the room, they start to shut down.
A loved one knows how their loved ones act, and if a person starts to see that they are acting differently, distant, or shutting down around a particular staff member, that may be a warning sign that they are being abused. At this point, an individual should contact a lawyer in Cherry Hill as soon as possible.
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Vulnerable Individuals
Unfortunately, the elderly are all vulnerable to emotional and mental abuse. They are a vulnerable population, and they are put into these nursing homes to be taken care of. This type of abuse tends to appear more in the elderly population who have a difficult time communicating.
Some elderly individuals start to become non-verbal or have a difficult time remembering things, especially if they are suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia. They may be being abused but cannot verbalize that to their loved ones when they come visit, or simply did not remember what occurred. Those are the most vulnerable patients. An individual should observe their elderly loved one and look for warning signs of emotional or mental abuse at their nursing home after discussing their concerns with a Cherry Hill attorney.
What if the Abuse is Coming from Other Residents?
Just because the mental and emotional abuse is coming from a nursing home resident and not from the staff does not absolve the facility of responsibility. People put their loved ones in the nursing home for them to be taken care of on a daily basis, and if there is a resident there who is abusing them, it needs to be prevented. It is important to determine whether there were any warning signs or anything else that the nursing staff should have noticed or done differently to prevent this from happening. That is something an attorney would look into.
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Determination of Liability
Determination of liability is always unique and figured out on a case-by-case basis but, just because management does not know about the situation does not completely absolve them of liability. When determining liability in Cherry Hill nursing home mental and emotional abuse cases, a lawyer will ask questions to gauge the level of liability that is there. Some questions a lawyer might ask are:
- Should the nursing home have known?
- Were there any warning signs?
- Were there any red flags that nursing staff or management should have seen if they were following the correct standard of care that is required in nursing homes?
- If they would have followed the standard of care, would they have known about the situation?
That is a big question with regard to liability. If your loved one is exhibiting warning signs of emotional and mental abuse in a Cherry Hill nursing home, contact a lawyer as soon as possible.
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