Bellevue Nursing Home Abuse Attorney

Representing Injured Bellevue Nursing Home Residents

Bellevue is a suburban city in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. Originally settled by Europeans in the 1830s, Bellevue was incorporated in 1855. It is the oldest continuous town and the second oldest settlement in the state of Nebraska.

Bellevue means “beautiful view” in French. The city is situated on rolling hills overlooking the Missouri River. It has tree-lined streets, hundreds of acres of parks, miles of trails, and dozens of ball fields. The City of Bellevue can boast of low crime, low cost of living, low utility rates, low unemployment, and great education systems. For older people who need assistance with daily living, a number of nursing homes are located in the region.

How Common Is Nursing Home Abuse?

Elder abuse can be defined as an intentional act or failure to act by a caregiver or another person in a position of trust that causes or creates a risk of harm to an older adult. Approximately one in 10 people in the U.S. ages 60 and older have been victims of some form of elder abuse, according to the National Council on Aging (NCOA). However, researchers in one study estimate that only one in 24 cases of abuse is reported to the authorities. In nursing homes and long-term care facilities, two in three staff report committing abuse within the past year, as stated by the World Health Organization (WHO).

What Are the Types of Nursing Home Abuse?

Abuse of older people can occur in different ways. The basic types of nursing home abuse are:

• Physical abuse: Physical force that may result in bodily injury, pain, or impairment is physical abuse. In a nursing home, it may involve striking, slapping, shaking, kicking, pinching, shoving, or burning. It may also involve inappropriate use of drugs and physical restraints, force feeding, or physical punishment of any kind. Signs of physical abuse include bruises, welts, lacerations, bone fractures, wounds, sprains, dislocations, and broken eyeglass frames.
• Emotional abuse: This is infliction of pain, anguish, or distress through verbal or nonverbal acts. It may involve insults, threats, humiliation, intimidation, or harassment. Signs of emotional abuse include agitation or emotional upset, unusual behavior, and extreme withdrawal and non-responsiveness.
• Neglect: Abuse and neglect are not the same. Neglect is the refusal or failure to fulfill obligations or duties to an elder, or failure to provide necessary care. In a nursing home setting, it may involve failure to provide necessities, such as food, water, shelter, clothing, personal hygiene, medications, personal safety, and comfort. Symptoms of nursing home neglect include dehydration, malnutrition, bed sores, unsanitary living conditions, and untreated health problems.
• Financial abuse: Material or financial exploitation is the improper or illegal use of an older person’s property or assets. For example, it may involve cashing a senior’s checks without authorization, forging an elderly person’s signature, and misusing or stealing an older person’s money or possessions. Signs of financial abuse include unexplained withdrawals of large sums of money, names added to an elder’s bank signature card, abrupt changes in a will, and unexplained disappearance of possessions or funds.
• Sexual abuse: Non-consensual sexual contact of any kind with an older person is sexual abuse. Signs and symptoms include bruises around the genital area or breasts; bloody, torn, or stained underwear; genital infections or venereal disease; and vaginal or anal bleeding.

Nursing home residents have protection under the law. If your senior loved one has been a victim of nursing home abuse in Bellevue, call a Bellevue injury attorney at Bottlinger Law L.L.C. at (402) 505-8234. Our experienced nursing home abuse lawyer can help you seek justice for your loved one.