How to report nursing home abuse
· Call 911 if you, a loved one, or another senior is in immediate physical danger.
· Doctors, nurses, and other health providers have a legal duty to report nursing home abuse. Others are morally obligated to report elder abuse.
· Each state has toll-free lines to report elder abuse. Look up your states long term care ombudsman. An ombudsman is someone who investigates complaints and mediates fair solutions.
· After calling the states elder abuse hotline, be prepared to give the nursing home resident’s name, address, and details about the suspected abuse. Some states will ask for your contact information, but other states will allow confidential reports to be made.
· Local law enforcement officers and adult protective services are often trained on how to investigate and handle assisted living abuse cases.
· Sometimes what you suspect may only be a fraction of what is occurring.
After you report the abuse
· Remove your loved one from the abusive situation immediately.
· Research other long-term care options in your community.
· In some cases, poorly run nursing homes may know about the abuse and are not stopping it. Large corporate nursing homes may not be aware that one individual is abusing or neglection seniors. But it is up to your whether to inform the nursing home about why you are leaving.
Consider consulting a nursing home abuse lawyer to discuss your legal options
Nursing home abuse is a serious offence that should be punished and prevented from happening again. Your willingness to take legal action with the help of a nursing home abuse lawyer against the facility which allowed the abuse to occur, or the abuser who caused the harm, may help save other nursing home residents from the same abuse, neglect or exploitation. When your family is ready, call our nursing home abuse specialist today.
Nursing home abuse can be demoralizing and traumatic, but what is happening to your loved one is not your fault or the resident’s and must be stopped. Reporting assisted living abuse might be difficult, but it can have a positive effect by removing the abuser and preventing abuse to others. You do not need definitive proof that nursing home abuse is happening to report it.
