Colorado Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect Lawyers

Why Elderly Abuse Happens at Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities

The term for misconduct that occurs when a person or facility that is supposed to be caring for and protecting our elderly fails to fulfill their duties is known as elder abuse and neglect. For those of us who have entrusted the lives of one of our elderly family members or friends to a nursing home or assisted care facility, the thought of these “specialists” not doing their job with care and compassion is incomprehensible.

Unfortunately and unexplainably, even the best facilities have shortcomings ranging from employee issues to facility problems, and even the business philosophy of the owners. When it comes to employees, the facility owners may choose to hire fewer employees than required to provide the level of care that meets the state and/or national standards. In addition to understaffed facilities, inadequately trained and unqualified employees are commonplace. Geriatric patients often have physical and/or mental health conditions that require specialized care.

Because of the complicated nature of caring for seniors with health issues, having any “facility defects” can be deadly (literally), especially if combined with a team that is inexperienced, undertrained, or overworked. Facility defects include faulty and inadequate equipment, unsafe walking and sitting spaces, and insufficient communication systems.

Unfortunately, many of the causes that lead to elder abuse and neglect are the direct result of putting profits ahead of people. Investment in quality care is critical; however, if the primary concern of the owners is making money — then “never events” occur. “Never events” are those that should never happen: ulcers, falls, and infections to name a few. Putting profits over people creates an environment where accidents are both foreseeable and bound to happen. When a facility accepts cases that they are not equipped to handle, “never events’ occur.

Many states, including Colorado, have laws that prohibit assisted living facilities from admitting and retaining residents that should be in a higher level of care, but they do it anyway. Why? The disturbing answer is… MONEY. This type of behavior can and does result in injury and death. “Profits over people” occurs because many of the “high-end” facilities are owned by HUGE financial moguls like hedge funds, private equity investors, foreign corporations, and financial investors.

In the worst-case scenarios of abuse and neglect, the resident dies. In less extreme incidents, the person suffers bedsores, broken bones, infections, falls, mental distress, malnourishment, dehydration, or a combination of these conditions.

Another potentially deadly situation that can occur is known as elopement. An elopement occurs when a resident leaves the facility by themselves, unsupervised. When this happens, the person’s cognitive abilities, eyesight, or hearing may not be sufficient to allow them to perceive and understand the dangers around them. No matter how it occurs, elopements are extremely dangerous and should never happen! Elopements can result in injury and death by exposure to the elements, getting hit by cars, falling into ditches, falling off curbs, abduction by predators, etc.

When any of these horrible situations occur, it is common for the facility and the employees involved to deny any wrongdoing. Sometimes this occurs from a lack of understanding of the state and federal standards, regulations, and guidelines. Other times it stems from an unwillingness to admit the mistakes that were made at each and every level of the process. Disappointingly, many of the denials by the facility and the involved employees involve efforts to excuse or cover up their actions.

Every facility has a statutory and regulatory duty (by law) to know what is going on with your loved one. You have a right to receive a satisfactory explanation for any injury or adverse event that occurs. If you question any injury and do not receive a satisfactory explanation, contact Ramos Law as this could be a telltale sign of abuse or neglect.