Elder Abuse and Neglect Warning Signs, Risk Factors, and Prevention

Written by Adam Peck Category: Elder Abuse February 24th, 2015 3 min read

Elder Abuse and Neglect Warning Signs, Risk Factors, and Prevention

Watch for the Warning Signs of Elder Abuse

As elders become more physically frail, they’re less able to stand up to bullying and or fight back if attacked. They may not see or hear as well or think as clearly as they used to, leaving openings for unscrupulous people to take advantage of them. Mental or physical ailments may make them more trying companions for the people who live with them.

Tens of thousands of seniors across the United States are being abused, harmed in some substantial way often people who are directly responsible for their care. More than half a million reports of abuse against elderly Americans reach authorities every year, and millions more cases go unreported.

Where does Elder Abuse take Place?

Elder abuse tends to take place where the senior lives: most often in the home where abusers are apt to be adult children; other family members such as grandchildren; or spouses/partners of elders. Institutional settings, especially long-term care facilities, can also be sources of elder abuse says Los Angeles Elder Abuse Attorney Steven C. Peck.

Be Aware of the Different Types of Elder Abuse

Abuse of elders takes many different forms, some involving intimidation or threats against the elderly, some involving neglect, and others involving financial chicanery. The most common are defined below.

Physical Elder Abuse:

Physical elder abuse is non-accidental use of force against an elderly person that results in physical pain, injury, or impairment. Such abuse includes not only physical assaults such as hitting or shoving but the inappropriate use of drugs, restraints, or confinement.

In emotional or psychological senior abuse, people speak to or treat elderly persons in ways that cause emotional pain or distress.

Verbal forms of Emotional Elder Abuse Include:

Intimidation through yelling or threats
Humiliation and ridicule
Habitual blaming or scapegoating

Nonverbal Psychological Elder Abuse can take the Form of:

Ignoring the elderly person
Isolating an elder from friends or activities
Terrorizing or menacing the elderly person

Sexual Elder Abuse:

Sexual elder abuse consists of contact with an elderly person without the elder’s consent. Such contact can involve physical sex acts, but activities such as showing an elderly person pornographic material, forcing the person to watch sex acts, or forcing the elder to undress are also considered sexual elder abuse.

Neglect or Abandonment by Caregivers:

Elder neglect, failure to fulfill a caretaking obligation, constitutes more than half of all reported cases of elder abuse. It can be active (intentional) or passive (unintentional, based on factors such as ignorance or denial that an elderly charge needs as much care as he or she does).

Financial Exploitation:

This involves unauthorized use of an elderly person’s funds or property, either by a caregiver or an outside scam artist.

An Unscrupulous Caregiver Might:

Misuse an elder’s personal checks, credit cards, or accounts
Steal cash, income checks, or household goods
Forge the elder’s signature
Engage in identity theft

Typical Rackets that Target Elders Include:

Announcements of a “prize” that the elderly person has won but must pay money to claim
Phony charities
Investment fraud

Healthcare Fraud and Abuse:

Carried out by unethical doctors, nurses, hospital personnel, and other professional care providers, examples of healthcare fraud and abuse regarding elders include

Not providing healthcare, but charging for it
Overcharging or double-billing for medical care or services
Getting kickbacks for referrals to other providers or for prescribing certain drugs
Overmedicating or undermedicating
Recommending fraudulent remedies for illnesses or other medical conditions
Medicaid fraud

– from Steven Peck, Senior Injury Attorney Los Angeles at Peck Law Group

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Written by Adam Peck

Expertise: Personal Injury

Adam J. Peck, ESQ is a principal with Peck Law Group, APC. In 2008, Mr. Adam Peck received his Juris Doctorate from Whittier Law School where he graduated Cum Laude. His practice is primarily dedicated to representing Elders, Dependent Adults, along with their loved ones and family members, who have suffered horrific personal injuries.