When Care Turns Into Harm
Nursing home residents are among the most vulnerable people in our communities. Many rely entirely on caregivers for safety, dignity, and basic human needs. When that trust is violated through physical violence, sexual assault, or emotional abuse, the consequences can be devastating and irreversible.
Abuse in a nursing home is never an accident. It is a failure of systems, oversight, and responsibility.
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Common Forms of Abuse
Physical Abuse
Hitting, pushing, restraining, overmedicating, or using force as punishment can cause broken bones, head trauma, internal injuries, and fatal complications. Frail residents often cannot survive even a single violent incident.
Sexual Abuse
Sexual assault in a nursing home often goes unnoticed or unreported due to cognitive impairment, fear, or isolation. The trauma can be life altering and in some cases life ending, especially when combined with physical injury or untreated infections.
Emotional and Psychological Abuse
Threats, humiliation, intimidation, and isolation may not leave visible scars, but they can accelerate physical decline, worsen dementia, and lead to severe depression, self harm, or death.
Why Abuse Happens in Nursing Facilities
Intentional abuse rarely occurs in isolation. It is usually enabled by preventable failures such as:
- Inadequate background checks during hiring
- Understaffing that leaves residents unprotected
- Lack of supervision or monitoring
- Failure to train staff on proper care and reporting obligations
- Ignoring prior complaints or warning signs
When a facility cuts corners, residents pay the price.
Catastrophic Injury and Wrongful Death
Abuse does not need to be prolonged to be fatal. A single incident can trigger a rapid decline or a medical emergency that a resident cannot recover from. In the most serious cases, families are left asking how a loved one died while under professional care.
Wrongful death claims may arise when abuse leads to fatal injuries, untreated trauma, or infections that contribute to death.
Who Can Be Held Accountable
Liability often extends beyond the individual abuser. Claims may be brought against:
- Nursing home owners and operators
- Management companies
- Administrators and supervisors
- Staffing agencies
- Individual caregivers
Facilities are responsible for protecting residents from foreseeable harm.
How McEldrew Purtell Handles Abuse Cases
We approach abuse cases with urgency and precision. Our work focuses on uncovering what the facility knew, what it ignored, and how its failures allowed abuse to occur. This includes reviewing staffing records, incident reports, prior complaints, and regulatory violations.
These cases are about more than policy violations. They are about lives altered or lost due to choices that never should have been made.
Support and Accountability After Abuse
Learning that a loved one has been abused in a nursing home is overwhelming. Shock, anger, and fear often come first. You are not expected to handle this alone or confront the facility on your own. Nursing homes often move quickly to minimize exposure once abuse comes to light. Having experienced legal counsel helps ensure that evidence is preserved, responsibility is not shifted, and your loved one’s rights are taken seriously.
McEldrew Purtell can help you understand your options, protect your family member, and pursue accountability for the harm that occurred. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.
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