ELDER ABUSE
PHYSICAL & FINANCIAL ABUSE
NURSING HOME NEGLECT

ELDER ABUSE IS A BIG PROBLEM:

• There are more than 225,000 cases of elder and dependent adult abuse handled by protective service agencies each year.
• Unfortunately, more than two-thirds of elder abusers are family members.
• Only one in five cases of elder abuse is believed to actually be reported within our state.
• Probably one in every 20 elderly people will be abused in their lifetime.
• Elder Abuse includes both Physical and Financial abuse.

THE MANY TYPES OF ELDER ABUSE:

"Elder Abuse" can be many things, and includes: (1) physical abuse; (2) neglect; (3) financial abuse; (4) abandonment; (5) isolation; (6) abduction; or (7) other treatment with resulting physical harm or pain or mental suffering.

"Elder Abuse" also includes: deprivation by a care custodian of goods or services that are necessary to avoid physical harm or mental suffering.

• Physical abuse includes assault, battery, assault with a deadly weapon, unreasonable physical constraint, prolonged or continual deprivation of food or water, sexual assault and rape.
• Psychological/mental abuse includes fear, agitation, confusion, severe depression and other forms of serious emotional distress that are brought about by threats, harassment and intimidation.
• Financial abuse can result from taking, hiding, appropriating or retaining money or property of an elder or dependent adult by a person who has the care or custody of, or who is in a position of trust to, that elder or dependent adult.
• Negligence occurs if a caregiver fails to assist the elder or dependent adult in personal hygiene; provide food, clothing or shelter; protect from health and safety hazards; or prevent malnutrition or dehydration.
• Abduction means the removal from this state and/or the restraint from returning to this state of any elder or dependent adult who does not have the capacity to consent to the removal from or restraint from returning to this state.
• Abandonment means the desertion or willful forsaking of an elder or a dependent adult by anyone who has care or custody of that person under circumstances in which a reasonable person would continue to provide care and custody.
• Isolation means prevention from receiving phone calls or mail, false imprisonment or physical restraint from meeting with visitors.
• Neglect means the negligent failure of any person, including the individual having the care or custody of an elder or a dependent adult, to exercise that degree of care that a reasonable person, in a like position, would exercise, to include failure to assist in personal hygiene or in the provision of food, clothing or shelter; or failure to provide medical care, to protect from health and safety hazards, prevent malnutrition or dehydration.

EXAMPLES OF ELDER ABUSE:

• Physical Abuse: An adult child beats his elderly parent because the parent does not want to go to a retirement home. Or, a caretaker in a retirement home sexually assaults a disabled elderly person.
• Psychological Abuse: An adult child confines his/her elder parent to a room for extended periods of time. Or, an adult child verbally assaults, threatens or harasses his/her parent for whatever reason.
• Financial Abuse: A con-artist contacts an elderly man or woman regarding fraudulent financial investments. Or, an elderly man or woman is extorted into giving money to a stranger.
• Neglect: A care-giver or the elder or dependent adult himself or herself fails to assist in personal hygiene, fails to prevent malnutrition, fails to provide clothing and shelter or medical care or abandons an elderly person who is unable to take care of his or her self.
• Isolation: A caregiver, family member or friend prevents contact with an elder or dependent adult by refusing calls, mail or visitors.
• Abandonment: A caregiver deserts or willfully forsakes an elder or a dependent adult.
• Abduction: A caregiver, friend or family member takes an elder or dependent adult who lacks the capacity to consent out of this state and/or prevents the elder from returning to this state.

WARNING SIGNS OF ELDER ABUSE:

What to look for if you suspect either physical or financial elder abuse:

Signs of Physical Neglect include: (1) Injuries that are incompatible with explanations; (2) Bruises, scratches or other injuries; (3) Inappropriate use of a physical restraint or medication.

Signs of Neglect include: (1) Poor hygiene, dirty or torn clothes or lack of appropriate shelter; (2) Medical conditions that go untreated; (3) Malnourished or dehydrated.

Signs of Psychological Abuse include: (1) Elderly person or dependent adult is withdrawn, secretive or is hesitant to talk freely around caregiver; (2) Family members or caregivers isolate the elder or dependent adult, restricting who they have contact with including other family members or friends; (3) Elder or dependent adult becomes confused or extremely forgetful.

Signs of Financial Abuse include: (1) Unusual bank activity, including large, unexplained withdrawals, frequent transfers between accounts or ATM withdrawals; (2) Unpaid bills, eviction notices or discontinued utilities; (3) Implausible explanations given about an elder or dependent adult's finances by a relative or caregiver; (4) Changes in spending patterns often accompanied by the appearance of a new "best friend".

HOW TO PREVENT ELDER ABUSE:

• Knowing the warning signs of abuse is a first step toward protecting elders.
• Keep a watchful eye out for loved ones, friends, or neighbors who may be vulnerable.
• Speak up if you have concerns. That means even if you are not sure. You have a right to question.
• Report abuse immediately. Do not buy into the isolation that often accompanies elder abuse.

LAWSUITS FOR ELDER ABUSE:

Lawsuits for Elder Abuse are usually either focused on Financial Abuse or Physical Abuse. These are two completely different types of lawsuits.

Lawsuits for Physical Elder Abuse focus on the person or entity who caused the physical harm to the elder or dependent person. A Nursing Home or other facility where an Elder Person is staying, is often the defendant in such a lawsuit.

These Physical Elder Abuse lawsuits can focus on issues like:

• over-medication of an elder or dependent person,
• lck of nutrition of an elder or dependent person,
• lack of nursing care that leads to bed or pressure sores,
• excessive use of restraints on the elder or dependent person,
• any care or lack of care that leads to physical or emotional harm for the elder or dependent person.

In order to bring a lawsuit for Physical Elder Abuse properly, there must be investigation to discover: (1) the history of abuses at the facility, (2) the medical history of the elder person, (3) the corporate and management structure of the facility.

Companies that run Nursing Homes and other Board and Care facilities, tend to change hands frequently. Identifying the proper defendants and their responsible persons for the time of the abuse, can require extensive investigation.

Lawsuits for Financial Elder Abuse tend to focus on recovering property of an elder person which was taken by deceit or trickery, or because of some weakness or infirmity of the elder person. Elder persons frequently have diminished mental capabilities, making them moire susceptible to participating in unwise or even foolish transactions.

An attorney handling a Financial Elder Abuse, needs to know a combination of medicine and finance, so as to both prove the abuses of the financial transaction and prove the medical, mental or cultural conditions of the elder person that led to their participation in that financial transaction that is being challenged. Not every attorney is aware of the complexities of these ever increasing Financial Elder Abuse cases.

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