While most of us were taught to respect our elders, sometimes that respect is lacking today. Unfortunately, senior citizens are often taken advantage of, neglected, and abused. Even more unfortunate is the fact that often times the perpetrators are close friends or relatives of the victim. Terms like “neglect” and “abuse” can be the subject of much interpretation and debate. What follows is some information that may help if you think you or an elderly person close to you is falling victim to elder abuse. For more information, please contact the Righthand Law Office for a free consultation.

Sometimes the signs of elder abuse are subtle, and can easily slip under the radar. Some of the best indicators that something is going wrong can be changes in grooming, behavior, or appearance. Also, erratic or otherwise strange banking activity, sudden transfers of assets or deeds, or sudden changes in the planning of an elderly person’s estate could suggest the abuse of a caregiver. It is also equally important to consider the way that the caregiver in question behaves towards the elderly person who is the suspected victim of abuse. Caregivers—who can be anyone from a close relative to a nurse or housekeeper—might exhibit more of an interest in the finances of the adult they care for than for their personal health. Or, a caregiver might position him or herself as a sort of liaison between the elderly person and other friends or family. If the caregiver insists on being present at all of their charge’s social interactions, especially those conversations concerning money, then abuse might be taking place.

Here are some of the most common forms of elder abuse for which you may be able to seek compensation:

• Bed Sores: When an elderly person is immobile or in a wheelchair, they are at risk for having constant pressure on certain parts of their bodies, especially the buttocks and the bottoms of their heels. This pressure comes from lying in a bed or sitting in the same place for long periods of time. When blood is cut off to an area of skin, a sore, often called an ulcer, can develop. If this sore goes untreated it can burst and become infected, which could prove catastrophic for more frail patients with weaker immune systems. Patients in nursing homes and hospitals are often those who get bed sores, and if caregivers fail to properly prevent bed sores in their patients they can be held fully accountable for nursing home abuse.

Preventing bed sores from occurring is a simple matter of making sure to shift a patient’s position frequently, and giving them adequate support such as pillows and mattresses. At the first sign of red skin on any of the most boney areas, caregivers should be sure to attend to that area of skin, preempting the sore before it fully develops. Sores on the elderly is a sign of neglect.

• Falls: There are at least 1800 fatal falls in United States nursing homes every year. For an elderly person whose bones may not be as strong as they once were, these falls can have disastrous consequences, such as fractures, head injury, and fatality.

There are several things that can be done to prevent these types of falls. Making sure that all facilities are equipped with adequate handicapped rails, clearing clutter from patients’ beds, physical therapy, fully trained staff members, and proper assessment of patients in order to identify risk are all actions that can be effective in fall prevention. Some of the factors that may put a patient at risk for falling are:

• Arthritis
• Balance disorders
• Fatigue
• Blindness or partial blindness
• Prescribed medications such as narcotics, sedatives, or others.

In the case that an elderly person dies from a fall in a nursing home or a hospital, that facility may be responsible for both personal injury (that of the victim of the fall) and wrongful death. As with all injury cases, time can be of the essence here so do not delay in seeking counsel.

• Neglect: Elder neglect makes up almost half of all elder abuse cases. Neglect is when a caregiver fails to provide food, water, shelter, personal hygiene, or any other essential of life to someone for whose wellbeing they are responsible. Also, when a caregiver fails to adhere to an elderly person’s treatment plan, or fails to call an elderly person’s primary care physician when necessary, that could also constitute neglect. Elder neglect is not entirely limited to nursing homes or hospitals. If a family member is put in charge of their loved one, it is then their responsibility to ensure the nutrition, hydration, general physical health, and personal hygiene of their charge. Failure to do so is therefore neglectful behavior.

• Financial abuse: This type of elder abuse involves unlawfully dispossessing an elderly person of any of their monetary funds or other properties. These types of offenses can be very serious, and because most offenders have constant access to the elderly person and their possessions, many times an offense is continual, occurring frequently rather than in one isolated event. Typically financial elder abuse is manipulative and deceitful. If you suspect that you or someone you love is being abused in this way, it is important to carefully monitor all bank accounts, signatures on checks, or unpaid bills that were supposed to be paid with the help of a caregiver. Call the Law Office of Scott Righthand for your free consultation.

Because so many instances of elder abuse involve those whose responsibility it is to actually help the elder, a large number of cases—as many as five times the amount of reported cases—actually go unreported year after year. It is important that if you suspect an instance of elder abuse in any of the forms above, contact a lawyer. The Righthand Law Office will provide you with the expert advice you deserve and call immediately for your free consultation.