Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Study Confirms Cleveland Nursing Home Injury Attorneys’ Suspicions: Abuse Underreported

As nursing home injury attorneys in Cleveland, we realize that nursing home injury is actually a lot more common than most people think. Many cases go unreported. Sadly, this suspicion has been confirmed in two new government studies.

Conducted and published by the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the research found that in most cases of abuse or neglect severe enough to require medical attention, the incidents have not been reported to enforcement agencies — despite the fact that it’s the law.

One study focused on nursing home residents who end up in nursing homes. Nearly one in five cases were not reported to police.

“Some of the cases we saw, a person is treated in an emergency room [and] they’re sent back to the same facility where they were potentially abused and neglected,” Gloria Jarmon, deputy inspector general for audit services, told NPR.

Elder Abuse Can Happen Anywhere

And elder abuse can happen in multiple settings — not just nursing homes. A second study looked at medicare claims for the elderly regardless of where the incident took place. Nearly one- third of the incidents were not reported to law enforcement.

That’s why it’s so important to work with a nursing home injury attorney in Cleveland. All too often these tragic incidents are merely swept under the rug and ignored.