Nursing home negligence is one of the most common forms of abuse and neglect perpetrated against adults 65 years of age and older. It’s important to spot it before it becomes a life-threatening problem and to take the necessary steps to ensure your loved one is removed from a dangerous situation if you believe negligence or abuse has already occurred.

The best-available research indicates that one in 10 persons aged 60 or older is the victim of elder abuse, but just 7 percent of all instances of elder abuse are ever reported to state or local authorities. The National Association of Nursing Home Attorneys, a group of legal professionals compiled and shared some eye-opening nursing home abuse statistics and elder abuse statistics from across the United States.

There are about 1.5 million individuals residing in nursing homes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nursing home abuse isn't as rare as some might think. According to data compiled by the National Center on Elder Abuse, about 10 percent of all nursing home residents were victims of some form of abuse in the last year.

The term "never event" was introduced into the medical vernacular nearly 20 years ago. In the time since its introduction and the first list of "never events" was introduced, the meaning has been modified and expanded, and overall public awareness has increased while fatal errors to patients have decreased.