Elder Abuse and When It Is Time To Call an Attorney
By Barry A. Drucker, Attorney – Justice 4 Elders
A grandparent is pressured into cosigning a loan by a relative facing a financial crisis. A caregiver deprives an elderly patient of their walker for a day to restrict their movement. An elderly parent’s phone is “confiscated” by their adult child as a punishment for certain behavior.
Those are examples of scenarios that could constitute elder abuse, which statistics show has been on the rise in recent years. Once identified, such scenarios should be quickly addressed. But knowing how to evaluate them and move forward can be challenging.
The following is a primer on what elder abuse could look like, what to do if you suspect it is occurring, and how an attorney can help.
What does elder abuse look like? Acts that can be considered elder abuse are many and varied. They can include physical threats, emotional trauma, or financial exploitation and can be inflicted by family members, staff at elder care facilities, or total strangers. Some abuse is active, such as inflicting injury on an elder, and some is passive, such as neglecting to provide food or other necessities.
“Once safety is restored, victims and their families should begin documenting the abuse.”
There are a number of warning signs that can indicate abuse is occurring, ranging from unexplained injuries to poor hygiene to an elderly loved one becoming unusually withdrawn. When assessing whether a situation should be considered abuse, the important thing is to look at the totality of what is happening. While one missed request doesn’t necessarily establish abuse, a continuing pattern of inadequate care should be seen as more concerning.
How should you respond to abuse?
For families who identify an abusive situation, the first step is making sure their loved one is safe. Addressing an immediate medical emergency or threat to an elder must be the priority.
Once safety is restored, victims and their families should begin documenting the abuse. Establishing a written timeline and taking photographs when appropriate is important. If the abuse involved a care facility, communication about the situation should be saved, and a log should be created of who was spoken to and what was said.
How can an attorney help?
Attorneys provide the experience and expertise needed to conduct an investigation. Rather than seeing themselves as investigators, elders and their families should focus on sharing what they have observed and experienced with an attorney who will then explore the facts and determine what the law provides.
Once abuse is suspected, elders and their families should move quickly to address it. Communicate concerns, ask questions, and monitor to make sure conditions change. Hopefully, the situation will be found to be an unintentional, one-time mistake. If not, however, legal help can ensure all important details are uncovered and those at fault are held accountable.
About the Author
– Barry A. Drucker, Attorney with Justice 4 Elders, has devoted his career to helping personal injury victims fight large insurance companies and obtain fair compensation for their injuries. In that same spirit, he represents victims of elder neglect and abuse — older adults who have been harmed, overlooked, or mistreated by the care facilities and institutions entrusted to protect them. For Drucker, elder neglect work is a return to a cause he has cared about for decades. The same commitment that led him to chair the Roxbury Park Seniors Legal Clinic, providing free legal advice to senior citizens early in his career, now drives him to give vulnerable elders and their families a strong voice. Drucker understands how easily older adults can be dismissed or taken advantage of, and he is passionate about holding negligent parties accountable and restoring the dignity, safety, and respect his clients deserve.
