May 21st, 2009, Posted in Personal Injury News, elder care
A Chicago personal injury law firm unfortunately has to deal with some disturbing situations. Our senior citizens, who should be revered and respected with the highest level of care possible, sometimes suffer abuse at nursing homes. Nursing home facilities can be guilty not only of neglecting seniors, but also of causing them outright physical harm. Fortunately the American legal system allows victims of abuse to have their day in court and be fairly compensated for mental, emotional, and physical injuries.
Outright abuse can and has happened to seniors. Chicago personal injury lawyers have represented seniors how have been victims of rapes, assaults, batteries and sexual assault. Being restrained physically for long periods of time, especially when it is unnecessary, is a form of physical abuse. And when seniors are medicated wrongly, such as being given too much or too little medication, or psychotropic drugs that are not prescribed to them, this too is considered a form of abuse. Signs of physical harm are open cuts, bruises, or welts that are mysterious and go unexplained by the senior’s caretakers. Being wrongly medicated might leave seniors in a daze, making them say and do irrational things, or merely be in a non-responsive, zoned-out haze.
Chicago personal injury lawyers also recognize neglect as a form of abuse. Inadequate food may leave to malnutrition and inadequate water will eventually lead to dehydration and a plethora of physical ailments. Bedsores form when a senior is forced to stay in bed for long periods of time, usually in unsanitary and unhygienic conditions. Just because there isn’t an overt act of physical harm doesn’t mean that neglect doesn’t qualify to as a personal injury.
Seniors sometimes are unable to defend themselves and need loved ones, and the law, to obtain justice for them. If you are a senior that feels they have been abused, don’t hesitate to contact an experienced Chicago personal injury law firm and let them know the specifics of the abuse you may have suffered. No one deserves mistreatment, especially those who are charged with caring for a class of citizens whose years of wisdom should be respected.