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Our nation’s elderly are a cherished population. They are those who raised us and earned our respect, care, and compassion during their vulnerable years as they age. Sadly, not all seniors receive the care and protection for their human dignity that they deserve. An estimated one in ten elders in the U.S. experience abuse. The abuse of seniors aged 60 and up occurs most often in nursing homes and other elder-care facilities but may also happen in private homes by family members or hired caregivers. With the growing population of aging citizens, it’s important to understand the effects of abuse on elderly loved ones.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) defines elder or senior abuse as the following: “An intentional act or failure to act that causes or creates a risk of harm to an older adult. An older adult is someone aged 60 or older. The abuse occurs at the hands of a caregiver or other trusted person.” Elder abuse doesn’t always occur in the way most people imagine. It’s not always a matter of hands and fists. Sadly, other forms of egregious abuse occur to elderly Americans. The most common types of elder abuse include those described below.
Sometimes caregivers perform acts of physical violence against the elderly in their care, including acts like hitting, punching, kicking, shoving, pushing, pinching, and other violent or painful actions. Physical abuse may also include wrongful or unnecessary restraints. In other cases, physical abuse occurs from one nursing home resident to another or from family members who live with an elderly relative.
Neglect is a form of physical and emotional abuse. Neglect occurs when caregivers fail to meet the basic requirements for an elder’s care such as not providing or ensuring that the elder consumes adequate nutrition or hydration, neglecting basic hygiene, failing to properly monitor or administer medications, failing to provide adequate assistive walking devices, neglecting to prevent or treat bedsores, and failing to supervise vulnerable elderly people with dementia or other impairments.
Emotional abuse occurs when a caregiver or relative engages in negative behaviors such as yelling, belittling, badgering, bullying, humiliating, name-calling, intimidating, or threatening. Infantilizing—or treating an elder like a child—is also a form of emotional abuse, as is intentional isolation.
Elderly citizens are also subject to financial abuse due to increased vulnerabilities such as cognitive impairment, dementia, and disability. Financial abuse occurs when an unauthorized individual makes transactions in an elder’s accounts, intercepts checks, or uses or takes the elderly person’s car, home, or other possessions without permission.
The sexual abuse of the elderly is a little talked about and underreported form of abuse. Sexual abuse of aging Americans occurs most often in nursing homes (70%). This egregious abuse occurs from caregivers, staff members, between residents, or from visitors or intruders in nursing home facilities. Sexual abuse includes rape, sodomy, and other forms of sexual assault—often against those with dementia or speech problems that make it unlikely that the elderly victim can report their abuse.
The impacts of elder abuse extend beyond the serious effects on the elder’s physical and emotional well-being. The abuse of seniors also has social and economic impacts that experts consider a public health crisis, costing Americans approximately $5.3 billion in the Nation’s healthcare system. Additional tangible impacts of elder abuse affecting all Americans include the following:
Even more devastating than the wider socioeconomic impacts of elder abuse is the effect of abuse on a personal level for elderly abuse victims. Experiencing abuse during an individual’s most vulnerable years as an elder becomes physically, medically, and cognitively fragile, often has catastrophic impacts on the individual. Elderly abuse victims experience the following effects of abuse:
Elderly abuse victims often socially withdraw from family and friends due to feelings of shame. They may choose not to report their abuse to family members because they don’t wish to burden their loved ones.
It’s important to recognize signs of elder abuse because senior abuse victims do not always self-report their abuse. Common signs of elder abuse include the following:
If you suspect an elderly loved one has suffered abuse, it’s essential to report your concerns to the nursing home administrators and/or the police. Have your elderly family member examined and treated by a trusted medical provider unaffiliated with the facility or caregiver.
If your loved one suffered from abuse while in a nursing home, assisted living facility, or while under the care of at-home health aids, call the Phoenix elder abuse attorneys with experience in this area. Knapp & Roberts are ready to help you learn about your loved one’s options, rights, and protections.
The personal injury attorneys in Phoenix, Arizona, at Knapp & Roberts have the compassion and trial lawyer skills to tell your story to a jury. We will get to know you and your family so that we can help the jury understand what has happened to you and your family and how it has changed your lives. Obtain the compensation necessary for the injuries and losses you have suffered.
