In 2025, KFF reported that more than 1.2 million people lived in nearly 15,000 certified nursing homes throughout the US. KFF’s research also revealed that more than one in four nursing homes had received at least one of the most serious safety and care citations. These violations harmed residents or posed an immediate risk because they were severe.
The negligent acts of nursing homes can cause a variety of medical issues for patients’ health. These can include ignoring nutritional requirements for a patient, allowing infections to develop as a result of lack of appropriate medical care, and failure to timely administer medications to prevent patients falling.
A nursing home may not be able to meet every need of a resident, and family members often help fill the gap. The process of identifying neglect takes much more than observation, particularly when taking any kind of action against neglectful people, especially if it requires legal action. It is essential that anyone taking any kind of action to help neglect victims has ample proof to do so.
Here are some details about nursing home neglect and how to address it.
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What Neglect Usually Looks Like
Neglect is when there is a failure to fulfill an individual’s basic needs. Neglect usually leaves warning signs.
Unusual weight loss, cracking at the lips, dirty sheets, missed medications, and pressure sores at heels and tailbones are all symptoms of neglect. There are some individuals who have become withdrawn or fearful around particular carers, while others tend to fall often.
A single bruise on fragile skin may come from a resident with dementia resisting a bath or transfer. The pattern is what signals neglect, which is why a dated note from each visit becomes so valuable later.
Signs of neglect in a nursing home can be generally classified as physical neglect, neglect of emotional and behavioral needs, and environmental neglect. A nursing home resident’s family can complain about his/her care by documenting symptoms such as injuries, withdrawal, uncleanliness, and/or an unclean environment.
Start With a Written Log
In the ongoing log, the date and time of the visit should be clearly recorded. Write down the aide’s name and condition of the room and what the resident has to say. Photos can serve as an added layer of detail for empty meals and wound reports.
A record like this can serve as early evidence in a neglect or abuse case. If a family member has suffered abuse or neglect, they or other concerned family members may be eligible to consult Connecticut nursing home neglect & abuse lawyer John F. Buckley, Jr., who can help gather more evidence, interview witnesses, and hold the facility and any of its staff members liable for neglect and abuse.
Raise It Inside the Facility First
A nursing home should always have a Director of Nursing (DoN), administrators, and social workers. These individuals should be in a position to handle all issues and complaints of care or staff. To avoid gaps in the nursing home care plan or issues with staffing, residents or family should seek an appointment with these staff members. The discussion will be well documented as emails are exchanged stating the items discussed and agreed upon.
Once families have made their first contact, they have the opportunity to request both a review of their care plan and a meeting to discuss progress in about 1-2 weeks.
Take It Outside the Building When Needed
Some issues cannot be solved in a meeting room. Each state has its Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman. The data provided by the federal ombudsman program indicates that during fiscal year 2023, 202,894 complaints were investigated and resolved, and 71% were fully or partially resolved to the satisfaction of the resident or complainant.
Ombudsmen can visit, speak to residents and families, and then make requests on behalf of the resident.
A formal complaint can also go to the state. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services direct one to the State Survey Agency, which conducts investigations in case of complaints about the facilities and makes inspections on a periodic basis.
Results of the inspection of Medicare and Medicaid certified facilities can be found on the Care Compare website of the federal government to find out whether there were any similar complaints previously.
Immediate danger requires immediate actions. A resident who is injured, missing, or subjected to abuse requires calling 911 or the police first and filling out the paperwork afterward.
Weighing a Civil Claim
When neglect causes injury, a civil claim offers a path separate from the regulatory one.
Time limits for filing vary from one state to another and may be shorter than families anticipate. A claim filed after a resident’s death may be treated differently than one made while the resident is alive.
None of these options contradicts the others. Families have several different paths to take, including filing an ombudsman complaint, submitting a state complaint, and retaining an attorney.
A family’s silence after a complaint, along with a lack of documentation, can allow problems to continue and make a later claim harder to prove. It is necessary to document and communicate with directors of care and to have plans to reach out to state ombudsmen if promises are broken. Residents are better protected when families use these steps to document concerns and escalate them.
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