Nursing Home Abuse Attorney in Pennsylvania
Knowing your rights and the rights of loved ones can help you recognize signs of elder abuse within nursing homes. Firstly, individuals in nursing homes are entitled to certain rights and these rights vary depending on each state and each facility. Within Pennsylvania, you and your elderly loved ones have free access to the state rights entitled to residents at nursing homes within this guide created by Pennsylvania’s Department of Aging. These Pennsylvania State rights also outline that every resident should receive the nursing home facility’s policies, procedures, and the rights and responsibilities of the residents within the facility in writing. Not only must residents receive this information in writing from the facility, the resident must also sign a statement of having received and understood this information.
Legal Rights Guaranteed to Pennsylvania Nursing Home Residents
Other rights guaranteed to nursing home residents within the state of Pennsylvania include: a resident’s right to manage their own finances, choose their own doctor and pharmacy, keep their personal and medical records confidential, and most importantly — have their privacy, respect, and dignity preserved. Abuse in nursing homes occurs when these facilities violate these elderly residents’ rights. Warning signs of physical and emotional abuse can indicate that your loved one’s rights of being respected and their dignity upheld have been violated. Financial and medical abuse can also occur when facilities ignore a resident’s right to make their own financial and medical decisions.
How to Report Nursing Home Abuse
Both you and your loved ones have the right to make a complaint in these situations without fear of the facility retaliating. This is especially true if the employees at the facility fail to report the abuse themselves. The Older Adults Protective Services Act (OAPSA) mandates that all nursing home facility employees must report any suspected abuse. This act helps limit the burden of reporting abuse by loved ones and nursing home residents, but that does not mean that abuse of an elderly resident will always be recognized and reported by employees. This is why knowing your rights can help you to recognize abuse that has gone unnoticed and unreported.
Why Is Elder Abuse Becoming Increasingly Important Now?
With America’s elderly population growing as the large generation of baby boomers gets older, the number of residents in nursing homes susceptible to abuse grows. Do not allow abuse in nursing homes to increasingly continue through ignorance. Educate yourself and loved ones about the rights entitled to nursing home residents to help put an end to elder abuse today.
Contact a Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorney
If you have questions about the rights of your loved ones in nursing homes or suspect that these rights have been abused, please reach out to us at DLP. We are experienced in the rights of nursing home residents and in finding justice for victims of nursing home abuse, and will fight to make sure your loved ones receive the same.
Remember: Injury? Call DLP! (570) C-A-L-L-D-L-P
