Emotional and Mental Abuse in DC Nursing Homes

A resident can bring a claim or action for emotional and mental abuse in DC nursing homes by filing a lawsuit. The most important thing is to document everything that goes on.

The patients with more diminished capacity are typically more vulnerable to this type of abuse. People with both mental and physical ailments are the most vulnerable. Contact a skilled nursing home abuse attorney to begin your case on behalf of your loved one.

Classifying Mental Abuse Offenses

The most common scenario involving emotional and mental abuse in DC nursing homes is when the facility itself becomes aware of an isolated individual. If someone brings a situation like this to the facility’s attention and nothing happens, or it is one of the administrators who is perpetrating the abuse, the nursing home could be held liable.

Nursing home residents have a right to privacy, they have a right to property, to own a locked drawer, and to be given a lot of time to spend with their family.

The deprivation of these rights can constitute mental abuse. It is not the best definition, but you sort of know these types of abuses when you see them.

What are the Warning Signs?

The biggest warning sign for this type of emotional and mental abuse in DC nursing homes is a change in mood and behavior. Another warning sign is when someone cannot get access to their family member. If the nursing home is preventing a family member from seeing a loved one for any reason, they should immediately notify the authorities.

Special Circumstances of Mental and Emotional Abuse

If mental abuse is coming from other residents of the nursing home then it needs to be brought to the attention of the administrator. If there is a resident who is mentally and physically in good shape and they are bullying individuals of diminished capacity, in theory, one could bring a lawsuit. However, the first thing to do is bring it to the administrator’s attention and try to effect a behavioral change.

Defining Duty to Resident Protection

The facility has a duty to protect all residents reasonably under the circumstances. The duty regarding the staff is that they need to do a background check on the people working there to see if there is any reason to believe that the person would be subjecting residents to abuse. If there is a complaint about a resident, the facility has a duty to protect individuals from that resident. Unless and until they know something is wrong, they must act reasonably under the circumstances.

Background Checks and Other Staff Requirements

A nursing home has a duty to do a reasonable background check on the people they hire. If they do not do the check or the check failed to reveal something suggesting that employee would abuse residents, they will be held liable.

The way liability for emotional and mental abuse in DC nursing homes is addressed is if the management is not aware of a situation they have no reason to know to fix it. Liability will be imposed on the management or facility if there is a reason to know about a situation and they fail or refuse to act.