Medication, diseases and illness make it difficult to detect signs of elder abuse. There are different types of elder abuse: physical abuse, financial abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect and health care fraud.
Physical abuse is the willful inflicting of pain or injury to an elderly person. The signs include:
- Unexplained signs of injury, bruises, welts, or scars
- Broken bones, sprains, or dislocations
- Drug overdose or apparent failure to take medication regularly
- Broken eyeglasses or frames
- Signs of being restrained, such as rope marks on wrists
- Caregiver’s refusal to allow you to see the elder alone
The improper act of using the resources of an elder for someone else’s benefit without their consent is financial abuse. The signs include:
- Large withdrawals from the elder’s accounts
- Sudden changes in the elder’s financial condition
- Cash and/or items missing from the senior’s household
- Suspicious changes in wills, power of attorney, titles, and policies
- Addition of names to the elder’s signature card
- Unpaid bills and/or lack of medical care despite capacity to pay for them
- Financial activities the elder couldn’t have done due to health and/or physical conditions
- Purchase of unnecessary services, goods, or subscriptions
Sexual abuse is the coercing of an elder through force, trickery, threats or other means into unwanted sexual activity. The signs include:
- Bruises or injuries around genitals and breasts
- Unexplained venereal disease or genital infections
- Unexplained vaginal or anal bleeding
- Torn, stained, or bloody underclothing
Emotional abuse of an elder is the causing of mental or emotional distress by means of humiliation, intimidation or threats. The signs include:
- Threatening, belittling, or controlling behavior by caregiver
- Behavior of the elder that mimics dementia, such as rocking, sucking, or mumbling to oneself
Neglect is another form of elder abuse and is the failure to provide food, water, clothing, shelter, hygiene, medication, safety and comfort by someone who is responsible for the elder. The signs include:
- Unexplained weight loss
- Untreated wounds and injuries
- Unsanitary and/or unsafe living conditions
- Lack of proper sanitation facility
- Being left dirty or unbathed
- Improper clothing for the weather
- Desertion of the elder at a public place
Healthcare fraud and abuse is carried out by unethical doctors, nurses, hospital personnel, and other professional care providers. The signs include:
- Duplicate billings for the same medical service or device
- Over medication or under medication
- Inadequate care when bills are paid in full
- Poorly trained, poorly paid, or insufficient staff or crowding at the care facility.
Fight Nursing Home Abuse
Should you sue the facility for abuse? If any elder has been abused at a nursing facility, it is institutional abuse. Institutional abuse generally involves abuse committed by a person who has a legal or contractual obligation to care for the elder in a nursing home, foster home, or other similar facility. Nursing homes are licensed and heavily regulated under both federal and state law and are supposed to protect elderly residents from harm.
Elder abuse, especially at a nursing facility is unjustifiable. If your elder relative is a victim of abuse at a nursing facility, you should contact a nursing home abuse lawyer right away. There are several types of claims you can bring against nursing homes for elder abuse including actions alleging physical, sexual, or verbal abuse, false imprisonment, consumer fraud resulting in financial abuse, and financial exploitation. The victim must be an elder under the State law. This age to be considered an elder varies between states and usually ranges from 60 to 65.
You also file a lawsuit for neglect if the nursing home fails to provide reasonable care or fails to adhere to a specific industry standard and that failure causes injury to your relative.
Suing a nursing home for elder abuse can be a very effective remedy. There are attorneys and law firms all over the country special