Preventing Elder Abuse – Tips from Personal Injury Attorneys in Kansas City

Part 2 in a Blog Series on Elder Abuse

In yesterday’s blog, we discussed the different types of elder abuse. Today, we’re going to touch on the signs of elder abuse and what you can be on the lookout for to more readily detect it if it’s happening to one of your loved ones. Keep these tips from Kuhlman & Lucas, LLC, personal injury attorneys in Kansas City, in mind.

The Administration on Aging, a program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, provides a helpful rubric on the warning signs of elder abuse. Springboarding off of their outline, the premiere personal injury attorneys in Kansas City at Kuhlman & Lucas, LLC detail various indicators of nursing home/elder abuse as they often appear in the different types of abuse situations.

Signs of Physical Abuse

The physical abuse category has three major subcategories: force/violence, sexual abuse and neglect. These types of physical abuse can share the same signs or indicators, but some signs are unique to each respective type of physical abuse.

• Physical Violence: Physical abuse of the elderly can take the form of hitting, cutting and other forms of striking. This is one of the easiest types of elder abuse to detect, because the signs are outward and physical, such as bruising and lacerations that are not easily explainable.
• Sexual Abuse: Tragically, sexual abuse of the elderly does happen. With this form of abuse, you may notice some bruising that indicates the individual was restrained. You will also want to be on the lookout for emotional side effects, such as being uncharacteristically withdrawn. Sometimes, sexual abuse of the elderly results in sexually transmitted diseases.
• Neglect: Failing to provide adequate care and basic necessities for the elderly is commonly referred to as neglect. This most often manifests itself in unkempt clothing, the elderly person might appear dirty, they could have bed sores and more.

Signs of Emotional Abuse

Emotional or psychological abuse most often involves verbal threatening, mocking, harassing, and isolating the elderly. These types of practices can be particularly damaging for the aged person, since many of them are living with dementia or other forms of a decreased mental aptitude. If your elderly loved one is enduring emotional abuse or trauma, you might notice:

• Changes in behavior that cannot be explained
• The elderly person becoming increasingly more withdrawn
• Your loved one might be refusing to talk, or talks very little
• Emotional behavior that could be classified as depression, anxiety, paranoia, etc.

Signs of Financial Abuse

While not physically damaging, financial abuse can be incredibly dangerous for the elderly person and oftentimes their family members as well. Financial exploitation could be indicated by the following:

• Uncharacteristic transactions
• Large transactions
• Periodic transactions to an unfamiliar account

If your loved one is a victim of elder abuse, you need the personal injury attorneys in Kansas City at Kuhlman & Lucas, LLC

If you begin to notice any of the signs of elder abuse explained above, you may want to take legal action. The personal injury attorneys in Kansas City at Kuhlman & Lucas can help fight for justice for your loved one. Contact our office today for a free, comprehensive case evaluation.