As the population in the United States continues to live longer, greater numbers of the aged segment are finding it necessary to seek assistance in the form of long-term skilled care. Unfortunately, not all of these caregivers are truly interested in the well-being of their wards, often resorting to various forms of elder abuse. This problem is growing in Alabama as well, and is not just confined to nursing home neglect.
Statistics show an increasing number of private caregivers are also engaging in some sort of abuse and/or neglect of their wards. These caregivers are often employed by the elderly or their families in order to continue living in their homes without requiring admission to a nursing home. These caregivers are frequently entrusted with access to the elderly person’s checking account, debit cards, credit cards, and other assets, and can completely wipe out a lifetime of savings in a matter of days or weeks.
Nursing homes are another notorious source of elder abuse and neglect which are not always confined to physical abuse. The emotional trauma that can accompany an elderly person who is subjected to abuse and neglect is immeasurable because those ‘bruises” are not immediately visible.
Private and governmental agencies geared toward assistance for the elderly stress that public awareness is one of the most effective weapons available in the fight against elderly abuse and neglect. According to them, families and friends of the elderly need to know the signs and take steps to protect their loved ones from enduring such treatment.
If such activity is suspected, investigated, and found to be true, one of the best methods for raising public awareness is to seek the services of an attorney who is experienced in bringing these types of activities to the forefront of awareness through litigation, and may even result in criminal charges being filed against the caregivers and their employers while putting a stop to these incidents one case at a time.
Source: Times Daily , “Activities bring awareness to elder abuse“, Tom Smith, June 12, 2013
