Nursing Home Abuse Causes

Across the United States, millions of elderly adults are living in assisted living facilities. Nursing homes are healthcare institutions that provide 24/7 medical services and nursing staff to meet the needs of aging individuals. 

When an elderly individual reaches a point where their medical needs cannot be met at home, moving into a nursing home is a viable option to maintain their quality of life.

However, there is a deep scar in the nursing home system. Nursing home abuse and neglect are rampant throughout the country. The elderly population in community living facilities is particularly vulnerable due to physical and cognitive decline, such as Alzheimer’s disease, and abusive or negligent individuals can take advantage of the situation. 

Let’s discuss how nursing home abuse can manifest in these facilities and negatively affect the elderly population. 

Different Types of Abuse in Nursing Homes

Multiple forms of elder abuse regularly occur in nursing homes. 

Physical elder abuse in nursing homes is one of the most common issues, which can include hitting, slapping, pushing, misusing physical restraints, or any use of force on a resident. Unexplained injuries and fear often accompany it. 

Sexual elder abuse causes suffering in nursing homes, manifesting as unwanted sexual contact or advances. An elderly person suffering from this abuse may withdraw from many activities or experience behavioral changes. 

Some nursing staff members will commit emotional abuse against elderly residents. This may include yelling, coercing, isolating, or making threats. Again, this can cause withdrawal, fear of a certain individual, or agitation. 

Financial elder exploitation occurs when staff members take advantage of an elderly resident to manipulate their finances. They could steal possessions, use credit cards without authorization, or change financial documents. 

The final form of elder abuse in a nursing home is neglect. In this case, the staff fails to meet the resident’s needs based on professional standards. Signs of nursing home neglect in an elderly person include pressure ulcers, social isolation, worsening conditions, malnutrition, and dehydration. 

Factors Contributing to Abuse

Nursing home abuse and neglect occur based on several contributing factors. It is a multi-faceted problem that individual, relational, and institutional dynamics can cause. Nursing home residents and their families must be vigilant when assessing facilities and staff members to watch for these contributing factors as the most vulnerable members of society. 

Individual Risk Factors in Elder Abuse Claims

The first element that may place a resident at a higher risk of experiencing elder abuse or neglect happens at the individual level. Even if the nursing home has great protocols for resident safety and well-being, the individuals involved may be the primary cause of the issue. Here are some individual risk factors that could lead to nursing home abuse or neglect. 

Perpetrator Characteristics

An abusive individual can take advantage of the nursing home setting to treat elderly residents poorly. Many abusers share similar characteristics and backgrounds, including a history of violence, mental illness, substance abuse, or stress. 

Working in a nursing home is stressful due to the constant attention some residents need. If the nursing home has not vetted staff members properly, it could be hiring individuals who have these risk factors in their past. 

Staff members may also be going through their own personal issues that impact their ability to care for residents. For example, people who are burnt out are more likely to unintentionally cause psychological abuse or get frustrated with residents, resulting in physical abuse and serious injuries. Staff members must know the warning signs to look out for in other employees.

Resident Vulnerability

An individual resident’s condition may also contribute to incidents of abuse or neglect. This is not to say that their suffering is their fault, as all residents have the right to be treated with dignity, respect, and professionalism. However, some assisted living residents are more likely to be abused because of their health or cognitive abilities. 

Those struggling with cognitive impairment, physical limitations, or dependence on others are more vulnerable to elder abuse. Staff members or other residents who know this could take advantage of this vulnerability to abuse or neglect them without the fear of repercussions. 

Often, these vulnerable residents are unwilling or unable to advocate for themselves if elder abuse occurs. 

Relationship Factors of Nursing Home Residents

People are defined by the relationships they have. When we think about who we are, we often emphasize our relationship with those around us, such as being a son, daughter, husband, wife, father, mother, friend, coworker, or employee. 

These relationship factors are also present in nursing homes, and in some cases, they can be contributing factors to elder abuse or neglect. Here are a few ways that relationships could open the door to physical abuse, financial exploitation, verbal abuse, or neglect. 

Strained Family Dynamics

Family dynamics play a significant role in whether an elderly resident is more vulnerable to abuse and neglect. Healthy family relationships can increase their chances of a positive experience in a nursing home, especially if their loved ones visit often. 

On the flip side, family conflicts, a history of abuse, and caregiver burden can all increase the likelihood of an older adult experiencing abuse from family members, nursing home staff members, and other residents. 

Suppose the resident has a poor relationship with their family. In that case, visits may be few and far between, which can make it easier for abusive individuals to get away with their behavior. 

Social Isolation

Older adults often suffer mental health problems because of loneliness. The people they grew up with may not be around anymore, so elderly relatives rely on family members and a few close relationships for socialization. In nursing homes, there is a greater risk of social isolation. 

