Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers in Akron, OH

Nursing Home Abuse in Akron, OH

Abuse of nursing home residents is intentional, but it is not always physical. Your elderly loved one can be severely harmed without a nursing home staff member ever laying a finger on them. Psychological abuse can have long-lasting effects, and financial abuse can put your loved one’s future medical care at risk. Neglect, by contrast, is usually not intentional, but the harm it causes is just as real. Ohio defines each category of elder abuse in Ohio law, and how common nursing home abuse is in Ohio is reason enough for families in Summit County not to assume a facility is safe because it looks clean on a tour.

Call our Akron nursing home abuse lawyers immediately if you know or believe your loved one has been abused or neglected. We are here to help your relative receive the care they need and to hold the responsible staff and the facility liable for the harm they have caused.

Types of Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

Ohio law and federal nursing home regulations recognize several distinct kinds of mistreatment. Many residents experience more than one at a time, because a facility that tolerates one form of abuse rarely catches the others.

Physical abuse

Physical abuse includes hitting, slapping, pushing, kicking, biting, and rough handling during transfers or bathing. It also includes improper restraint. Tying a resident to a bed or chair, or sedating a resident with medication the resident does not need so that staff have less to do, can constitute abuse under Ohio law even when it leaves no visible mark.

Emotional abuse

Emotional abuse can entail name-calling, shaming, humiliating, demeaning, blaming, scapegoating, threatening, ridiculing, ignoring, and isolating the senior. Staff who keep a resident from seeing visitors, refuse to answer call lights as a form of punishment, or mock a resident with dementia are committing abuse. The damage shows up as depression, anxiety, and withdrawal rather than bruises, which makes it easy for a facility to dismiss.

Sexual abuse

Sexual abuse encompasses harassment, non-consensual touching, non-consensual sexual intercourse, and any sexual conduct with a resident who is incompetent or otherwise unable to consent. The abuser may be a staff member, another resident, or a visitor. A facility that fails to supervise residents with known behavioral problems, or that ignores a resident’s complaint, shares responsibility for what follows.

Financial exploitation

Financial exploitation may involve theft of cash or belongings, forged checks, unauthorized use of a debit card, pressure to change a will or add a staff member to an account, and billing for services never provided. Because residents often depend on others to manage their money, this abuse can go on for months before a family member notices a balance that does not add up.

Neglect

Neglect is the failure to provide the care a resident needs. It can be willful, but negligent caregivers are usually not acting deliberately; they are careless about their duties, and the pattern almost always traces back to a facility that is understaffed, or to staff who are under-qualified and under-trained for the tasks they are required to complete. That does not make it any less damaging. Neglect includes:

• Bedsores (pressure ulcers) from residents left in one position for hours. A stage 3 or stage 4 pressure ulcer is a red flag that a resident was not turned or checked on schedule, and a facility that cannot produce turning and skin-check records will have a hard time explaining it.
• Falls caused by missing fall-risk assessments, bed alarms that were turned off, unanswered call lights, and residents left to walk unassisted when their care plan required help.
• Malnutrition and dehydration when meals are skipped, trays are removed before a slow eater finishes, water is left out of reach, or a resident’s dietary needs are ignored.
• Medication errors, including missed doses, wrong doses, wrong drugs, and failure to monitor known side effects.
• Poor hygiene, such as residents who are not bathed and given clean clothing regularly. Persistent urinary tract infections, skin rashes, and infected wounds follow, and the loss of dignity is its own harm.

When your loved one is suffering due to negligent care, call our Akron nursing home abuse lawyers for help right away.

Warning Signs Families in Summit County Should Watch For

At Kisling, Nestico & Redick, we believe it is essential that family members and close friends of nursing home residents do not wait for their loved one to say something is wrong. Many elderly victims of abuse and neglect never speak up. Many feel ashamed or embarrassed, some are threatened by their abusers or fear the treatment will get worse, and many are simply not believed: a complaint that is not clear and confident gets written off as confusion or age-related memory loss. For all of these reasons, you cannot rely on your loved one to tell you. You have to know the signs and look for them on every visit:

