Different factors in the caregiver's life can also contribute to elder abuse. Unless you're caring for an older family member, you may not realize how difficult and stressful it can be. Caregivers must spend significant amounts of their time, money and patience to ensure that their loved one is happy and safe. Often, the caregiver lacks the training, knowledge, and resources to properly care for someone.
The risks of abuse increase even more when the older person is sick or has a mental disorder. These situations are even more stressful and can leave the caregiver feeling trapped and desperate. Cases where financial exploitation is combined with physical abuse or neglect often involve economically dependent family members, particularly adult children, who have been cared for by the older person. We can connect you to the best lawyers and law firms if your loved one experienced elder abuse in a nursing home.
Elder Abuse Lawyers Once you have reported elder abuse to 911 or an elder advocacy organization, it may be wise to contact an elder abuse lawyer. All states also have laws called statutes of limitations that limit the amount of time you have to file an elder abuse lawsuit. Some nursing homes provide excellent care for elderly residents, but they are more likely to abuse elderly people who are seriously ill or who have mental or emotional disorders. The Administration for Community Living has a National Center on Elder Abuse, where you can learn how to report abuse, where to get help, and state laws that address abuse and neglect.
Elder abuse is a complex sociological and cultural problem, and individual cases of elder abuse are often due to several factors. In addition, the field of research has relied heavily on the caregiver stress model, which argues that elder abuse can be attributed to stress associated with providing care and assistance to frail and highly dependent older people. Fortunately, there are laws at the federal and state levels to ensure that punishments for elder abuse are enforced.
