Elder abuse can happen to anyone, regardless of sex, social status or ethnic background. It wears many faces and, alarmingly, typically occurs at the hands of the people who are most trusted by the victims – like their spouses, children, grandchildren, caregivers or financial or other advisors.
California’s laws set forth several specific types of elder abuse:
But nearly any behavior leading to harm, pain or mental suffering of a vulnerable adult may qualify as elder abuse – regardless of whether those specific results actually were intended.
The signs of elder abuse may be very subtle, particularly when the abuse is something other than physical. A few things to look for are:
Other signs of elder abuse might be more apparent when observing relationships between elders and their caregivers:
Any of these warning signs – alone or combined – may suggest the elder has fallen victim to neglect, abuse or financial exploitation.
Unfortunately, because such a high percentage of abusers tend to be the elder’s family members, caregivers or advisors, more often than not the persons who we would expect to be solving the problems turn out to be the ones responsible for causing the problems. As a result, hundreds of thousands of elder abuse cases go unreported or ignored every year.
If you suspect someone is a victim of elder abuse, please try to intervene. First‚ take steps to get more involved in his or her care. Talk to the caregiver or advisor, assess the situation, and do your best to determine the nature and extent of the problem. If the caregiver or advisor is standing in your way, or if you feel the problem is beyond your control, consider seeking assistance from the state Ombudsman‚ other government agencies‚ or a law firm like ours that focuses on elder or fiduciary abuse.
Source: https://eldercarematters.com/2018/12/18/elder-abuse/