Bridgeport, CT Nursing Home Physical Assault Attorneys

Lawyers for Physical Abuse at Nursing Homes in Bridgeport and Throughout Connecticut

Sadly, residents of nursing homes may suffer serious harm due to abuse. Physical assaults can be one of the most disturbing forms of elder abuse. When residents are struck, pushed, kicked, or otherwise physically harmed by staff members or other residents, they may suffer physical injuries and psychological trauma that can be devastating. Many nursing home residents have limited mobility, cognitive impairments, or physical frailties that make them unable to defend themselves. When facilities fail to protect residents from assault, families may take steps to hold them responsible for negligence.

Physical abuse in nursing homes is never acceptable. Facilities are required to screen employees thoroughly, provide adequate supervision, maintain sufficient staffing levels, and use safety measures to protect residents. Families who discover that loved ones have been assaulted in facilities where they were supposed to be safe can work with the nursing home abuse attorneys at Tremont Sheldon P.C. to help their loved ones achieve justice.

Forms of Physical Abuse in Nursing Homes

Physical assaults can take various forms in long-term care facilities. Hitting, slapping, and striking residents should never be tolerated. Staff members who are frustrated with "difficult" residents may lash out physically. Residents with dementia who resist care or behave aggressively may be struck by caregivers. These deliberate acts of violence can cause physical harm and terrorize vulnerable elderly people who cannot defend themselves.

Pushing, shoving, and rough handling during transfers or daily care activities can cause nursing home residents to suffer serious injuries. Caregivers who manhandle residents while moving them from beds to wheelchairs, during bathing, or while providing personal care may cause falls, bruising, or fractures.

Restraining residents improperly or excessively is a form of physical abuse that may be used to control a person's behavior. Physical restraints such as belts, straps, or bed rails that trap residents can cause injuries when people struggle against them. Chemical restraints involving sedative medications may be given to make residents easier to manage rather than to treat medical conditions, and this is also considered to be a form of abuse.

Resident-on-resident violence may happen when a nursing home does not adequately supervise residents, separate residents with aggressive tendencies, or intervene to prevent conflicts. Residents with dementia may strike out at others due to confusion or fear. Mobile residents may attack those who are bedbound or who are otherwise unable to escape. These incidents should be preventable with proper staffing, monitoring, and care planning.

Injuries From Physical Assaults

Physical abuse can lead to a wide range of injuries that may vary in severity. These injuries can cause unnecessary suffering for elderly victims, and they may include:

• Bruising and Soft Tissue Injuries: Physical abuse may leave marks on a person's arms, face, torso, or legs. Defensive bruising on a person's forearms may suggest that they tried to protect themselves from blows. Bruises in unusual locations can raise suspicions of abuse.
• Fractures: Bones may be broken when residents are pushed, dropped, or struck with objects. Hip fractures, wrist fractures, and facial bone fractures are common injuries that can occur due to assaults. These fractures may require surgery, they may cause severe pain, and they can mark the beginning of a serious health decline for an elderly person.
• Head Injuries: Concussions, intracranial bleeding, and other serious injuries can occur when a person is struck on the head or falls due to pushing or shoving. Traumatic brain injuries in elderly people can be fatal, or they may cause permanent cognitive impairments. Even minor head trauma can have serious consequences for people with existing cognitive issues.
• Lacerations and Cuts: Being struck with objects or from falls onto sharp edges can lead to serious cuts that may require stitches and create the risk of infections. Facial lacerations may leave permanent scars.
• Burns: Hot liquids may be thrown on residents, cigarettes may be pressed against their skin, or injuries may be caused by other deliberate acts of cruelty. Burn injuries can be extremely painful, and healing can be slow for elderly people.
• Internal Injuries: Blunt force trauma to the abdomen or chest can damage organs and cause internal bleeding. These injuries can be life-threatening if they are not diagnosed and treated correctly.

