Nursing Home Assault: Resident-on-Resident

A senior man with facial injuries and a splint on his wrist - nursing home resident assault concept

Tragically, here at The Dickson Firm, we handle multiple cases where a nursing home resident has been assaulted. Sometimes they are assaulted by other staff members. Sometimes they are assaulted by other residents. In this article, we are going to talk about cases involving resident-on-resident assault.

If someone you love is a resident of a nursing home and they are assaulted by anyone, this is completely unacceptable, and I would strongly recommend that your first step is to move them to another nursing home as soon as possible.

Nursing Home’s Duty to Prevent Assault.

Nursing homes have an absolute legal obligation to provide their residents with a safe environment. This is a state law. It is a portion of a law known as the Nursing Home Residents Bill of Rights. The nursing home should be providing all of their residents with adequate supervision to prevent accidents and they should take all steps to prevent any chance of a resident-on-resident assault.

Nursing homes have a duty to screen each and every one of their residents, and perform a comprehensive assessment of them, to determine their needs as well as everything they need to know to provide them with appropriate care. This includes taking a history from each resident, looking at past records, and determining if they have any violent tendencies.

Resident-on-Resident Nursing Home Assault.

Usually, in a case of resident-on-resident assault, the resident who commits the assault is not acting out of anger. They are typically acting out of some type of mental difficulty. Sometimes residents suffering from dementia can get confused or frustrated. Sometimes residents can become delusional and may have no idea what they are doing.

Typically, in a case of resident-on-resident assault, both residents are victims of poor care from the nursing home. The resident who is the victim of the assault has clearly not been provided with a safe environment and not been protected as they are entitled to be under the law.

However, the resident committing the assault can also be a victim of the lack of care provided from the nursing home. They should have been thoroughly assessed by staff, and their needs should have been addressed. Any resident with violent tendencies should be receiving appropriate medication and therapy and treatment.

Some residents are simply not suitable to be a resident in a nursing home with other residents. Often, residents share a room and are also in common areas together on a daily basis. A nursing home cannot accept a resident who is violent unless they can somehow adequately address that behavior so the rest of the residents are safe.

Nursing Homes are legally required to provide their residents with a safe environment.

Often, a nursing home resident has gone from living in their own home to living in the nursing home. This can be a very difficult, confusing, and scary transition for some residents. Their room in the nursing home has become their home and that area must be safe.

If you have any concerns about your loved one, you must raise those concerns with the Administrator and/or the Director of Nursing to make sure that your loved one is safe. If you hear anything about another resident in the nursing home being violent, you must contact the Director of Nursing and/or the Administrator and make sure that that situation has been fully dealt with and that your loved one is safe. If you're not entirely certain that your loved one is safe, move them out of the nursing home. Take them to a nursing home where their safety and well-being are a top priority. There are many nursing homes in Ohio that provide proper care to their residents and keep them safe.

Has Your Loved One Been a Victim of Resident-on-Resident Nursing Home Assault?

If you or someone you love has been assaulted by another nursing home resident, or has been neglected or abused in a nursing home, please call us at The Dickson Firm at 1-800-OHIO-LAW. We would be happy to talk with you and to help you in any way that we can.