• Bruises, welts, scars, burn marks, or restraint marks on the wrists, ankles, or torso
• Unexplained or repeated falls, sprains, dislocations, and broken bones
• Bed sores or pressure sores
• Sudden weight loss, or signs of dehydration such as cracked lips and confusion
• Withdrawal from family, friends, or activities the resident used to enjoy
• Fear of a particular staff member, or a change in behavior when certain staff are in the room
• Poor hygiene: body odor, skin rashes, consistently soiled bedding or clothes, dirty bedrooms and common areas, clothing inappropriate for the weather
• Childlike or self-soothing behavior, unusual agitation, or other significant behavior changes
• Torn, stained, or bloody underwear, bruising around the breasts or genitals, unexplained genital bleeding, or a new sexually transmitted infection
• Unexplained financial changes: missing cash or belongings, unusual account withdrawals, new names on accounts, or a sudden change to a will or power of attorney

No single item on this list proves abuse. A pattern of them, or a facility that cannot explain them, is reason to act. If your loved one remains silent but you are convinced something is wrong, you can report it yourself, and if your loved one has been deemed incompetent, you may be able to act on their behalf. If you notice signs that something is wrong, call our attorneys as soon as you can. We will look into the situation, involve the appropriate civil and criminal authorities, and help your loved one receive the medical attention and daily care they need.

How to Report Nursing Home Abuse in Summit County

If your loved one is in immediate danger, call 911. Akron police and the suburban departments respond to nursing homes, and a police report creates a record the facility cannot rewrite.

For situations that are not emergencies, there are three agencies to know:

• The Ohio Department of Health licenses and inspects nursing homes and takes complaints about care through its health care facility complaint line and online complaint form. A complaint can trigger an unannounced survey of the facility.
• The Ohio Long-Term Care Ombudsman advocates for residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The regional ombudsman program serving Summit County can visit the facility, investigate a complaint, and help resolve care problems while your loved one stays in place. The Ohio Department of Aging runs the program (linked in the resources below).
• Summit County Adult Protective Services, part of the county’s Department of Job and Family Services, investigates reports of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of adults 60 and older who live in the community. For a resident of a licensed nursing home, APS will refer you to the Department of Health or the Ombudsman, so start with those two.

Report to the agency, then call us. Reporting protects your loved one and other residents; a claim with our Akron nursing home abuse lawyers is what makes the facility pay for the harm already done. Keep copies of everything you file, along with photos, dates, and the names of staff you spoke with.

Elder abuse reporting laws

Under Ohio Revised Code (ORC) Section 5101.63, many professionals are required to report suspected elder abuse, neglect, or exploitation. The list of mandatory reporters includes, but is not limited to:

• Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other medical professionals
• Nursing home employees
• Dialysis technicians
• First responders, ambulance drivers, and firefighters
• Police officers
• Building inspectors
• Real estate agents
• Certified public accountants (CPAs)
• Financial planners and advisors
• Bank tellers and other bank employees
• Attorneys
• Clergy members
• Coroners
• Any senior service provider

These professionals are required to report to the county’s job and family services department for adults living in the community; nursing home staff report suspected abuse of residents to the Ohio Department of Health.

Resources for elder abuse victims and families

If you are concerned for yourself or a loved one regarding elder abuse or neglect, various state agencies and organizations can offer information and guidance on what to do when you suspect a loved one is being harmed:

• Ohio Adult Protective Services
• Ohio Department of Aging
• Ohio Department of Health, Office of Health Assurance and Licensing
• Ohio Department of Health, Complaints – Health Care Facilities and Nursing Homes
• Ohio Long-Term Care Ombudsman
• Ohio Hopes
• The National Center on Elder Abuse

Our Nursing Home Lawyers Will

• Investigate and find those at fault for the nursing home neglect, including the facility’s owners and any outside contractors.
• Obtain the resident’s chart, care plans, staffing records, and state inspection reports.
• Interview witnesses, medical professionals, and experts.
• Communicate with the insurer, clarify liability, and pursue max compensation.
• Determine full and fair value for what your family endured.
• Keep you informed and involved. KNR is available by phone, text, email, or Zoom.
• Protect your rights and, if necessary, take your case to court.
• Never charge you upfront. If there is no recovery, there is no cost.

Akron Nursing Home Abuse FAQs

Talk to an Akron Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Today

If you believe a Summit County facility has harmed someone you love, call (330) 869-9007 or 1-800-HURT-NOW for a free, confidential consultation. There is no fee unless we recover for your family.