Are you worried that your elderly loved one is being harmed through nursing home abuse or neglect at a center in Texas? You can contact the Texas Health and Human Services Department (HHS) by calling 800-458-9858 at any time. The HHS can investigate nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and day activity centers for senior citizens, as well as companies that offer in-home or hospice care for elders. You can also click here to file an online complaint using the official Texas HHS website.
Please note: The HHS nursing home abuse hotline only staffs operators from Monday through Friday, 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. You can leave a message and expect a callback on the next workday. If your loved one is in immediate danger of violent abuse, then you should call the local sheriff’s department for assistance.
Common Warning Signs of Nursing Home Abuse
Not all incidents of nursing home abuse or neglect are obvious. In fact, many elders suffer from abuse and neglect but never tell anyone about it. A lack of mental faculties may cause them to forget to report the abuse or fail to recognize it as abuse. Or an elder may be intimidated by their abuser and think it is too dangerous to speak up.
Identifying the warning signs of nursing home abuse and neglect is often a responsibility that falls upon the elder’s family members and friends. Whenever you communicate with or visit an elderly loved one in a nursing home, you should always pay attention for signs of abuse.
Four of the most common signs of nursing home abuse or neglect are:
- Unexplained injuries and bedsores: In a safe nursing home facility, injuries to elders should be few and far between. Bedsores should also be nonexistent, as all residents unable to move freely should be routinely repositioned by attendants. If your loved one has unexplained bruises and cuts, or several painful bedsores, then they might be neglected or abused.
- Malnutrition and dehydration: Another telltale sign of nursing home neglect is malnutrition or dehydration. There is no excuse for nursing home staff members to not provide a resident with adequate hydration and nutrition.
- Fear of particular people: When the abuse an elder suffers in a nursing home is intentional, they will also become fearful around their abuser, who could be a staff member or another resident. Pay attention to how your elderly loved one behaves when certain people are near.
- Unclean environment: A nursing home or assisted living facility with unclear common areas and bathrooms will not be able to reliably provide its residents with care and attention. It is the same reliable “cleanliness test” that people often use in eateries. If the nursing home housing your loved one is unkempt or filthy, then you need to start looking for other signs of abuse, and you should consider having them relocated soon.
Taking Legal Action with Our Help
Whether you have already reported nursing home abuse or suspect it, Maloney Law Group, P.L.L.C. can help you take the next steps to make things right and protect your elderly loved one from future harm. We can hear about what happened or what you have observed during a free case consultation. Depending on what is going on, we can tell you if you should be filing a claim for compensation against that nursing home.
We should not keep your elderly loved one waiting for help. Call us at (210) 361-2997 at your first opportunity.