Your loved one deserves to be treated with dignity, respect, and proper care in their nursing home. Unfortunately, nursing home abuse is a serious problem that affects many elderly and vulnerable residents in Georgia. One important way to help prevent this abuse is through thorough background checks of nursing home staff. In this post, we will discuss why background checks matter and what you can do if you suspect nursing home abuse.
The Prevalence of Nursing Home Abuse
Nursing home abuse occurs far too often in Georgia and across the country. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, research indicates that 1 in 10 nursing home residents have experienced some form of abuse. This abuse can take many forms, including physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation. Georgia nursing home abuse is particularly concerning, given the large and growing elderly population in our state. Over 1.3 million Georgians are aged 65 or older, according to the Georgia Division of Aging Services. Many of these seniors reside in the nearly 400 nursing homes located throughout Georgia. With more people living longer, the number of Georgia residents needing nursing home care will only increase in the years ahead.
While most nursing home staff provide caring and professional support, all it takes is a few bad apples to seriously harm residents. Abuse is most likely to occur when staff are not properly vetted, trained, and supervised. This is why background checks are an essential tool in preventing people with histories of violence, theft, or elder abuse from working with seniors.
How Background Checks Help Protect Seniors
Background checks are one of the best ways nursing homes can keep residents safe from abuse. A good background check looks at many parts of a person’s history, like:
- Checking for criminal records at the state, federal, and local level
- Looking at sex offender registries
- Making sure they have the education and licenses they say they do
- Searching to see if they’ve abused or neglected anyone before
- Drug testing
- Calling past employers and references to check their work history
This helps find any warning signs that a job applicant might be a risk to seniors. Maybe they’ve committed crimes like theft, assault, or took advantage of someone vulnerable. Or a licensing board disciplined them before for not taking good care of people. These are major red flags that they shouldn’t be working closely with seniors.
When nursing homes don’t do thorough background checks, they can be held responsible if they hire someone dangerous who ends up hurting a resident. This is called negligent hiring. Georgia nursing homes have a duty to make sure they only hire people who are qualified and have a clean record. Skipping background checks puts residents directly in harm’s way. If a nursing home hires someone without checking their background, and that person abuses a resident, the nursing home is liable for that abuse.
Ultimately, background checks are an essential safeguard. While they might not catch every single potentially abusive person, they drastically reduce the risk by weeding out many bad applicants. There’s no excuse for nursing homes to cut corners here. The stakes are too high when it comes to protecting vulnerable seniors. Every nursing home needs to do its due diligence and look closely at who they’re hiring to care for residents.
Holding Nursing Homes Accountable for Abuse
No one should have to experience nursing home abuse. It’s a horrible thing for anyone to go through, especially seniors who are often vulnerable and dependent on others for care. If you think your loved one has been abused or neglected in their Georgia nursing home, the most important thing to know is that you have options. You don’t have to just sit back and take it.
The first step is reporting the abuse to the authorities and reaching out to a Georgia nursing home abuse lawyer who has experience with these kinds of cases. They can look into what happened and figure out if the nursing home messed up by not screening, training, or watching staff well enough. The abuse might have also happened because the nursing home didn’t have enough staff, good safety rules, or was negligent in other ways.
A knowledgeable lawyer will help you file a Georgia nursing home abuse lawsuit. This holds the nursing home responsible for the harm they caused. It can get you money damages to help pay for medical bills, your loved one’s pain and suffering, and more. Suing also pushes nursing homes to make changes so the same thing doesn’t happen to other residents.
Not all lawyers know the ins and outs of Georgia nursing home abuse lawsuits, so you need to find one with the right experience. Look for a law firm that has successfully handled a lot of these cases before. They’ll know exactly what evidence to look for and how to build the strongest case possible. Having a good Georgia nursing home abuse attorney on your side can make a world of difference.
Get the Help of a Georgia Nursing Home Abuse Attorney
When nursing homes fail to thoroughly vet job applicants, they place residents at serious risk. Background checks are a fundamental part of ensuring seniors receive the professional care they need and preventing dangerous individuals from accessing vulnerable victims. While background checks cannot catch every bad actor, they are an essential tool in the ongoing fight against nursing home abuse.
If your loved one has suffered nursing home abuse in Georgia, do not wait to seek legal guidance. Experienced Georgia nursing home abuse lawyers at Chance, Forlines, Carter & King can help you navigate this difficult situation and fight to hold negligent facilities accountable for failing to keep their residents safe.
Contact our team of compassionate Georgia nursing home abuse attorneys today to learn more about your legal options. We are here to listen, help, and vigorously protect the rights of seniors and families affected by nursing home abuse. Your loved one deserves justice and a nursing home that adequately screens its staff to provide safe and professional care.