Nursing home abuse is a big deal. Too often, residents who rely on nursing staff for their care are left in their beds or wheelchairs. The rate of nursing home neglect is astounding. Yet, how can you tell the difference between nursing home neglect and a typical elderly fall? As a grandchild of someone, you want to be sure your grandparent is only experiencing some of the things that come with being old and feeble, and not those related to neglect or abuse. After you hire a personal injury attorney, you will be able to look for the following to determine what is really going on with Grams or Gramps.

Lots of Bruises

Your vascular system as you age becomes much more fragile. Bumping into a table can cause a bruise. However, when your grandparent has lots of bruises all over or their bruises are really large, you will want to ask the nurses for your grandparent's records. Every bruise should be documented and described fully, and the times and dates of the bruises should also be noted.

This helps narrow down the times and dates that the bruises are initially discovered, eliminating staff that may be at fault. If there is next to no documentation, you will have to file complaints and request an investigation into these issues. If your grandparent is fairly immobile, you definitely need to find out how he/she ended up with so many bruises.

Lots of Falling Documented

Falling out of bed once or twice a year is typical for an elderly person. There are things that can be done to prevent the falls, and the nursing home should be doing them. If the falls occur outside your grandparent's room, what are the precursors? Was there ice involved? A major wet spot on the floor? What made your grandparent fall, and fall that many times? Falls definitely come under the jurisdiction of a personal injury lawyer, but if there is a question of neglect, that has to be resolved first.

Providing Records to Your Lawyer

Provide all of the nursing home patient records to your lawyer. Your lawyer or a law firm like Trammell and Mills Law Firm LLC can do some digging to see if any other formal complaints have been made against this particular nursing home. The lawyer may also uncover other pending cases of slips, falls, and unexplainable events, which can add weight and credence to your complaints. Be sure to get your grandparent out of that nursing home as soon as possible while your hearing/lawsuit is pending.