Nursing Home Abuse · PA | NJ
Highly Skilled Malpractice Lawyer
Bedsores · Wrongful Death · Medication Errors · Nursing Home Falls
Serving all of New Jersey & Pennsylvania including Philadelphia & Bucks Counties
Elder Abuse & Nursing Home Neglect
Protecting Your Loved Ones
In and around New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including Philly, you will find varying types of abuse in nursing homes. They are not limited to physical abuse, psychological abuse, financial abuse/theft, and sexual abuse. Each type of nursing home abuse is different and each has its own signs and symptoms.
Physical Abuse
Physical abuse arises when a nursing home staff member or another nursing home resident intentionally uses physical force against a nursing home resident. Some common examples include slapping, scratching, pushing, punching, kicking, choking, and hair pulling.
Improper use of resident restraints such as wheelchair seat belts, bed rails, or drugs may also be a form of physical abuse. Symptoms of physical abuse of a nursing home resident include but are not limited to:
- unexplained bruises
- scratches or skin burns
- unexplained bone fractures
- uncharacteristic behavior such as distress, depression, anger, and violence
Psychological Abuse
Psychological abuse occurs when a nursing home staff member or another nursing home resident says or does something through verbal or nonverbal acts that inflicts anguish, fear, humiliation, or distress on a nursing home resident.
Psychological abuse of nursing home residents can take many forms, including but not limited to:
- threats
- coercion
- yelling
- belittling
- isolation
Signs of psychological abuse may include:
- distress
- agitation
- depression
- non-responsiveness
- uncharacteristic violence
Financial Abuse / Theft
Financial abuse/theft occurs when a nursing home staff member or another resident illegally or improperly acquires a nursing home resident’s money, property, and/or possessions for his or her own personal gain.
Signs of financial abuse/theft include:
- depleted bank accounts
- missing money
- missing shoes and clothing
- missing personal items such as:
- cell phones
- jewelry
- books
- knickknacks
- picture frames
- and other personal possessions
Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse occurs whenever there is any type of non-consensual sexual contact between a nursing home resident and the nursing home staff or another nursing home resident. Examples of sexual abuse include unwanted or inappropriate touching, rape, sodomy, sexually explicit photography, and sexual harassment.
Symptoms of sexual abuse include:
- bruises or scratches in a resident’s genital area
- bruises, scratches on a female resident’s breasts
- significant, unexplained fear or anxiety
- unexplained bleeding
- uncharacteristic behavioral changes
- severe depression
Staff-on-Resident Abuse
Nursing home abuse can take the form of staff-on-resident abuse. It often arises because residents are left in the care of individuals who are often overworked, underpaid, and ill-equipped to care for the needs of the residents. Inevitably, staff frustrations arise and at times these frustrations result in the abuse of nursing home residents. Any abusive behavior by a staff member is inexcusable and intolerable. It is also in violation of federal and state laws including those in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
Resident-on-Resident Abuse
Abuse in nursing homes can also take the form of resident-on-resident abuse. It often results from the staff’s failure to separate and keep safe nursing home residents from other residents with known proclivities for violence. This failure to keep known violent residents away from the other residents may be a failure by the nursing home to properly assess and/or supervise residents. Such failures may amount to nursing home neglect. Federal, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey laws and regulations require all residents be properly assessed and supervised to ensure not only their own safety but also the safety of others around them.
A Seasoned Malpractice Attorney
Brian P. Murphy is an experienced and well-regarded New Jersey and Pennsylvania nursing home malpractice attorney. He has successfully represented many elderly nursing home residents subjected to abuse and neglect throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania, consistently winning favorable settlements.
Abuse and neglect in nursing homes is a complex area of the law. You need an experienced nursing home attorney to answer your questions and offer you guidance in moving forward. Attorney Murphy has been filing lawsuits against New Jersey and Pennsylvania nursing homes (including Philadelphia) since 2006. Mr. Murphy knows which questions will get directly to the issues you are concerned about. He is fully familiar with all the signs and symptoms of nursing home injuries, including abuse and neglect. He can help you identify and put a stop to your loved one’s abuse or neglect. See what Mr. Murphy’s prior clients have to say about him.
In Pennsylvania, Mr. Murphy files nursing home lawsuits from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. He also files suits throughout New Jersey. Mr. Murphy has been very successful in litigating claims against PA and NJ nursing homes and earned millions of dollars in compensation for his clients.
If you see signs of nursing home neglect and/or abuse, please schedule one of the firm’s free consultations today. Contact Nursing Home Abuse Attorney, Brian P. Murphy, to discuss your potential legal matter.
Legal matters are billed on a contingency fee basis. All nursing home lawsuits (Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia, and New Jersey) are personally handled by Brian Murphy.
This website is owned by The Law Firm of Brian P. Murphy, PC. Its purpose is to assist you in understanding your rights, especially when it comes to preventing or protecting yourself and/or your loved ones against nursing home failures, such as abuse, neglect, bedsores, dehydration, malnutrition, malpractice, and wrongful death.
Nothing on this website is to be construed as attorney advice or otherwise creating an attorney-client relationship. If you may be interested in establishing a relationship with The Law Firm of Brian P. Murphy, PC, please contact us to discuss your options.