Prior posts on this Chicago personal injury blog have discussed physical ailments and conditions that can develop as the result of nursing home abuse or neglect. These injuries and illnesses can cause individuals to suffer from painful falls, sores and other health problems that can affect their quality of life. However, one major area of injury is often forgotten by those who think of nursing home abuse and neglect and that form of harm can be significantly detrimental.
According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, individuals who are cared for in nursing homes may suffer harm in the form of psychological abuse or neglect. Emotional or psychological harm can manifest from a resident of a care facility being humiliated, ignored, berated, harassed or threatened. This form of treatment can directly harm a resident’s well-being and affect his daily functioning.
While cases of physical abuse and neglect are often easy to spot, seeing cases of emotional abuse can be harder to find. Such harm can cause a victim to retreat into himself, develop unusual coping behaviors and in some cases report abuse directly to others. Whether a victim’s reports are taken seriously can be a problem in some care facilities and can contribute to continued harassment and emotional mistreatment.
Individuals are taken to nursing and care homes in order to recover from challenges or to receive the support they require in order to lead fulfilling lives. When they are physically and emotionally abused, their standards of living are diminished and their suffering may increase. Individuals who believe that they or their loved ones may be the victims of nursing home abuse or neglect may have rights to pursue their claims through lawsuits and under personal injury theories of law.
