If you have an elderly family member or friend who is in a nursing home, when you visit them, you need to pay close attention to their physical condition when you visit. This is especially important if you don't visit all the time. Nursing home neglect is a serious issue that a personal injury attorney can help you with if you suspect that your loved one is being abused in their nursing home. Keep an eye out for the following signs of neglect or abuse. 

#1 Bedsores

A loved one who is being taken care of properly should not have bed sores. It does take a lot of work to keep one from developing bed sores. Your loved one will have to be moved regularly to make sure that they don't lay in the same position for hours on end.

If your loved one has numerous bedsores, it is not their fault. It is the fault of their caregivers for not moving your loved one often enough if they are bedridden. This is a more obvious sign of nursing home neglect.

#2 Unexplained Injuries

If your loved one has a lot of injuries that cannot be explained or are just attributed to your loved one being clumsy, you should examine those allegations closely. Each and every injury should be able to be explained.

If you notice injuries, such as bruises and cuts, on your loved one frequently when you visit that the nursing staff can't explain, that is troublesome. Neglectful nursing homes rely on the perception of the patients being forgetful to hide unexplained injuries.

#3 Unexplained Fear or Depression

If your loved one's personality suddenly seems to change, and they go from being a happy person to someone who seems either fearful or depressed, pay attention to this personality change. A personality change could develop because your loved one is being hurt, harmed, neglected, or malnourished. Don't just accept a personality change in your loved one; look into the cause of why their personality has changed.

#4 Malnutrition

It is true that for many elderly individuals, their appetite decreases as they get older. As their sense of smell and taste diminish, their appetite may decrease as well. However, it is the job of the nursing home to cater to your loved one's appetite and food needs and make sure that they are getting the food they need.

If your loved one always remarks about being hungry or seems to have lost significant weight that cannot be explained through health reasons, they may be experiencing malnutrition, which is the fault of the nursing home.

If you fear that your loved one is being neglected or abused by a nursing home, contact an attorney that practices personal injury law and see what you can do to get your loved one into another nursing home and what you can do to pursue charges against the nursing home.