Elder abuse in nursing homes is atrocious. No senior citizen should have to contend with these type of incidents. What many people don’t realize is that just because there aren’t bruises and other physical marks doesn’t mean that there isn’t a problem. In fact, emotional abuse is substantiated much more often than physical abuse.
Emotional abuse cases make up around 15% of substantiated abuse claims, while physical abuse cases represent around 11%. The remaining cases included primarily self-neglect, elder neglect, and financial exploitation. One thing that’s interesting to note is that the number of nursing home abuse and neglect cases that get reported is likely far fewer than the actual cases that occur.
There are many reasons why elderly individuals might avoid speaking up about the abuse or neglect they’re enduring. These include a mistrust of the police, fear of facing retaliation, self-blame and embarrassment. Sometimes, they might think that they are causing trouble if they report it. They could also think that nothing will be done about the issues anyway.
It’s estimated that emotional abuse is one of the most underreported forms. Some individuals are unlikely to report these incidents because there aren’t any outward marks or proof that the abuse occurred.
Any event that involves mistreatment of an elderly individual should be promptly reported to the authorities. This is one step that can help to prevent future occurrences and it set a record of what happened. If you have a loved one who suffers abuse or neglect in a nursing facility, you might encourage them to take legal action. This may help them to recover the damages they suffered because of the incident.
