Symptoms of Elder & Nursing home neglect
Spotting the signs of nursing home neglect can be the difference between uncovering silent abuse and allowing it to continue. Families often don’t witness the neglect itself, but the aftermath is unmistakable. Severe pressure sores, dehydration, repeated falls, unexplained injuries, infections, and ignored call lights are red-flag symptoms that no facility should ever allow.
When these conditions appear, they are often evidence of systemic understaffing, poor supervision, medication mismanagement, or dangerous living environments. If your loved one is showing any of the symptoms below, it may be a strong indication of elder neglect, and a sign that you should consider speaking with a Sacramento elder abuse attorney immediately.
Nursing Home Neglect Lawyer in Sacramento
Pressure sores
Pressure sores, also known as “bedsores,” “pressure ulcers” or “decubitus ulcers,” develop as a result of unrelenting pressure to a part of the body that restricts blood flow to the skin, causing surrounding cells to die. Pressure sores or “bedsores” can develop as a result of neglect and the failure of caregiving staff to properly turn frail elderly patients who remain in the same position for hours. Pressure sores or “bedsores” are not a natural part of the aging process and are almost always preventable with proper care. If your loved one developed a pressure sore or bedsore or pressure ulcer ( at a facility you should take a very close look at the care they received.
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Common issues with pressure sores or bedsores in nursing homes: Staff fail to inform families that there is a pressure ulcer or bedsore on the nursing home resident. The facility fails to generate a new care plan for the pressure sore, fails to document the bedsore correctly, and/or fails to inform the resident’s physician about the pressure ulcer / bedsore and its progression. Pressure sores or bedsores will often become infected, leading to sepsis and/or even death from complications.
When working with an elder law attorney, it’s important that your goals are the same, according to the State Bar of California. If you’re working with elder law lawyers, ask about the best course of action and also about alternatives. A nursing home abuse attorney will be happy to explain all possible outcomes. When talking to attorneys working with seniors, find out whether your goals are realistic.
With an elder law attorney, it’s important to be clear about forms of communication. When working with elder law lawyers, ask how often they’ll be in touch with you. Also ask the nursing home abuse attorney which way is best for you to communicate – for example, by phone or email. Successfully communicating reduces the level of stress in elder abuse and neglect cases.
dehydration, Malnutrition & Weight loss
Dehydration can occur when a nursing home resident or patient is not provided proper care. When staff fails to ensure that a patient’s nutritional needs are met, it often leads to a variety of harm, including dehydration, which can increase the risk of confusion, dizziness, and the development of pressure sores. Staff’s failure to monitor a patient’s hydration and output can be an indication of neglect or abuse.
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Weight Loss / Malnutrition
Weight loss can occur when a nursing home patient is not provided proper care. When staff fails to insure that a patient’s nutritional needs are met, it often leads to a variety of harm, including dehydration and weight loss, which can increase the risk of confusion, dizziness, and the development of pressure sores. Staff’s failure to monitor a patient’s nutrition can be an indication of neglect or abuse.
Staff is required to document a residents weight loss in a nursing facility. If a resident at a nursing home loses 5% or more of their body weight, caregivers are required to report that weight loss to the family members and the resident’s physician. Continued weight loss can indicate elder neglect or abuse at the facility.
What should staff at a nursing home do if they observe weight loss in a resident? They need to address the weight loss as a change of condition. Staff is required to to create a plan of care for the weight loss, they should have a nutritionist assess the resident and they should evaluate the resident’s needs for assistance with eating and/or the potential need for a different type of diet. Weight loss of a resident at a nursing home can also indicate a host of other issues: wounds, pressure sores, bedsores, or other illnesses that need to be addressed.
multiple falls causing injury
Falls can lead to serious injuries in frail elderly patients at nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Depending on their needs, elderly residents can have a history of falls or can be at risk of falling if properly evaluated. Knowing this, the nursing homes or assisted living facilities that care for residents are required to take steps to ensure that patients are properly monitored and cared for based to prevent falls and the injuries that happen from elders falling in nursing homes. When a patient falls, one has to ask why the patient was put in a position where the risk of falling was present? Often dignified elderly residents who need to go to the bathroom do not want to wait for caregivers who are not responding to their call lights – instead, they try to get up and make it on their own and injure themselves by falling.
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Unwitnessed or repeated falls can be indicative of elder neglect or abuse. Falls can be extremely dangerous to elderly nursing home residents and can result in broken bones, fractures, or even death. Repeated falls at a nursing home or assisted living facility should be investigated to see if elder neglect or elder abuse has taken place. What did the nursing home or assisted living facility do to prevent further falls? What did they do to address the injuries that resulted in the elderly resident from the fall? Allowing an elderly resident repeatedly fall can be mentally devastating to the resident.
Overmedication or "Chemical Restraints"
Put quite simply – drugging residents to make them compliant. A nursing home or assisted living facility that is understaffed or not trained properly will at times resort very quickly to the use of medication under the guise of a perceived “symptom.” A well equipped, well trained, well staffed nursing home will address issues such as combativeness, sorrow or other complex human issues with dignity and respect. Unfortunately, this is not true of all nursing homes. If your loved one is in a zombie-like state, you may want to consider having our experts look at wether or not they have been properly medicated by nursing home staff.
