If your mother lives in a Mississippi nursing home, naturally you expect the nursing home staff to give her the care she needs and deserves. Unfortunately, however, some nursing homes fall far short of their duty of care to their residents.

When you visit your mother, keep an eye out for the following top six signs that the nursing home is abusing and/or neglecting her.

1. Injuries

Your mother should never have bruises, bumps or sores on her body. Should you see one, or should your mother have a bandage, you definitely need to know what happened to her and why it happened.

2. Mobility

While your mother should get as much exercise as possible to maintain good health, she may require assistance to walk or otherwise move. Without help, she could easily fall and injure herself. Be sure to listen to any complaints she has that she does not get the assistance she needs when she needs it, such as when she needs to use the bathroom.

3. Personal hygiene

Whenever you see your mother, she should present a clean and neat appearance. She should never emit body or mouth odors, nor should her hair, fingernails and toenails be overly long. In addition, her hair should be neatly combed and she should be wearing clean, adequate and appropriate clothing.

4. Nutrition and hydration

Your mother should always appear well-fed and hydrated. Again, listen to any complaints she may have about not getting enough food or water. Her complaints about food insufficiency are far different than any complaints she may have about the choice of foods available in the nursing home.

5. Living conditions

Your mother’s nursing home room should be clean and neat. So should her bathroom. You should never see signs of dirt or mold, nor should you ever see signs of spilled water on the floors. In addition, the room should smell as good as it looks.

6. Psychological problems

While no one wants to live in a nursing home, your mother should appear reasonably happy, content and willing to communicate. If she seems depressed or withdrawn, this could well be a sign that the nursing home staff is neglecting or even abusing her. Do not hesitate to ask your mother about friends she has made since moving into the nursing home. Also carefully listen to any complaints she may have about one or more particular caregivers.

You want your mother to live the best life she possibly can, even though she lives it in a nursing home. Staying vigilant for signs of nursing home abuse and neglect represents your best course of action in assuring that she does, in fact, continue to live happily and healthfully.

A survey conducted by the Emergency Responder Safety Institute and the National Safety Council confirms the fact that drivers, in Mississippi and across the U.S., become more distracted when passing emergency vehicles. A startling 71 percent said they take pictures or videos when passing first responders; 66 percent send an email and 60 percent post on social media about it. Eighty percent slow down to get a better look.

This was regardless of whether the emergency vehicle had slowed to make a traffic stop or to respond to a crash or fire. Thirty-three percent of respondents were not aware of "Move Over" laws although 73 percent did say that they move over to give room to emergency vehicles parked on the side of the road with their lights on. Twenty-four percent did not know of any legal requirements for passing emergency vehicles.

While 89 percent saw that distracted drivers can be an occupational hazard for first responders, only 19 percent thought that they themselves could contribute to that risk. Forty percent seemed to accept the risk as simply part of the job of being a first responder. Yet 16 first responders have been struck and killed in the first four months of 2019 alone. Crashes involving fire trucks, police cars, and ambulances led to 37 deaths and over 17,000 injuries in 2013.

Those who are struck by a vehicle through no fault of their own may be able to receive damages under motor vehicle accident law. It all depends on presenting the other party’s insurance company with a strong case. This is where a lawyer may come in handy. Personal injury lawyers might have a network of professionals to gather evidence, determine the extent of injuries and so much more. The lawyer may also handle negotiations for a settlement.

If you have a loved one living in a nursing home, you want to be sure he or she receives the best possible care. You also want to trust healthcare providers to watch for bedsores, a common injury for those living in long-term care facilities.

Also called pressure sores or pressure ulcers, bedsores are a problem in Mississippi nursing homes. Often, they are an indicator of ongoing nursing-home neglect or abuse. Not all patients, though, have the same propensity for developing bedsores. Here are four types of nursing-home patients who have an increased risk.

1. Patients with mobility issues

Bedsores are most common in nursing-home patients who have difficulty moving. If your loved one must stay in bed or sit in a chair for prolonged periods of time, you should regularly ask nursing-home staff about screening for potential bedsores.

