Senior Indian Woman: Elder Abuse, Neglect, Fraud, Nursing Home Neglect, Parental Abuse. 

What is Elder Abuse?

As elders become more physically frail, they are 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 by 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.

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 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.

Emotional abuse

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 abuse

Sexual elder abuse is 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 Abuse and 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

Black Gentleman: Victim of Medical Fraud, Medical Malpractice, Over billing medical expenses.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 under medicating
  • Recommending fraudulent remedies for illnesses or other medical conditions
  • Medicaid fraud