Each year, thousands of senior citizens face abuse, neglect, and exploitation in a nursing home or other elder care facility. Many victims are frail and vulnerable. They cannot help themselves. They depend on others to meet their most basic needs. The issue is so widespread that legislatures in all 50 states passed some form of elder abuse prevention laws.

Knowing the warning signs of nursing home abuse is a first step toward protecting elderly friends or relatives. Sometimes residents of care facilities may sustain physical injuries from abuse, like bruising. In other instances, neglect can cause dehydration, malnutrition, or infections from untreated bedsores. If you believe someone suffers from neglect in a care facility, then their fellow residents may also be under threat from this neglect.