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Assault on nursing home residents is never acceptable

On Behalf of | Aug 24, 2020 | Nursing Home Neglect

Assault and inappropriate touching is something that nobody in the Worcester area has to tolerate. You have the right to defend yourself or call the police after someone assaults you. Unfortunately, vulnerable people living in nursing homes may not be able to resist an assault or report it to authorities afterward.

Custodian pleads guilty to assaulting a resident

In a shocking example of an assault of a defenseless nursing home resident in New England, a former custodian at a New Hampshire facility recently pleaded guilty to simple misdemeanor assault over an incident that took place early last year. The man was arrested after touching the breast of an 86-year-old woman who was suffering from dementia.

It is not clear from a news report how the man’s action was discovered. It could be that another employee of the facility witnessed the groping, or that the victim herself was able to alert relatives or a staff member.

The man was sentenced to a year in jail, but prosecutors suggested that he serve the sentence in home confinement instead. He was originally convicted of enhanced misdemeanor simple assault, but an issue with the jury led to a delay in the case and a plea deal in which the defendant agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge.

The trauma of nursing home abuse

A physical assault does not have to leave scars or injure the victim to harm them. Sexual assault can be hugely traumatic to a nursing home resident, as can verbal abuse and neglect. Besides the perpetrator themselves, the facility’s ownership and management can be held responsible after an incident like this. The facility has a responsibility to hire workers that are competent and do not have criminal records. In civil court, a facility that knowingly or negligently hires a worker who abuses a resident can be held liable.

For more information on your legal options following the abuse or neglect of a loved one in a care facility, please contact a personal injury attorney in your area.

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