Arroyo Grande Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect Lawyers

There are hundreds of for-profit nursing homes to choose from throughout San Luis Obispo County, so how do you pick the best one for your loved ones? Depending on the type of care they require, you might need to decide between a nursing home, assisted-living residence, memory care, etc.

It is imperative that you do your homework to find the best possible Arroyo Grande facility. However, even with the most thorough investigation, it does not guarantee that your loved one will not fall victim to neglect or abuse at some point. If something does happen, you need to contact a skilled Arroyo Grande nursing home abuse and neglect attorney right away.

At Southern California Nursing Home Law Group, our lawyers have years of experience helping clients hold nursing home facilities accountable across the state. Our team has over three decades of combined experience protecting victims from further neglect and abuse at the hands of California nursing homes. You need a compassionate, yet aggressive lawyer to stand up to these nursing homes in court. We have recovered millions of dollars on behalf of our clients, and we have a proven success rate at trial.

In nursing homes, you typically find four main types of abuse. These are:

• Physical Abuse: When someone inflicts bodily harm on your loved one, it can qualify as physical abuse. This harm can include grabbing, hitting, kicking, slapping, restraining, etc. Basically, physical abuse is an intentional act that causes your family member to suffer some type of injury.

• Sexual Abuse: Unfortunately, sexual abuse occurs at numerous nursing homes around San Luis Obispo County. Sexual abuse is defined as any “non-consensual sexual contact” from one person to another. Sexual abuse is one of the most unreported and under-investigated types of abuse found in nursing homes today.

• Emotional Abuse: Psychological or emotional abuse usually involves verbal harm from the staff. A nurse might use threats as a way to get their patient to be scared, or they may repeatedly demean or harass them. In most cases, emotional abuse does not happen only one time. Instead, it involves repeated threats and admonishments.

• Financial Abuse: The elderly are easy targets for financial abuse. This type of abuse involves financial theft. Staff might coerce a patient to hand over their bank information, forge a check, and more. Financial abuse is a common problem with home health care workers, as well, especially since they have easier access to a person’s financials.

The best way to potentially uncover any abuse is to monitor your family member. Learn the common warning signs of abuse and neglect so you can be better prepared to catch something that may be going on.

Identifying potential warning signs of neglect or abuse can help you determine whether something is happening in your family member’s nursing home. It will also help you build a stronger case against the nursing home. Warning signs can include:

• Unexplained and frequent illnesses
• Injuries that seem odd or otherwise unexplainable
• Unexplained changes to behavior
• Open wounds, cuts, lacerations, bruises
• Sudden, rapid weight loss
• Messy room and living conditions
• Pressure sores
• General lack of hygiene
• Unresponsiveness
• Sunken eyes or dry, chapped lips
• Sudden depression
• Withdrawal from favorite activities and hobbies
• Unexplained and unexpected death of your family member

Despite turning profits, most nursing homes pay their staff subpar salaries. That leads to low job satisfaction and high turnover rates. Although the staff seems pleasant and competent when you make initial inspections, there is no guarantee the same team will be there a year or two from now.

Nursing home neglect differs from abuse. However, both still have the same end result — they cause harm to the patient. An example of neglect is when the staff does not give a patient their scheduled medication or forgets to bring their meal. Failure to maintain hygiene duties also falls under nursing home neglect. If a staff member purposely withholds a patient’s meal as a form of punishment, then that is abuse.

Trying to determine what would be considered abuse or neglect can be complicated in some situations. If you believe something is happening with your loved one, do not try to resolve the issue yourself. Reach out to an experienced Arroyo Grande nursing home abuse and neglect lawyer to assist you. Contact the Southern California Nursing Home Law Group today to schedule an initial consultation.