When you make the difficult decision to put a beloved family member in a Georgia nursing home, you do so under the assumption that he or she will receive around the clock care from a dedicated team of medical professionals. Sadly, that is not always the case. There are certain signs of nursing home neglect and abuse that you can look for that indicate that your loved one may be suffering.
Significant weight loss
While health problems can certainly result in weight loss, your loved one should not appear malnourished when you visit them in the nursing home. Unfortunately, one of the many types of nursing home neglect includes a failure to ensure that residents are eating regularly. If you notice significant weight loss, you should look into how often your loved one is being fed.
Bruises and scratches
Perhaps the most blatantly obvious sign of abuse is the presence of bruises and scratches. While certain medications can increase the likelihood of bruising, there still shouldn’t be bruises all over your family member’s body. If there are, they may be suffering physical abuse by the nursing home staff.
Emotional instability
Since there are so many types of nursing home abuse and neglect, there is a chance of them manifesting in several different ways. If your loved one suddenly begins acting depressed, exceedingly angry or otherwise emotionally unstable, they may be suffering some sort of physical or mental abuse at the hands of nursing home staff members.
If you have reason to believe that your loved one is suffering abuse during their stay at a nursing home, you should immediately remove them from the situation. After you have gotten them away from the potentially abusive nursing home, you should contact an attorney to see what recourse you might have.