LEADING CAUSES OF ABUSE IN NURSING HOMES
15-Jul-2010 As different parts of the country experience nursing shortages, incidences of abuse in nursing homes continue to increase. The latest nursing home abuse statistics paint an alarming picture of prevalent elderly nursing home abuse. Here’s why:
• Staffing Shortages: This is possibly the number one reason for abuse in nursing homes. Because of the nature of the care required, nursing homes are often consistently understaffed and report high job vacancy rates and staff turnover. This leads to inconsistent and often inadequate care.
• Poor Training and Lower Pay: Further exacerbating the staffing shortages facing nursing homes is the fact that many employees receive little to no training and are paid less than their counterparts in other medical facilities. The outcome is sub par employees who do not have either the skills or the inclination to perform their jobs properly leading to abuse in nursing homes.
• Lower Quality Standard of Care: Many nursing homes facing staffing challenges have been forced to lower their hiring standards. In some cases this means that staff members are new or inexperienced. In other cases, it means that caregivers who have been unable to get jobs at other health care facilities for various reasons are hired. In both situations, the end result is an increase in elderly nursing home abuse.
Abuse in nursing homes has reached epic proportions as of late according to nursing home abuse statistics. In fact, according to the National Center on Elder Abuse between 1 and 2 million Americans age 65 or older are victims of some type of elder abuse, according to the best available estimates. Of these incidents, only about one in five are reported. So not only is abuse in nursing homes on the rise, it is severely under reported.
If you suspect elderly nursing home abuse, there are steps you can take to confirm that mistreatment is occurring. Once confirmed, immediate action must be taken to stop the elderly nursing home abuse and report it.
Beyond that, if nursing home abuse statistics are ever to show a downward trend, the entire industry needs to address the above issues. As long as staffing shortages are prevalent, along with the subsequent poor training and low pay leading to a lower standard of care, abuse in nursing homes will continue to increase.
Contact Malman Law today to schedule a FREE Case Evaluation regarding your loved one and suspected nursing home abuse in the Chicago, IL area.
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The content found on the Malmanlaw.com site is not legal advice and is purely for informational purposes. The information contained herein is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney and does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you are interested in obtaining information about personal injury and accident related legal issues, you are encouraged to call our law firm at 866-790-8601 or Request a FREE CASE EVALUATION. Malman Law serves the Chicago, IL area.

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$1,225,000 settlement for a speedway patron who got hit by a baseball-sized rock kicked up by a race car. The rock hit her so hard, she needed an emergency tracheostomy and brain surgery.
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$6,000,000 settlement for our client, a 4 month old baby whose doctors had failed to diagnose a brain infection that left her with permanent brain damage and cerebral palsy.
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$11,800,000.00 in a product liability settlement for a father of five who tragically died when his tire treads failed, causing his vehicle to roll over.
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We obtained a $5 million settlement for a woman whose son died when his physician failed to diagnose a tumor.
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A woman recovered $2.25 million in a medical malpractice case, in which the woman's obstetrician/gynecologist failed to spot her cancer on a pap smear, causing our client to have to undergo multiple, surgeries.
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A $2 million verdict was obtained for a woman whose Ob/Gyn failed to refer her to a gynecologist to treat what turned out to be a malignant uterine sarcoma.
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We obtained a $1.7 million settlement in a nursing home neglect case in which a 72 year-old man suffered radiator burns so severe that he had to have his legs amputated.
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We obtained a $1.4 million award in a slip and fall case involving a 13 year-old boy who developed severe hip trouble after falling down the stairs of his high-rise.
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A $1.25 million settlement in favor of our client, an 18 year-old boy who lost most of his vision after being assaulted by a security guard.
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We obtained a $1.15 million settlement for our client, a little girl who suffered severed burns as a direct result of fire code ordinance violations.
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A union painter whose legs got crushed by a forklift recovered $1 million in damages.
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A $1 million settlement in favor of our client, a hemophiliac, who suffered severe soft tissue damage in a car accident.
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A union steel worker who injured his back moving a 300 pound steel beam in the rain recovered $1 million for his construction site work injury.
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We obtained a $900,000 settlement in the case of a beaten prison inmate who died after being given the wrong medication at the hospital.
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We obtained a $600,000 settlement for a man who suffered a below the knee amputation after his friend accidentally shot him with a hunting rifle at a restaurant.
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A 54 year-old woman recovered $600,000 in a product liability settlement after her oven mitt exploded and severely burned her breasts.
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A woman who had lost her baby to fetal distress while in the hospital was awarded $500,000 for medical malpractice.
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An 81 year-old bedridden stroke victim recovered $390,000 after he developed what would turn out to be fatal pressure ulcers stemming from negligent nursing care.
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A nursing home resident won a settlement of $300,000 stemming from a hip fracture accident. His nursing staff had failed to take proper fall-risk precautions.
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We obtained a settlement of $250,000 for the estate of a 21 year-old man who, after sustaining life-threatening injuries in an automobile accident, subsequently died in the hospital due to the staff's failure to insert a chest tube.
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We obtained a settlement of $175,000 for the estate of a woman whose negligent nursing home care resulted in bed sore ulcers that led to an infection that ultimately caused her death.
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We obtained a $150,000 settlement for a 69 year-old stroke victim who had to have an above the knee amputation due to nursing home neglect.
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A $150,000 verdict was recovered for the estate of a 79 year-old man, who suffered bed sores stemming from nursing home neglect that ultimately contributed to his death.
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