Two women have been charged with nursing home abuse after a hidden nanny cam caught their physical assaults on tape. William John Parks, 89, lived at the Lynn Haven Health & Rehabilitation nursing home in Gray, Georgia. His family became concerned about possible abuse and installed a hidden nanny camera in his room. Earlier this year, the camera caught both the physical and emotional abuse of Parks by two nursing home staff when he was recovering from pneumonia and needed extra care with feeding and personal hygiene.
Vonshell Napier, 37, and Beverly Jackson, 45, were caught on camera abusing Parks in his room. One instance involving Parks struggling to keep his dentures in while eating, and one woman smacked him in the face to keep his dentures in. He was hit in the face again when he accidentally spit some food out while being hoisted into a lift. Other instances of abuse saw the women getting in his face, swearing at Parks, threatening to strike him, and pulling back their hands as to hit him. Napier was arrested and charged with four counts of elder abuse and Jackson was charged with one count of the same crime. They were suspended from their jobs and later fired from the nursing home. Parks died later that year.
Nursing Home Physical Abuse
Unfortunately, nursing home physical abuse takes place far more often than people realize. Physical abuse against nursing home residents can take the form of bites, scratches, burns, pushing, shoving, being hit or slapped, threats or assaults with weapons, and the inappropriate use of restraints. Signs of physical abuse in nursing homes can include cigarette or scalding burns, rope or strap abrasions, internal injuries, multicolored or wrap around bruises on the wrists, upper arms, or ankles, traumatic hair or tooth loss, sprains, broken bones, and dislocated joints.
If you suspect that nursing home staff is committing physical abuse, look for delays between the actual injury and medical care, a history of hospitalizations for similar injuries, varied or incongruent explanations for how the injuries occurred, unexplained or unlikely explanations for injuries, visits to different medical institutions, tense or strained relationships, and unexplained withdrawal from social interactions. Elderly women and residents over the age of eighty years are the most at risk for physical abuse, and residents are 300 percent more likely to die within three years following the abuse. Unfortunately, only one in six nursing home residents actually report their abuse, so it is vitally important that their family and loved ones watch for the signs of physical abuse during visits to the nursing home.
Contact Julie A. Rice Now
If you suspect that nursing home staff and administrators are committing physical abuse against your loved one, the time to act is now. Call or contact Julie A. Rice today in Atlanta for an immediate consultation of your claims to determine what legal actions we can take to protect your loved one living in a nursing home.