Our elderly loved ones are vulnerable to many types of abuse, including physical, emotional, sexual, and financial abuse. Often, elderly family members are physically or cognitively unable to report their own abuse. Over 15,000 cases of elderly abuse were reported in 2020 alone. Even worse, research suggests that for every reported case of abuse, as many as 24 more abuse cases go unreported.
Most families put a great deal of thought, care, and research into choosing how and where to care for their elderly family members. Sadly, elder abuse occurs in many facilities and even within private residences.
Elder Abuse in Care Facilities
Abuse of senior citizens happens most frequently in all types of long-term care facilities. While we tend to refer to all of these facilities as “nursing homes” seniors may spend their later years in any of the following institutions:
- Nursing homes
- Residential care facilities
- Assisted-living facilities
- Hospice-care facilities
- Long-term care facilities
- Convalescent homes
All of the above institutions are the most common locations of elderly abuse and neglect allegations. Nursing home abuse complaints include physical, emotional, sexual, and financial abuse cases as well as cases of gross neglect. Signs of elderly abuse include bruises, lacerations, fractures, broken personal items, dehydration, malnutrition, poor hygiene, depression, anxiety, and withdrawal.
Elder Abuse in Private Homes
Sadly, even those elderly family members who live with one or more relatives in a private home are sometimes victims of abuse. This is a form of domestic violence that often goes unreported. In some cases, the abuser is the elderly person’s spouse or romantic partner. In other cases, the aggressor is an adult child caring for an aging parent at home. Domestic violence cases with elderly victims include:
- Physical abuse
- Emotional abuse
- Gross neglect
- Sexual abuse
- Financial exploitation
Signs of domestic abuse of the elderly in private homes include bruises, fractures, poor hygiene, malnutrition, dehydration, emotional withdrawal, depression, anxiety, and a reluctance to talk in front of the abusing caregiver.
When an Elderly Person is Abused in Their Own Home
Sadly, senior citizens who live alone are vulnerable to exploitation by distant family members, casual acquaintances, and even complete strangers. Sometimes people with ill-intentions prey on aging seniors with physical and/or cognitive weaknesses who live alone, taking advantage of them in the following ways:
- Moving into the senior citizen’s home without their permission
- Taking over an elderly citizen’s home and bank accounts
- Moving into an elderly relative or stranger’s home and then isolating them from loved ones
- Entering a senior citizen’s home under false pretenses and then stealing money and valuables
- Moving into an elderly relative, friend, or acquaintance’s home with the intention of intimidating or emotionally abusing the senior into naming them in a will
Elder abuse can occur wherever elderly citizens reside. It’s important to report any suspected cases of elderly abuse, whether it occurs within care facilities or in a private home. An Arizona elder abuse lawyer can help discuss potential legal options.