Nursing Home Abuse Takes Many Forms
Nursing home abuse takes on many forms, and in this case, caused a resident to lose a finger.
They say that truth is stranger than fiction, and that seems to be the case in this nursing home abuse story that took place recently in New York. The incident started when an elderly gentleman fell while he was in the nursing home. Over the course of 12 days, the right ring finger developed gangrene and was amputated.
The disturbing thing about this case is that he fell in the first place, as he was assessed at high risk for falls when he was admitted. Evidently he was not monitored that well. The second thing is that it took 12 days for the nursing staff to notice that anything was wrong with his hand. Add to that oversight the fact no one on the nursing staff even wrote his accident in his patient chart. Wait, there’s more. As an Arkansas personal injury lawyer, this case really disturbed me.
Even when his swollen finger had been noticed, the nurse’s “still” didn’t enter that information in his chart. The man had to have it amputated when the staff finally figured out the finger tissue was dead. This is just a horrendous example of neglect and negligence. Did the family file a lawsuit? You bet they did.
The complaint said the nursing home failed to give proper or adequate supervision for the man and failed to notice or treat his finger injury in a timely manner. The bottom line here is that when a nursing home doesn’t provide proper supervision, especially for high risk fall patients, this can and does often lead to abuse and other instances of neglect. The nursing home’s job is to monitor its residents, treat injuries, and provide adequate care and supervision. If this man’s initial injury had been taken care of right away, he would not have lost his finger.
When we place our elders in a nursing home, we don’t expect they will be neglected or abused. We expect they would get the proper care and attention they need and deserve. Over the last few years, nursing home abuse has become a national concern. None of the things our elders are subjected to in some nursing homes is acceptable under any circumstances.
If you suspect nursing home abuse, call a skilled Arkansas personal injury lawyer and get to the bottom of the situation. Someone has to put a stop to this kind of despicable behavior. Stopping elder abuse in its tracks starts with us.
Michael G. Smith is anArkansas personal injury lawyer and Arkansas accident lawyer, practicing personal injury law in Arkansas. Learn more by visiting Arkansaslawhelp.com
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