The charity, Action on Elder Abuse, estimates that more than 3000,000 people over the age of 65 are victims of abuse. 25% of the calls made to the charity relate to abuse in care homes of hospitals

Elderly people can also be victims of financial abuse, such as the unauthorised accessing of money from accounts, or psychological abuse, such as bullying or neglect. Of cause physical and sexual abuse are present in such cases and are not to be ignored.

At Francis Alexander Solicitors, our personal injury specialists understand the undue upset and stress it can cause a family due to abuse of the elderly, and we know what positive action to take to make a difference to your elderly abuse claim.

Our personal injury specialists offer the highest level of sensitivity and confidentiality, this linked with our profound legal skills and expertise, you can be sure that you will have the right people working for you.

The majority of cases we come across are claims from nursing homes. Family concerns often relate to the development of pressure sores or bed sores, falls, malnutrition and dehydration. Often these problems could have been avoided with property nursing care.

Elderly people are vulnerable and poor nursing care can have a significant effect upon their condition, speed and final outcome. Where somebody has suffered an injury as a result poor care, it may be possible for them to bring a damages claim to compensate them for what has happened.

Your solicitor can help with formal complaints to hospitals and care homes about treatment provided, and to the Care Quality Commission. In tragic cases where an elderly person had died as a result of neglect, we can also assist with the inquest to find out what went wrong.

At Francis Alexander, our first commitment is to you, and to achieving the best outcome for your claim.

We also have a long history of campaigning with leading organisations in numerous personal injury fields. Together with those organisations we seek improvements in health and safety, prevent accident and injury where possible, and improve the quality of life and levels of compensation for these who have suffered injury.

Nursing Home Injury Compensation

An 87 year old lady received poor treatment in a nursing home which resulted in injury.

One of the carers was going on holiday and so our client’s family arranged for her to have 2 weeks respite care at a private nursing home.

The family notified the staff at the home that our client would need cot sides on her bed, as she had previously fallen out of bed. Despite this, no cot sides were put on the bed. As a result, our client fell out of bed twice in two days, sustaining injuries. The family were not informed of these incidents and only found out when they noticed bruising to our client’s shoulder.

A few days later, our client’s family noticed that her foot was swollen. After she returned home, they noticed that her calf and hip were also bruised. Our client went to hospital where x-rays showed that she had fractured bones in her foot and her pubic rami. This had clearly been causing her a lot of pain. Her condition deteriorated and, sadly, she died 2 weeks later.

The injuries were caused by our client’s falls from bed whilst she was in the nursing home. An investigation into what happened at the home has now been undertaken by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI). The report concluded that the home should have fitted cot sides to the bed, and recommended that further training be given to staff at the home. It also criticised the failure of medical staff to realise that our client had sustained injuries, and to arrange for appropriate medical help. Several other criticisms were made of the home.

The nursing home agreed to pay compensation for the injuries sustained, and for financial losses such as funeral expenses.

Nursing Home Negligence Leads to Pressure Sore

A lady, aged 83 years old, became a resident at a Nursing Home. She moved to the nursing home for a period of respite following a fall in her home.

She developed a significant sacral pressure sore while she was a resident at the home. She was transferred to hospital and upon admission was found to be extremely unwell and dehydrated. She received treatment at the hospital for her pressure sore and following this was discharged to a different nursing home. She continued to receive treatment for the pressure sore until her death three years later.

Sadly, she was never able to return to her own home.

A claim was investigated to determine whether the nursing home had failed to put in place an adequate nursing care plan and taken appropriate action to prevent her from sustaining pressure sores. It was also investigated whether the home had failed to quickly identify and treat the pressure sores at an earlier stage.

A successful clinical negligence claim was pursued against the nursing home.

Poor Patient Care Results in Successful Compensation Claim

An 83 year old gentleman was transferred to a nursing home. He had moved to the nursing home from a linked care home.

He was admitted to hospital a year after his admission to the nursing home, where he was found to be severely dehydrated. It was also discovered that he had developed a large infected pressure sore on his hip whilst in the home. The home should have been aware of the risk of him developing a pressure sore, and should have taken steps to prevent this from happening.

Although the hospital gave him antibiotic treatment for the infected pressure sore and fluid treatment for his dehydration, his deterioration continued and sadly he died. Following his death it was found that the pressure sore was 3 cm wide and 2.5 cm deep and this sore was likely to have worsened his general condition.

The gentleman’s family made a complaint to CSCI about the treatment given to him. The report found that there were shortfalls in wound care assessment, communication with other professions and following up of test results. The report also concluded that the level of personal care which he received was “totally unacceptable”.

A successful clinical negligence claim was pursued on behalf of the gentleman’s family against the home.