Tennessee Nursing Home abuse and neglect

Essentially, there are three types of nursing home cases: abuse, neglect, and medical malpractice.

Nursing home abuse is defined by federal law (42 C.F.R. 488.301) as the "willful infliction of injury, unreasonable confinement, intimidation or punishment with resulting physical harm, pain or mental anguish."

Abuse may involve:
Assault and battery (including sexual assault and battery)
Virtual imprisonment or unreasonable or unnecessary restraints
Deprivation of food, drink, medicine, or other basis necessities
Use of drugs not approved by a medical doctor or the knowing prescription of improper medication (usually some type of sedative in nursing home cases)
Mental abuse

Neglect differs from abuse in that abuse is done with intent; whereas neglect is the result of negligence and indifference. The standard for nursing home neglect is whether the caregiver acted (given the nursing home patient's situation or condition) as the ordinary reasonable provider in the same position would. It can be defined as failing to care for a resident to the degree, which a reasonable person in the same position would exercise. Federal law (42 C.F.R. 488.301) defines nursing home neglect as the "failure to provide goods and services necessary to avoid physical harm, mental anguish or mental illness."

Neglect may include any of the following:
Negligent physical or mental neglect
Negligent failure to prevent infection or bed sores (which require the patient to be monitored and regularly adjusted)
Negligent failure to alert medical doctors of medical problems
Negligent failure to prevent dehydration and malnutrition

Finally, medical malpractice is where a medical doctors does not provide the same level of care to someone who is elderly and in a nursing home than they would to other patients, effectively denying them adequate care. That many nursing home facilities are understaffed is no defense if a patient receives less than standard care.