Aventura Nursing Home Abuse Blog

Elderly people in Florida nursing homes often have to take various medications. In an ideal world, the home provides regular doctor's visits, up-to-date medical records and attentive staff members who always deliver the correct medication on time and make sure patients take it.

Unfortunately, medication errors happen even in reputable homes. A nursing home can have an error rate of up to 5 percent without falling subject to government consequences. However, in some cases, victims may have recourse through civil suits.

Many people know the signs of abuse and how to address them once they're confirmed, but there may be a larger issue: Addressing abuse with your loved ones. As someone who cares about your elderly parents, siblings or other loved ones, you need to get confirmation of abuse before you can do anything else.

Approaching this kind of topic isn't always easy. Your loved one may fear repercussions or not have a clear memory about what happened. There are a few good ways to gather information and to talk to your loved one without rocking the boat, though. Here are three tips:

When you have a loved one who has dementia, it can sometimes be difficult to tell the truth from fiction. People with dementia may lash out unexpectedly, and they often get confused. Since that's the case, it can be difficult to know if someone is really hurting your loved one or if he or she is just "seeing" that happen in a kind of dream state.

Since your loved one will likely have trouble telling you if something is wrong, you are the person who needs to monitor their care. People with dementia are at risk of being abused because of being in a vulnerable state. However, by knowing the warning signs of elder abuse, you can take steps to help your loved one escape any dangerous situation. Here are three signs to watch out for:

Elder abuse is a horrible type of abuse during which an older person is exposed to physical harm, emotional distress and/or financial losses as a result of manipulation or coercion. Many kinds of abuse exist, these just being a few.

The elderly are prone to abuse due to having an inability to protect themselves. Some elderly individuals have dementia or Alzheimer's disease, making it hard to tell what is and is not happening to him or her. Others have physical impairments that make it hard for them to defend themselves. Still others won't speak out because of a fear of further injury or repercussions.