Because most of us regard the elderly with appreciation and respect, it’s hard to believe that there are those who would mistreat or take advantage of seniors. But elder abuse in NYC is all too real, and it’s up to the rest of us to hold these wrongdoers accountable. When we use the term “Elder Abuse”, we are including both physical, emotional, and financial abuse and exploitation. There are many dimensions to elder abuse. Some of it is physical or overt. But it can also take less obvious forms: neglectfulness, financial manipulation, negligent administration of medication, nursing home malpractice, etc. Fortunately, for most kinds of abuse or neglect, state and federal law provide meaningful recourse for victims and their families. Specifically, nursing homes are liable for failing to uphold a high standard of care when treating their residents. Family members, doctors, and other caretakers can also be held accountable for physical or financial abuse or neglect.

There are several basic categories of elder abuse:

• Domestic elder abuse is the abuse of an elderly person by someone who has a special relationship with the person ( a spouse, sibling, child, friend, caregiver or fiduciary relationship, i.e. Power of Attorney or Guardian), that occurs in the elder’s home, or in the home of a caregiver.
• Institutional elder abuse generally refers to abuse that occurs in residential facilities for older persons (e.g., nursing homes, assisted living residences, residential healthcare facilities, or rooming board and care facilities).

• Self-neglect or self-abuse is characterized as the behavior of an elderly person to him or herself that threatens his/her own health or safety. Self-neglect is generally found as a refusal (or failure) to carry out one or more activities of daily living (commonly referred to as ADL’s), including bathing, showering, dressing, getting in or out of bed or a chair, using the toilet, eating, taking medication (when indicated), and observing safety precautions. Self-Abuse is the intentional or unintentional harm the elderly person inflicts upon himself or herself whether voluntary or unknowing. Self-Abuse is often found among our most disturbed elderly family members, neighbors and acquaintances.

• Physical abuse is the use of physical force that may result in bodily injury, physical pain, or impairment. Physical abuse includes but is not limited to such acts of violence as striking (with or without an object), hitting, beating, pushing, shoving, shackling, slapping, kicking, pinching, spitting at, and burning. In addition, inappropriate use of a chemical (drug) and physical restraints, force- feeding, and physical punishment of any kind also are examples of physical abuse. Physical abuse may also include forcing a treatment(s) upon an elder who medically is capable of making voluntary healthcare decisions even after the elder has made known his or her a voluntary and informed choice regarding such treatment(s) but forcing a treatment(s) that is against their will or is medically inappropriate.

• Verbal, emotional or psychological abuse which is the infliction of mental anguish, pain, or distress through verbal and/or nonverbal actions and communications. It includes, but is not limited to, verbal assaults, insults, threats, intimidation, humiliation, and harassment. In addition, treating an elder like an infant; isolating an elder from his/her family, friends, or regular activities; giving the elder the “silent treatment;” and enforced social isolation are examples of emotional/psychological abuse.

• Gross Neglect is a frequent form of abuse and is a term that describes the willful absence and/or withholding of essential services and support which is necessary to maintain a person’s known welfare, health and safety. Gross neglect may also include the failure of a person who has a fiduciary responsibility to provide care for an elder (e.g., pay for necessary care). Gross neglect typically means a refusal or failure to provide an elderly person with life necessities such as food, water, clothing, shelter, personal hygiene, medicine, comfort, personal safety, and other essentials.
• Abandonment is the desertion of an elderly person by an individual who has assumed responsibility for providing care for the elderly person, or by a person with physical custody of the elder. This abandonment is generally by a person in an essential life care relationship with the aging person, i.e. a spouse, caregiver, child, or person in a fiduciary relationship.