Our Michigan nursing home lawyers realize the difficulty of having an elder relative who needs special care.  It can be hard finding the right facility that will meet your needs and the needs of your elderly family member.  We handle cases involving nursing home negligence and abuse for residents who suffer injuries and family members who have lost a loved one in a Michigan health care facility such as a nursing home, hospital, adult foster care facilities, and assisted living facilities. These lawsuits are filed against the health care facility and the nursing home doctors whose negligence in their care of the resident caused injuries or death.  However, many times nursing home residents are neglected and do not even realize that they are being neglected or abuse.  There are four general categories nursing home abuse and neglect can fall into.  These four categories include:

• Harmful Neglect: If a resident in a health care facility experienced bed sores, suspicious or questionable injuries or death, unexplained substantial weight loss or serve dehydration, they may be a victim of harmful neglect.  This can also include emotional and psychological abuse such as verbal assaults, insults, intimidation, threats, and humiliation. Pain and suffering a resident suffers after being abused emotionally can be just as dangerous as injuries caused by physical abuse.
• Assault and Battery: If an employee of a nursing home or residential health care facility threatens or strikes a resident or uses unauthorized physical or chemical restraints assault and battery has been committed.
• Criminal and Sexual Abuse: If an employee of a nursing home or residential care facility engages in unlawful sexual contact with a patient, criminal sexual conduct has occurred.
• Embezzlement/Theft: If an employee of a nursing home or residential care facility wrongfully removes funds from a resident’s account, improperly obtains a financial “load” or “gift” from a resident, or an employee uses privileged/personal information illegally to obtain credit cards, etc., resulting in identity theft, embezzlement has occurred.  This type of neglect also includes when an employee steals possessions, such as jewelry,  out of the resident’s home.

Often times nursing home abuse and neglect never gets reported.  This could be due to the high level of Dementia and Alzheimer’s patients in the nursing homes or because people might be afraid to say something.  If you see something suspicious, ask questions! As a nuring home resident or family member of a loved one in a Michigan nursing home, you do have the legal right to question and keep record of any event that takes place within the care of the resident.