How Physical Abuse Can Affect a Victim's Well-Being

The effects of physical assault can extend far beyond the immediate injuries. These issues can profoundly affect a victim's overall health and their quality of life. The psychological trauma of being assaulted can lead to lasting emotional damage. Fear and anxiety are common among assault victims. Residents may become withdrawn, they may refuse to interact with staff, or they may show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.

A loss of trust in caregivers can make a nursing home resident resistant to necessary care. A victim of assault may refuse to allow staff members to provide personal care, they may refuse to follow medical treatments, or they may become agitated when approached by nursing home employees. This resistance can lead to a decline in a person's overall health.

A person's physical decline may accelerate after an assault. The stress of trauma, combined with injuries and their treatment, can take a toll on a body that is already fragile. A resident may lose their mobility, develop new medical complications, or experience rapid deterioration in their overall health status.

Social withdrawal can occur as a victim isolates themselves from other residents and activities. Fear of further assault or embarrassment about what happened can lead to self-imposed isolation that can reduce a person's quality of life and prevent them from engaging in positive social interactions that will support their emotional well-being.

Nursing Home Negligence Leading to Physical Abuse

Inadequate background checks may allow people with histories of violence or abuse to work in direct contact with vulnerable residents. Nursing homes should thoroughly screen potential employees, checking their criminal records and prior employment history. When a facility does not perform background checks or ignores red flags in applicants' histories, it may hire dangerous people who go on to assault residents.

Insufficient staffing can create conditions where supervision is inadequate and overworked staff members are more likely to act violently. When too few employees must care for too many residents, they will be unable to monitor all residents continuously. Assaults by staff members or other residents can occur in unsupervised areas and during times when staffing levels are at their lowest.

A lack of proper training may cause employees to be unprepared to handle challenging residents without resorting to force. Staff members should be provided with education about dementia care, de-escalation techniques, proper handling of aggressive residents, and alternatives to physical or chemical restraints. When training is minimal or nonexistent, employees may respond to difficult situations with physical force.

Failure to develop and implement care plans for residents with aggressive tendencies may allow dangerous situations to develop. Nursing homes should take steps to identify residents who could pose risks to themselves or others, and they should create plans to manage these residents safely. When nursing homes do not assess residents properly or ignore known risks, violence may occur.

Ignoring reports of abuse or failing to investigate complaints may enable ongoing violence. Residents, family members, or other staff members may report concerns about abuse, but if a nursing home does not take these reports seriously and fails to conduct thorough investigations, the perpetrators will face no consequences, and abuse may continue.

Establishing Liability for Nursing Home Abuse

Our attorneys can take steps to show that nursing home negligence was responsible for the injuries suffered due to physical assaults or abuse. We will thoroughly investigate the hiring practices related to any staff member who assaulted a resident. We can obtain employment records, background check documentation, and prior complaints or disciplinary actions. Evidence that a facility knew or should have known that an employee posed risks can show that negligent hiring or retention occurred.

Our team will examine staffing levels and supervision practices at the time of an assault. Staffing records, employee schedules, and facility layouts may help to determine whether adequate supervision was present. Evidence of chronic understaffing or lack of oversight can demonstrate that the facility created conditions where assault became likely.

Our lawyers can obtain records of prior incidents, complaints, and state inspection reports showing patterns of abuse or inadequate safety measures. Repeated incidents can demonstrate systemic problems and support claims that a nursing home disregarded resident safety.

Our legal team will gather evidence related to the assault itself, including medical records documenting injuries, photographs of bruising or other physical evidence, witness statements from other residents or staff members who observed incidents, and reports to adult protective services or law enforcement. This evidence can establish that an assault occurred and connect a victim's injuries to negligence by a nursing home.

Contact Our Bridgeport Nursing Home Assault Lawyers

A physical assault in a nursing home may reflect a facility's failure to protect vulnerable residents. When loved ones have been harmed in places where they should be safe, the team at Tremont Sheldon P.C. can work with families to hold nursing homes accountable for negligence that enabled abuse. Contact our Bridgeport, CT nursing home physical abuse attorneys at 203-335-5145 to schedule a free consultation.