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Signs of Nursing Home Abuse

Your parents dedicated their lives to loving and protecting you. Now, they are older and they need you to protect them. A study by the World Health Organization (WHO) found that more than 15% of seniors are abused[1].  This statistic likely underrepresents the scope of the problem since so much abuse goes undetected and unreported. Seniors with disabilities, dementia, poor physical or mental health, or a low income are most likely to become victims of abuse[2].

Abuse often happens in nursing facilities because there is high staff turnover, low wages, and high stress. Regardless of the reason, elder abuse is unacceptable and illegal. Abuse can be physical, sexual, psychological or financial.

Physical abuse can include hitting, kicking, pushing and any other intentional physically destructive act against an elderly person. Neglect is also a type of physical abuse. Neglect occurs when a caretaker does not properly care for and respond to a senior in their charge. Examples of neglect could be taking too long to respond if someone is hurt or falls and lack of maintaining proper hygiene, nutrition or hydration.

Sexual abuse is any type of unwanted touching, nonconsensual sexual activity, and sexual harassment. Psychological abuse involves, threats, intimidation, making the victim scared or anxious, humiliation or isolation. According to the WHO study, this is the most common type of abuse, and has been reported by 11% of study respondents in community settings and more than 33% of seniors in institutional settings[3].

The final type of abuse, financial abuse, can occur as outright theft of a senior’s possessions. It can also occur by an unethical person gaining a senior’s trust and access to their bank accounts, credit cards and/or will.

If you have a loved one who lives in a nursing home, some signs of abuse and neglect to be alert for include:

• Bedsores
• Unexplained injuries or bruises
• Malnutrition
• Dehydration
• Poor hygiene
• Severe infections
• Sexually transmitted diseases
• Unexplained weight loss
• Emptied bank accounts or maxed-out credit cards
• Acting unusually fearful or anxious
• Complaining of mistreatment

If you have a loved one that you suspect is a victim of nursing home abuse, first call the authorities to report it. Then call ECanter Lawyers right away. We will investigate the details of your case and fight for you and your loved one to receive financial compensation for their suffering. This can include payment for medical bills, psychological counseling, as well as pain and suffering. Your loved ones deserve to spend their remaining time being treated with dignity and respect. If this is not happening, ECanter Lawyers will hold those who are abusing them responsible for their actions.

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[1] WHO. Abuse of older people (who.int). Accessed March 1, 2023.

[2] WHO. Abuse of older people (who.int). Accessed March 1, 2023.

[3] WHO. Abuse of older people (who.int). Accessed March 1, 2023.