Families may be less likely to visit these settings, and nursing home staff have great control over the resident’s lifestyle. As a result, social isolation of the resident and the potential abuser can increase the risk of elder abuse in nursing homes. 

Power Imbalances

Nursing home settings have unique power dynamics between administrators, staff, and residents. Because caregivers directly provide for medical concerns and daily needs, they have the power to manipulate the resident due to this power imbalance. 

Similarly, nursing home management may work harder to protect their fellow nursing home staff members rather than residents, so elderly patients are at the mercy of the facility. The presence of such a strong power imbalance creates more opportunities for nursing home abuse. 

For example, a staff member could threaten to withhold certain services from a patient if they do not do what they ask, violating the resident’s right to self-determination and a dignified existence. Many patients are scared to advocate for themselves for fear of repercussions. 

Institutional Factors

The facilities and operations of the nursing home can also create opportunities for emotional abuse, physical abuse, or neglect. Nursing homes must meet specific professional standards, but regular health inspections often reveal deficiencies and shortcomings that put elderly residents at risk. 

Here are some institutional factors that could increase the likelihood of residents suffering from elder mistreatment. 

Understaffing and High Turnover

The quantity of staff members plays a huge role in resident risk factors. When a nursing home is understaffed or there is high turnover, the remaining staff members may be overworked and stressed. This can easily lead to staff members abusing elderly residents because they are exhausted or overwhelmed by the amount of work. 

This is a growing issue as the baby boomers enter this life stage and increase the burden on the healthcare system while the nursing home workforce falls behind. 

Inadequate Training and Supervision

Quality matters as much as quantity in terms of nursing home staff. Staff must be trained to provide high-quality care to each nursing home resident. Unfortunately, due to poor management and cutting corners, many care facilities hire workers who lack proper training. 

Lazy or overwhelmed administrations, large parent companies with poor oversight, and a culture of protecting the bottom line rather than residents result in inadequate supervision. 

Lack of Accountability and Oversight

If issues of nursing home abuse or neglect do occur, they must be corrected immediately. Unfortunately, these problems tend to persist, especially when there is a lack of accountability and oversight in the facility. 

When abusers or negligent practices go unpunished, they create an environment where nursing home abuse and neglect are allowed to prosper. This toxic setting is dangerous for employees and residents. 

For example, if one resident reported abuse, but there is no accountability, the abusive individual can continue to mistreat the victim. Taking legal action can help hold facilities and employees accountable.

Profit-Driven Culture

Nursing homes are businesses. Many may claim to prioritize the needs of patients over profits, but not all will put that promise into action. Nursing homes search for ways to cut costs and increase profits, including reduced staff numbers, poor equipment expenditures, and low-quality accommodations. 

All these cost-cutting measures can compromise resident safety, increasing the chance of elder abuse or neglect occurring. 

Environmental Factors

The nursing home environment is designed to be safe and comfortable for residents. However, many care facilities fail to uphold this standard. Failing to create a clean and safe environment is one common cause of nursing home abuse. Here are a few ways that environmental factors can contribute to neglect and abuse in nursing homes. 

Poorly Designed or Maintained Facilities

The layout and practices of a nursing home are essential for creating a safe and healthy environment. When the facility is poorly designed or maintained, it creates hazards that put a patient’s physical health at risk. 

For example, if the premises are not cleaned regularly, residents could experience severe injuries from tripping hazards or fall ill from the presence of bacteria. Unsafe and unsanitary conditions lead to many elder abuse cases. 

The facility layout could make it harder for staff to fully supervise residents in all areas, making it easier for negligence or abuse to cause physical injuries. All nursing homes should be up to code and implement consistent cleaning practices to ensure the environment is safe for residents and employees. 

Lack of Privacy and Personal Space

Each elderly person in the nursing home has the right to a dignified existence. This includes a comfortable private room for their personal belongings. Often, nursing homes fail to preserve each resident’s privacy and personal space. This violation can make them more vulnerable to nursing home abuse or neglect. 

Explore Your Legal Options! 

Nursing home abuse is a severe concern nationwide. This vulnerable population must be protected, and nursing facilities often fail to uphold this standard. If you or a loved one are moving into a nursing home, it is essential to watch for the warning signs of nursing home abuse. 

This can include broken bones, bruises, behavioral changes, irritability, fearfulness, bed sores, declining hygiene, worsening health conditions, infections, and malnutrition. 

At the Nursing Home Law Center, we want to help victims of elder abuse and their families pursue justice against nursing homes. Our goal is to seek fair compensation for legal damages like emotional harm, pain and suffering, medical bills, loss of enjoyment of life, and funeral costs, if necessary. 

Reporting abuse or neglect to the appropriate parties as soon as possible is crucial. This may include the police, state agencies, Adult Protective Services, or even the federal government (Department of Health and Human Services). 

If you want to discuss your legal options with an experienced nursing home abuse attorney, call us today at 800-926-7565 or complete the online form to request a free consultation.