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Nursing home abuse is a serious issue that is going unreported

On Behalf of | Aug 15, 2019 | Nursing Home Abuse

Making the decision to put a loved on in a nursing home is a difficult one. Therefore, those in Burlington County who are facing this possibility will do all the research they can to ensure the nursing home they choose for their loved one will provide the care their loved one needs to live comfortably.

Unfortunately, while many nursing homes provide adequate care, a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General indicates that instances of nursing home abuse are going under-reported across the nation. The results of this report are disturbing to anyone who has a loved one in a nursing home.

According to one report, around one in every five visits to the emergency room from a nursing home were made because the resident had been abused in 2016. In addition, per the report, nursing homes often do not report instances of abuse to area law enforcement or the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services or CMS, even though they are legally bound to do so.

Ultimately, the Office of the Inspector General or OIG stated that through audits they discovered numerous incidents in which mandatory reporters of abuse did not follow the laws meant to protect nursing home residents. The OIG recommended that CMS use the data available to them to bolster regulations regarding nursing home abuse and neglect.

It is devastating to hear that a loved one was abused or neglected in a nursing home. Sometimes these incidents are so severe that they leave the nursing home resident seriously injured or could even cost the nursing home resident their life. This negligence on the part of nursing homes should not be tolerated. Sometimes it is necessary to seek compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering and other damages incurred due to nursing home abuse. A legal filing is sometimes the only way to hold the nursing home accountable for the harms they caused residents.

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