RHODE ISLAND NURSING HOME NEGLIGENCE ATTORNEY

At Marasco & Nesselbush, our Rhode Island personal injury attorneys provide our clients with compassionate and effective legal representation when faced with complex legal matters relating to nursing home abuse or neglect. We are here to hold negligent nursing homes accountable for the harm they have caused to your loved ones.

TYPES OF ELDER ABUSE

The Rhode Island Department of Health defines elder abuse as harm done to adults 60 years of age or older. There are seven categories of elder abuse, according to the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA). These include:

1. Physical Abuse – Use of force to threaten or physically injure a vulnerable elder;
2. Emotional Abuse – Threats, isolation, verbal attacks, rejection, or other belittling actions that could cause distress, pain, or mental anguish to an older adult;
3. Sexual Abuse – Tricked, threatened, forced, or otherwise coerced sexual contact on a vulnerable older adult, including any who are not able to consent;
4. Exploitation – Fraud, theft, neglect, or misuse of authority or use of undue influence to gain control over an elder’s money or property;
5. Neglect – A caregiver’s failure or refusal to provide for the physical/medical or emotional needs and/or safety of a vulnerable older adult;
6. Abandonment – A caregiver’s desertion of a frail or vulnerable older adult;
7. Self-Neglect – Being unable to understand the consequences of one’s own actions or inaction (and a caregiver’s failure to recognize such circumstances), which could lead to harm or endangerment.

CAUSES OF ASSISTED LIVING NEGLECT & ABUSE

Any combination of the above forms of elder abuse may occur at a nursing home facility and can threaten the health and safety of an elder. There are a variety of factors that may lead to such unlawful and harmful actions, including:

• understaffing;
• improperly trained staff;
• staff member fatigue, miscommunication, and/or drug/alcohol use;
• poor hiring practices; and/or
• insufficient administrative oversight.

Nursing homes often receive funding from the state and federal governments, as well as the families or estates of residents. However, some negligent nursing home administrators and executives cut corners to maximize their own profits. Instead of ensuring that their facility and its employees provide residents with the quality of care and attention they deserve, these negligent nursing homes may hire fewer people, employ poorly trained or unqualified people, fail to properly supervise their employees, or even hire workers with dangerous criminal backgrounds. Negligent nursing homes may fail to properly maintain and/or clean their facility; they may overmedicate their residents to limit activity; or they may fail to provide enough food, proper sanitation, or other basic care.