California Elder Abuse Attorney – Nursing Home Abuse, Nursing Home Neglecting, Nursing Home Injuries Attorney
Elder Abuse can be Physical, Mental, Emotional, or Financial
There are many different types of elderly abuse – the most recognizable being physical abuse by a caregiver. Instances of this happening are – unfortunately – quite common in even the most reputable nursing homes and long-term care facilities. The extreme cases are usually brought to light and the victims get their day in court. Other cases are overlooked or ignored because of a lack of support from loved ones or staff shortages at the nursing facilities. Bottom line – far too many senior citizens are being mistreated and have no way of finding relief. Elderly abuse attorneys are available, but a senior with disabilities, dementia, or Alzheimer’s isn’t likely to call them.
Physical abuse isn’t the only kind of abuse seniors are subjected to. Mental abuse can be every bit as painful, even more so in some cases. In a recent California case in 2010, Cesar Ulloa, a caregiver at Silverado Senior Living, was telling one of his patients that he was sexually abusing the man’s nineteen year old daughter. He was also physically abusing a number of other patients. The act of taunting was classified by the courts as mental torture and Los Angeles personal injury lawyers were responsible for Ulloa receiving a life sentence in prison for his crimes. The Los Angeles elderly abuse attorney representing the victims described those crimes as heinous and despicable in his closing arguments, an assessment the judge and jury agreed with.
Emotional abuse happens every day and it’s often not considered by the offenders to be a form of abuse at all. Yelling at an elderly person for being unable to perform a physical or mental task is abuse, particularly if they’re not capable of doing what is being asked of them. Telling a senior family member to “shut-up” or “go back to your room” is also emotional abuse. At that age, they need love and affection, not frustration and anger. Caregivers justify it because of their own stress levels, but that doesn’t make it right. The patient deserves a caretaker who cares.
The most common form of elderly abuse, and one that is on the rise in America right now, is financial abuse. High unemployment and rising prices for gas and food have caused family members to steal from their elderly parents and grandparents. There are those who are defrauding senior citizens, using telemarketing and mail solicitation designed to sell bogus products or even worse, steal identities. Full service law firms are feeling the pressure as they are getting busier and busier. There are even instances where identification and checkbooks have been taken from patients in hospitals and nursing homes by unscrupulous caretakers looking to make a profit. All of these examples classify as abuse.
Victims do have recourse, but they need to know what’s happening and have access to nursing home abuse attorneys and lines of communication they can use to report it. There are many elderly abuse attorneys across the country and quite a few adult protective service agencies. If you have a loved one in a nursing home or assisted living facility who you think is being abused, call one of these lawyers or agencies and do something about it.
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