2. Patients with more than one medical concern

Patients who have more than one medical condition or health concern often have a greater likelihood of developing bedsores. While conditions that affect blood circulation, such as diabetes or neuropathy, often accompany bedsores, obesity and malnutrition may also encourage bedsores to form.

3. Patients with memory or communication difficulties

Physicians use a five-stage ranking system to describe the severity of bedsores. Unfortunately, a stage 1 sore can quickly progress into a more severe one. If your loved one has Alzheimer’s or dementia, he or she may not be able to alert the nursing-home staff about a possible bedsore.

4. Patients with incontinence

Many nursing-home patients have some type of incontinence. Wet and soiled parts of the body are often perfect places for bedsores to form. Even worse, bacteria can cause otherwise minor bedsores to become infected.

Your loved one’s bedsores may or may not be due to nursing home abuse. Nonetheless, bedsores can be both serious and deadly. If your loved one falls into any of the above categories, you may need to pay special attention to the care he or she receives at the nursing home.

Nursing homes and elder care facilities play an important role in society. After all, the staff at these places steps in to meet the needs of elderly patients. Regardless of how much research you do when choosing a nursing home for your aging mother or father, though, you may not be able to avoid some level of nursing home abuse.

Unfortunately, nursing home neglect and elder abuse are not uncommon. In fact, roughly 10 percent of Americans over the age of 60 have experienced some type of elder abuse. Even worse, most cases go unreported. If you have a loved one living in a nursing home, you must watch carefully for signs of nursing home abuse. You must also diligently document your findings.

Recruit a team

The first step in documenting any incident is to gather some facts. That said, you likely cannot assemble all information by yourself. As such, ask friends and family members to help you watch for elder abuse.

Start a journal

You should catalog specific evidence of abuse in a written memorandum. A good way to do this is to start a journal. Every time you see evidence of neglect or mistreatment, record it in writing. Do not forget to memorialize the date of the incident, the staff involved and all other relevant information.

Snap some photographs

Your smartphone camera can be an invaluable tool in documenting nursing home abuse. If you notice bed sores, hygiene issues or other problems, take some photographs. Before you do, though, enable your phone’s time stamp feature to better document the abuse.

Keep copies of pertinent records

If you file a formal complaint with the nursing home or state regulatory agency, keep comprehensive copies of everything in your filing. Also, request medical and financial records from the nursing home to add to your file.

Finding a nursing home for your elderly parents is only part of the equation. You also must ensure they receive excellent care in their golden years. By documenting all evidence of neglect and abuse, you better equip yourself to advocate for your elderly parents and stop the mistreatment.

Losing an hour of sleep to daylight saving time can have serious consequences for drivers in Mississippi and across the US. First of all, it is recommended that all drives sleep for at least seven hours each night. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety claims that missing even one or two hours of sleep in a 24-hour period can nearly double an individual’s risk for getting in a car crash.

The National Sleep Foundation has reported frequently on how poor sleep affects health and has said that drivers are "unfit to operate a motor vehicle" if they get less than two hours of sleep in a 24-hour period. AAA goes further, however, saying that sleeping for even five hours within the same period will make drivers’ crash risk comparable to that of drunk drivers. Their level of impairment will also be similar to those of a drunk driver.

Ninety-five percent of respondents to a recent AAA survey said that drowsy driving is unacceptable and unsafe behavior. However, 3 in 10 of respondents to the same survey admitted that they had driven at least one time in the past month in a condition where they found it hard to keep their eyes open. Warning signs of drowsiness include not only drooping eyelids but also trouble staying in one’s lane and difficulty remembering the last few miles traveled.

Drowsy driving is underreported, and accident investigations cannot necessarily prove its existence. However, there are usually clear signs of driver negligence on one side or the other. Accident victims who are eligible for damages under this state’s pure comparative negligence law may want their case evaluated by a lawyer. An attorney may hire third-party investigators to gather proof of negligence, such as the police report and any physical evidence at the crash site. A lawyer may then negotiate for a settlement.