Is The Use Of Chemical Or Physical Restraints On Nursing Home Residents Illegal?
Residents with poor balance, aggressive personalities or the tendency to wander may be put in chemical or physical restraints to stop the behavior. Using these types of restraints is not only bad for the residents’ health, but it could also very well be illegal.
Crandall & Pera Law investigates our clients’ claims of restraints being used to see if their rights as well as their bodies are being abused. Our team of attorneys and registered nurses helps families in Ohio and Kentucky when their loved ones in nursing homes are being restrained by informing them of their options for moving forward. We know what the devastating effects of continued restraint can be, and we fight hard to represent the rights of your family member.
The Effects Of Being Restrained
Chemical restraints can be a cocktail of medications designed to sedate or “calm” an agitated or aggressive resident. Nursing homes often claim that the chemicals are necessary to keep residents happy and peaceful; however, it is illegal to change a resident’s medication without a doctor’s prescription, so staff members who sedate residents could be doing so illegally.
Physical restraints supposedly help residents who have difficulty remaining in chairs or beds. Unlike bedrails, which keep elderly residents from rolling off the bed and onto the floor in the night, restraints keep the resident stationary in whatever position the staff member places him or her.
Using restraints can lead to:
- Muscle atrophy
- Bedsores
- Blood clots
- Changes in mood or behavior
- Depression
- Incontinence
- Social withdrawal
- Wrongful death
At Crandall & Pera Law, we are intimately familiar not only with the rights of elderly patients in nursing homes, but also with alternative techniques for soothing an agitated or wandering resident. We have studied the literature and the research regarding the dangers of chemical and physical restraints, and understand just how dangerous these methods can be. We work hand in hand with outside medical experts to build a case for nursing home abuse against staff and administrators who encourage – or turn a blind eye to – the use of restraints on residents.
Contact Us If Your Elderly Family Member Has Been Chemically Or Physically Restrained
Chemical and physical restraints are outdated methods of “protection” that are tantamount to abuse. We fight to uphold the rights of elderly nursing home residents throughout Ohio and Kentucky. Please call 855-444-6651 or fill out this convenient online contact form to schedule a free initial consultation at one of our offices