Elder Law

Abuse of Elderly Goes Undetected Too Often

By Levin & Perconti

Statistics show that elder neglect can be hidden, hard to prove and even underreported. A state?s Department of Children and Families found that adults make up about 18 percent of their abuse cases. Most of those involved the elderly or people who looked senior. Administrators are worried that there are more cases of elder abuse, but since elders can refuse help and since they rarely leave the house, the abuse often goes unreported. Many elderly don?t even go to the doctors that often, and that might be the only time they?re out of their homes. On case of reported neglect involved the death of a 90-year-old woman at a nursing home. The woman had a large infected sacral wound that had evolved and was not treated properly at the nursing home. The medical opinion was that this wound eventually led to her death. Another investigation found a 95-year-old woman?s death was the result of neglect. These numbers show that people must report elder abuse more often to ensure that nursing homes are properly caring for the seniors. To read the full story, click here.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on September 28, 2008 (boomark / email).