Common Types of Elder Abuse
As people age, they may eventually develop mental illness or serious physical disabilities that make them unable to care for themselves. This can be very traumatic for loved ones who are left to decide if/when elderly relatives must begin to live in a residential long care facility such as a nursing home or assisted living facility. Making this decision can be a difficult and emotionally taxing. But once an elderly relative is placed in a nursing home, relatives must believe that their loved one is receiving the best possible care.
But this is unfortunately not always the case. Seniors staying in nursing homes are sometimes the victims of abuse by the staff and are helpless to defend themselves. It becomes the responsibility of family members to ensure that the nursing home staff treats loved ones with utmost dignity and respect. Contact an experienced Los Angeles elder abuse attorney if you are concerned about the treatment a loved one is receiving in a nursing home or long-term care facility.
Elder abuse in California is governed by the Elder Abuse and Dependant Adult Civil Protection Act. The most common types of elder abuse include the following:
- Neglect: failing to properly feed, bathe, dress, or provide needed medications to elderly residents, failing to answer their call lights or to respond to requests for help, or over-medicating
- Physical Abuse: hitting, slapping, pulling hair, or any assault or rough physical treatment
- Verbal Abuse: telling elderly residents to "shut up" when they speak up about needs or mistreatment, name calling, threats of retaliation
Other types of elder mistreatment include financial abuse, abandonment, isolation, deprivation of necessary goods or services, and other treatment resulting in physical harm, pain, or mental suffering.
The best way to prevent elder abuse is to visit your loved ones often. This helps you identify whether your loved ones are abused so you may take necessary steps with the help of an experienced elder abuse attorney who is aware of elder abuse laws.
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