You visit your loved one and find them sleeping more, engaging less and lacking their usual vitality. This pattern, frequently explained away as “a bad day,” might actually be a pattern of neglect. Unaddressed fatigue is commonly a warning sign that the resident’s core needs are not being met by the facility staff.
Not a normal sign of aging
Chronic fatigue in a nursing home resident is usually a symptom that something vital is missing or going wrong with basic care, such as:
- Malnutrition and dehydration: Staff must help residents who cannot feed themselves and offer fresh fluids constantly. Lack of proper nutrition and hydration can quickly drain energy and cause extreme weakness.
- Untreated infections: Medical neglect occurs when staff fail to notice or promptly report signs of an infection, such as a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI). Infections use up massive amounts of energy, making the resident feel overwhelmed by fatigue.
- Poor pain management: Constant, untreated pain prevents restful sleep and forces the body into a state of chronic stress. Inadequate pain control is a clear sign of medical oversight and neglect.
- Sleep deprivation: Failure to ensure a clean, quiet environment or not repositioning a resident in time for toileting interrupts sleep patterns. This leads to a persistent, debilitating daytime tiredness.
Nursing homes have a duty of care to provide residents with services that achieve their highest practical well-being. This duty requires facilities to create and follow a plan that maintains a resident’s physical, mental and social health. Failure to address a resident’s fatigue often constitutes actionable neglect.
Fatigue also rarely appears alone when neglect occurs. During your visits, you may want to look for signs of weight loss or dehydration, bedsores or pressure ulcers, poor personal hygiene, withdrawal or behavioral changes and unexplained bruises or injuries, among others.
Steps for concerned families
If you suspect that your loved one is a victim of nursing home neglect, consider these steps:
- Document everything: Record dates, times and descriptions of when your loved one seems overly tired.
- Take photos: Note any physical signs that accompany the fatigue, such as cracked lips or changes in skin color.
- Seek an outside medical opinion: Have an independent doctor examine your loved one to determine the medical cause of the fatigue.
- Report the concern: File a complaint with the Indiana Department of Health or the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program.
- Save all communications: Keep copies of emails or notes documenting your complaints to the nursing home staff and management.
Indiana law gives residents the fundamental right to be free from neglect and to receive adequate medical care. You, as a family member, possess the right to hold a negligent facility accountable for its failures.
Generally, you have two years from the date of the negligence or injury to take legal action. Because the rules are precise, it is highly advisable to act quickly to preserve your loved one’s right to compensation.
