When someone makes the difficult decision to put an elderly parent into a nursing home, they are doing so with the expressed assurance that their parent is going to receive professional, compassionate care. However, some nursing homes may fail to properly screen individuals they hire as caretakers or nurses. Consequently, employees with less than desirable backgrounds find themselves in a position to take advantage of an elderly individual who is frail and sometimes mentally incapacitated. In 2010 the National Center on Elder Abuse and the Bureau of Justice Statistics found 435,195 cases that were reported were elder emotional abuse.  If you suspect verbal abuse is happening to a loved one living in a nursing home, you can take legal steps to have this nursing home brought to justice for not providing adequate and reasonable care for your elderly parent.

What is Verbal Abuse?

Verbal abuse is psychological abuse inflicted upon an older individual, incapable of defending themselves or comprehending the magnitude of the situation. This kind of abuse involves verbal threats, intimidating talk directed toward the loved one, calling them derogatory names and constantly belittling them. Threats could be anything from telling a patient they are going to hurt them to saying that the patient’s family members no longer cares about them. See more here about verbal/emotional abuse from Administration for Community Living.

In many cases, verbal abuse is occurring along with other forms of abuse, such as physical abuse or neglect. This makes verbal abuse of a nursing home patient more difficult to detect and is the main reason why claims of verbal abuse by elderly patients are often dismissed.

Possible Warning Signs

Signs of verbal abuse are often dismissed as unsubstantiated and blamed on the physical or mental state of the elder person in question. Warning signs can include:

• sudden depression or withdrawal
• abrupt change in personality (regressive behavior such as acting more childlike)
• medication problems or overdoses
• extreme weight loss
• frequent illnesses
• a caregiver who will not let you see the elderly individual alone

Since senior citizens tend to suffer without telling anyone because they feel ashamed of their incapacitated state and vulnerability, it is up to the patient’s loved ones to remain alert for signs of possible verbal abuse.

What To Do If You Suspect Verbal Abuse

If you suspect a case of verbal abuse, seek professional help  immediately. Abuse that is happening within a healthcare facility may be grounds for suing the home. In addition, contacting a lawyer to pursue a case of nursing home verbal abuse is vital for not only exposing the facility but also for receiving the monetary compensation. The abused individual will need to receive any proper medical care needed because of the abuse. Nursing home attorneys with experience  in all types of abuse can provide much needed assistance and guidance in such cases involving long-term care facilities.