Read About "Chemical Restraints"
Chemical Restraints
As discussed above, restraints are a way to control a residents and restrict their movement. Shockingly, some nursing homes will resort to the use of chemical restraints – i.e. high powered psychotropic medications used to pacify high-needs residents, restrict their freedom of movement and generally sedate them to make them less “needy.” There is no doubt that some residents at nursing homes present challenges, but resorting to multiple high-powered medications to address their issues should be examined very, very closely if you are a family member. Be sure to ask questions about how the nursing home can address the underlying issue with more staff, more training or more supervision before resorting to drugs. If you feel your loved one has been a victim of chemical restraints, you should contact us immediately.
Understaffing
Understaffing is a common problem at skilled nursing facilities in Sacramento and across the state of California. When facilities are understaffed, they may not have enough staff members to provide adequate care and supervision to residents, leading to a range of negative outcomes. (Watch our video here.)
One of the most serious consequences of understaffing at skilled nursing facilities in Sacramento is an increased risk of elder neglect and abuse. When there are not enough staff members to properly care for residents, individual residents may be left without food, water, or medications for extended periods of time. They may also be left unsupervised, leading to falls, injuries, and other adverse events.
Understaffing can also lead to a lower quality of care for residents in Sacramento. When there are not enough staff members to provide individualized attention and support, residents may not receive the level of care that they need and deserve. This can lead to a decline in their physical and mental health, and an overall decrease in their quality of life.
Broken Bones
Broken bones can often be a red flag of elder abuse or nursing home neglect. Broken bones can be indicative of physical abuse or the failure of staff to properly monitor residents who then fall and suffer painful, preventable injuries. Either way, broken bones are extremely concerning and should cause families to be concerned of potential elder abuse or nursing home neglect. We have seen scenarios where elderly residents fall repeatedly, suffer a broken hip, and are placed back in bed where they are left to writhe in pain without the break being addressed. Caregivers often will fear the family will find out about the original neglect leading to the fall and injury. Contact us immediately if your loved one has a seemingly inexplicable broken bone at a nursing home or assisted living facility.
Unsanitary conditions
If your loved one looks disheveled, unbathed, or unkempt it could be a huge red flag of nursing home neglect or elder abuse. Oftentimes families find their loved one in soiled or wet bedding or adult briefs. This is not only undignified it also is a warning sign that staff is neglecting your family member and failing to toilet him or her – this constitutes abuse or neglect at a nursing home or assisted living facility.
Not responding to call lights
Failing to respond promptly to call lights in a nursing home is one of the clearest warning signs of elder neglect. When residents wait long periods for help with basic needs—such as using the restroom, repositioning to prevent pressure sores, receiving pain medication, or addressing sudden discomfort—their health and safety are put at serious risk. Chronic delays in answering call lights often indicate understaffing, poor supervision, or a facility that prioritizes profits over patient care. Families should be alarmed if loved ones frequently report unanswered call bells, long waits for assistance, or being forced to handle tasks on their own. These signs may signal a dangerous pattern of nursing home neglect that can lead to falls, infections, pressure sores, dehydration, emotional distress, and worsening medical conditions.
Mysterious Injury or death
As scary and unbelievable as it seems, physical abuse of elderly residents does occur. Unfortunately, it can often be explained by a facility’s failure to properly check the background of violent employees or a failure on the the facilities part to poorly train staff about how to deal with complex issues that occur in the care of dementia and other high-needs residents. Unprepared, untrained caregivers can resort to physical abuse. Call our staff immediately if you suspect physical abuse.
MRSA, Sepsis, scabies
Oftentimes the elderly will develop an infection that goes unnoticed and untreated because of a failure to monitor. An understaffed nursing home facility will not have sufficient time to observe residents resulting in neglect. This neglect can cause an otherwise treatable infection to spiral out of control and cause of host of problems, including physical and cognitive declines that could be eliminated if the infection is treated. Pressure sores that open can quickly become infected and lead to sepsis. Sepsis is an infection of the blood that can cause death. If your loved one at a Sacramento nursing home developed an untreated infection or sepsis, contact us immediately.
Wandering or elopement
Residents that suffer from dementia and other memory related diseases will often wanter and/or leave the grounds of a nursing home. It is incumbent upon the nursing home to assess whether this will be an issue for a resident and to take steps to guard against wandering and elopement. When a resident that can’t care from themselves leaves the premises, the results can be tragic. Often time there are warning signs that a resident may wander and facilities must care plan and protect – not taking these baseline steps is neglectful.
Not informing families and doctors of changes in condition
Many clients come to us saying they had “no idea” how bad off their mom or dad was until they were rushed to the hospital and told they had little chance to survive. One of the principle aspects of nursing is monitoring a resident so that you know when there are changes of condition. When you don’t have the time or resources to monitor your resident, obvious signs of distress, pain, infection, dehydration, injury, etc can go undiagnosed. Worse, when neglectful care leads to bad results and caregivers are scared to admit what happen, families are kept in the dark and deprived of the ability to advocate for their loved one.
Elder abuse and nursing home neglect rarely announce themselves. Instead, they show up in small, easy-to-miss clues — and families who know what to look for can prevent serious harm. This page outlines how to observe care conditions, notice red flags, and recognize when something “doesn’t feel right” in a nursing home. Being able to spot elder abuse early is a critical step toward protecting your loved one, stopping neglect, and ensuring they receive the dignity and care they deserve.