Help Prevent Resident-to-Resident Abuse

There have been a lot of stories in the news about bullying, harassment and other abusive behavior directed from one individual to another—most recently in the Miami Dolphin’s locker room.  Such conduct is, of course, not isolated to schools or locker rooms.  One place it is not often thought of, though, is in nursing homes.  However, resident-to-resident abuse does occur and it is something that residents and their families should be aware of and for which nursing homes have a duty to try and prevent.    

The first thing someone will think of when the issue of “nursing home abuse” is raised is a staff member mistreating a resident.  In fact, we have written a number of posts on this blog discussing various aspects of negligence and abuse in a nursing home setting arising from the acts of nursing home operators and often over-worked and under-trained staff.  However, it is important to point out that a very real yet often overlooked source of nursing home abuse stems from resident-to-resident abuse. 

Last year a study was published in the Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect titled Resident-to-Resident Abuse in Nursing Homes as Reported by Nurse Aides.  The authors evaluated the phenomenon of resident to resident abuse in nursing homes and found “that both the scale and scope of resident-to-resident abuse is high in nursing homes” and that it was “common enough to be considered an issue of concern impacting the quality of life and safety of many residents.”

A family confronted with a situation of resident-to-resident abuse may think there is no recourse against the nursing home if the culprit of abuse is another resident as oppose to the nursing home staff.  We believe that the law dictates otherwise.  For instance, under Missouri law nursing homes or long term facilities must “ensure” that each resident admitted to its facility “[i]s free from form mental and physical abuse . . . .”  R.S.Mo. 198.088(6)(g).  The law does not distinguish whether the abuse comes from nursing home staff, another resident, or even a complete stranger.   

Your loved one has a right to live in a nursing home free from abuse from staff and from his or her fellow residents.  If there are issues with resident-to-resident abuse we would encourage you to bring these issues to the nursing home's attention immediately and ensure that they correct the situation.

-Tom and Ryan