Elderly Abuse: Understanding the Many Faces of Neglect

As the elderly become increasingly frail they lose the ability to stand up to those who bully them and the capacity fight back if they are harmed. Difficulty seeing, hearing or thinking clearly create situations that are tempting for unethical individuals to take advantage of and the challenges of caring for somebody in poor health, physically or mentally, can shorten the tempers of caretakers who live with them. Senior citizens have as much right to be free from abuse as any other American; if you suspect a loved one has been the victim of abuse or neglect then contact an elderly abuse attorney for more information and assistance.

Tens of thousands of elderly people are regularly abused each year; some in nursing homes and others within the confines of their own homes or the home of a relative. Mentally impaired elderly citizen's complaints may be difficult to decipher and hard to know when to trust but if you have any suspicion that an elderly relative or friend is being emotionally or physically harmed or financially taken advantage of action should be taken. Understanding the many faces of elder abuse and neglect can make it easier to distinguish between actual harm and imagined situations.

The Different Kinds of Elder Abuse

The abuse of an elderly person can contain facets involving neglect, intimidation and financial duplicity. The most common types of abuse of the elderly are physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect or abandonment, financial exploitation and health care fraud.

Among the most complicated but rewarding type of abuse for an elder abuse lawyer to fight against is health care abuse and fraud. In these cases unscrupulous professional care providers, hospital staff, nurses and doctors are guilty of over- or under-medicating, overcharging or double-billing for their services, charging for health care without providing it, receiving kickbacks for prescribing drugs or providing referrals and recommending useless treatments.

Financial exploitation is usually perpetrated by a scam artist or by a caregiver who has access to the elderly individual's financial information. Scam artists usually have schemes involving phony charities, fragile investments and "prizes" that cost money to retrieve and proving them guilty usually requires the help of experienced nursing home lawyers. Immoral caregivers with access to account information might steal cash or checks, walk away with household items, add a credit card in their name to the elderly individual's account or engage in identity theft.

Elder neglect or abandonment is a huge problem which constitutes more than half of all cases that elder abuse attorneys work on. Elder neglect or abandonment can be intentional or unintentional and simply means that the elderly person is not receiving sufficient care for their needs from those who are responsible.

Emotional or psychological elder abuse and nursing home neglect is very challenging to determine: if any one speaks to or treats an older person in any way that creates pain or distress emotionally it can be considered psychological abuse. Scapegoating or blaming, humiliating or ridiculing verbally or intimidating elderly people with threats or yelling are some forms of verbal abuse. Menacing, isolating and/or ignoring an elderly person are non-verbal forms of psychological abuse.

Sexual abuse of the elderly is the same as sexual abuse of any other age group; engaging in sexual conducts physically or in other ways without the elderly person's consent.

Physical abuse is the intentional use of force against the elderly person that causes impairment, injuries or physical pain. Striking a person is an example of physical abuse as is physical confinement and forcing the elderly person to take unnecessary drugs or medication.

Signs of Abuse

There are many signs to look out for when suspicious of elder abuse. Personality changes, tension between caregivers and the elderly person and unexplained injuries or marks are common signs. Unusual weight loss, dehydration, bed sores or unsafe living conditions are all signs of caregiver neglect; behavior similar to dementia including mumbling incoherently can indicate emotional abuse. Sudden large withdrawals from the elderly person's bank accounts or strange and unexplained changes to their power of attorney or will are some examples signs of financial exploitation. Any evidence of over-or under-medication, inadequate care, duplicate billing or problems with medical staff can indicate health care abuse or fraud.

If you notice the signs listed above, take action and call a nursing home neglect attorney quickly so that your elderly loved one can be spared any more harm.