A common sign of elder abuse in nursing homes is medical malpractice. In general, medical malpractice tends to stem from unqualified health-care professionals or those employees who are overworked, underpaid or overly stressed.
To keep a watchful eye out for medical malpractice, it is important to know what to look for. The following are general indications of medical malpractice:
• Mistakes made during a surgery
• A misdiagnosis-covering both diseases and conditions
• Failure of healthcare professionals to treat a diagnosed disease or condition properly or, more importantly, in a timely manner.
• Improper administration of medication, including over or under-medication
Often, when a relative or friend is at a nursing home, it is harder to look out for signs of medical malpractice. This is due in part to the inability to be around the person everyday and because we, as friends and relatives entrust the care of those we love to the staff in a nursing home. We do not want to think that abuse would be going on.
Signs of abuse and malpractice are also harder to spot because the parties involved usually suffer from diminished capacities or have physical limitations that make it harder to convey what is happening to them. And, because the patients are living with their abuses in their nursing home, it is scary and every more difficult for them to come clean about the abuse.
If you suspect that a friend or relative is the victim of medical malpractice in a nursing home, contact the website of Atlanta, Georgia nursing home abuse attorneys Robbins &Associates P.C.. We have over 30 years of case work and can help answer the questions you have.