When people put their loved ones in a nursing home, they trust that the staff will look after them in a caring and professional manner. Unfortunately, factors such as lack of training and understaffing can contribute to cases where nursing home employees become negligent to their patients.
Here are three things to know about nursing home negligence in Pennsylvania assisted living facilities.
1. There are different types of negligence
When people think of nursing home neglect, many picture patients with bedsores and bruises all over their bodies. However, other types of negligence may not cause such obvious signs of abuse or neglect, such as failing to give a patient their medication or failing to provide a clean environment for residents.
2. Possible negligence can be noticeable
People who are looking at assisted living facilities for their loved ones can sometimes spot signs of possible negligence without meeting any residents at all. For example, dirty floors and clutter might indicate that there is neglect happening in other areas of the facility, such as with patients.
3. Negligence may not be intentional
Negligence is not necessarily caused by the ill will of staff members. For example, there could be a miscommunication between staff regarding who gives a particular patient their medication. However, this is no excuse for the facility not to uphold its legally required standards that patients pay to receive.
The more people know about nursing home negligence, the better able they are to bring an issue up with nursing staff.
