Elderly Abuse Case Study

Patient Abuse

One of the most sensitive issues in health care is patient mishandling or abuse. Mishandling is the maltreatment and negligence of a person under medical organizations or at home. Some of the many types of ill-treatment include but not limited to physical, mental, curative and monetary abuse. According to the USA Today review, more than 5000 assisted living facilities were hazards for the elderly while they should be safe places for them. The report conducted between 2000 and 2002 found that there were significant medication errors as well as poor staffing (training). Elderly abuse is the abandonment whether financial or emotional abuse or misuse of a patients’ property in an assisted living facility or home. Some of the

A case in State v Cunningham showed stated that Wanton abandoned inhabitants by eagerly steering damages including physical, psychological and ethical wrongs. There was substantial evidence to demonstrate that the defendant was responsible for not maintaining the nursing facility which caused the patients to get injuries to their physical and mental issues. The defendant, however, argued that he did not create unsafe conditions at the institution. He asserted that the statute did not require him to build conditions at the facility making that ruling moot (Pozgar, 2005, 328). In a case of Abuse and revocation of license (Nepa v Commonwealth Department of Public Welfare), former employees gave evidence accusing the facility operator restricted and gave emotional, physical damage to the residents (Pozgar, 2005, 329). In the case of Awkerman v. Tri-County Orthopedic Group, a mother and child filed a suit because of incorrect diagnoses that showed child abuse instead of Osteogenesis Imperfecta. The court, therefore, held that damages could not be recovered from medical malpractice that was a result of failure to diagnose because all evidence of negligence was evident at the time of treatment (Pozgar, 2005,