Resident abuse refers to abuse of a person who lives in a long-term care facility such as a nursing home. Resident abuse can be physical, sexual, financial, psychological, or neglect. Although resident abuse is a rampant documented problem all across the country, it isn’t always something that happens with malicious intentions.
Some of the biggest contributing factors to resident abuse within a long-term care facility are when the facility is not adequately staffed or when residents are not properly trained to handle the stressful situations they face while working. Neglect often occurs when there are simply not enough staff members to care for all the needs of the residents.
Residents might be verbally abused by a staff member who lacks the training to calm down and de-escalate their feelings. In some cases, resident abuse is carried out by other residents or their families. However, the majority of resident abuse cases come from actions by a direct care worker.
An Atlanta nursing home abuse attorney can provide more information about this kind of situation.