Medical Malpractice Lawyers

A Troubling Statistic for Any Nursing Home Injury Lawyer in Cleveland

How common is nursing home abuse? The statistic is shocking. Roughly 10 percent of the elderly have been victims of abuse, NPR recently reported, citing a recent review article published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It is a fact that a nursing home injury lawyer in Cleveland is all too familiar with.

For comparison, that is only slightly lower than the African American percentage of the US population (13.2 percent), or the percentage of Americans who are 65 years old or older (14.5 percent), reported in the US Census.

And the situation is likely far worse than reported. “That figure, researchers note, is likely an underestimate, since it’s based on self-reported cases and its victims often suffer from dementia or are otherwise isolated from people who might notice something is wrong,” NPR reporter Shefali Luthra stated in the article.

The challenge is getting the abuse reported and holding those responsible accountable. Nursing home abuse can dramatically increase the risk of death and often results in long term harm, including the exacerbation of physical and mental ailments.

“These cases do not resolve magically – often these play out over months or years,” said Mark Lachs, the paper’s lead author and director for the Center of Aging Research and Clinical Care at Cornell University, told NPR.

If you believe that your loved one has been the victim of elder abuse, contact a nursing home injury lawyer in Cleveland. They deserve to have you advocate on their behalf. Indeed, their very lives may depend on it.