This past August, Minnesota National Public Radio uncovered a sobering story. According to a recently released alert by the Department of Health’s Office of the Inspector General, a 25% of serious nursing home abuse cases go unreported, and the St. Louis injury attorneys at Hoffman & Gelfman want you to be aware of this alarming statistic.

Covering Up Crimes
State and federal laws require serious cases of abuse to be turned over to police by the nursing home facility within 2 hours of the incident. But unreported cases have prompted government investigators to release the alert despite an ongoing investigation, in hopes of more immediate attention. Some of these cases have included sexual assault and residents so severely injured that they required emergency treatment. Worse, some of the offending facilities cleaned victims and destroyed evidence.

Not Isolated
The DOH investigative team uncovered 134 cases of abuse and neglect from 2015-2016, all severe enough to require emergency treatment. Most involved sexual assault. The cases were widespread, involving 33 states, with Illinois leading the pack at 17. Seventy-two percent were reported within the 2-hour limit, but 28% were not.

Those cases that didn’t involve emergency treatment remain untraceable, so the reported incidents equate to a tiny representation of the country’s 1.4-million nursing home residents.

Do you fear that the system failed your loved one? Contact the St. Louis injury attorneys at Hoffman & Gelfman today.