While the known statistics about elder abuse are frightening, the amount of abuse that goes unreported is perhaps even more frightening. We hear the horror stories of seniors being beaten, exploited, and neglected at nursing homes and justifiably shutter at the mistreatment of the elderly. Unfortunately, most examples of elder abuse go unreported. In many cases, there are one or more obstacles that get in the way of detection or informing the relevant authorities.
Roughly 10 percent of Americans aged 60 and older have been victims of elder abuse at some point in their lives. This statistic may even be below the actual number of abuse victims. There are some estimates of five million elder abuse victims each year. What is even more disturbing is that authorities only receive reports of one in every 14 cases of abuse. That means that the perpetrators go unpunished, and seniors and their families do not receive justice. However, there are valid explanations for that.
The Different Types of Elder Abuse
To first understand why an individual may not report an instance of abuse, you need to understand the different types of elder abuse. While they all fall under the same heading, each of these different forms of abuse has its own characteristics and, thus, its own reasons for victims not reporting them.
Elder abuse can include:
- Sexual abuse
- Emotional abuse
- Abandonment
Some Victims Do Not Have the Verbal Capacity to Report It
The first reason why elder abuse often goes unreported is that the victim cannot fully articulate what happened to them. More than half of nursing home residents have some form of dementia, and two-thirds are in stages of cognitive decline. Other nursing home residents are stroke victims and might suffer from aphasia. Their condition may mean that many elders cannot even fully perceive what is happening to them.
Even if nursing home residents are fully aware of what is happening to them, they may not have the ability to fully articulate it. Many seniors in this position are either non-verbal or cannot fully express their thoughts. Depending on the type of abuse, they might not have the ability to explain to other nursing home staff or family members the extent of the problem. If family members do not spot the signs, reports of abuse start with someone saying something. When the residents cannot speak, their condition prevents abuse from being detected.
Abuse Victims May Fear Retaliation
Even if a senior can speak, they may be too afraid to tell someone else of the abuse that they are experiencing. One of the realities of nursing home life is that residents are fully dependent on their caregivers for things like washing themselves and going to the bathroom. They need staff’s help for all of their activities of daily life. Thus, they may be afraid of crossing the staff member responsible for the abuse.
When the abuse occurs outside the nursing home setting, the elder is similarly afraid of the person who has mistreated them. They could have been threatened with further harm if they report the abuse to anyone else and have no choice but to suffer in fear and silence. In any event, the senior expects that worse will happen to them if they take on their abuser by reporting it. They simply keep quiet, either because of explicit threats or fear.
Elders Are Not Aware of Their Legal Rights
Seniors may have the ability to speak but might not be aware of their rights when it comes to abuse. Nursing homes have the basic obligation to hang signs in prominent places that tell residents that they have the right to report abuse and with whom they need to speak. If skilled nursing home facilities do not adhere to this obligation, or the resident cannot read or comprehend the sign, they might not know where to go to share their story.
If the victim is an elder living at home, they do not even have the benefit of a sign telling them their rights. They would be even more uncertain over where they can go for help. If they live on their own with no family looking in on them, they may have no alternative but to suffer the abuse, cut off from the resources that are in place to help individuals in their situation.
The Senior May Say Something but the Nursing Home Does Not Report It
Even if the senior does say something to nursing home staff, the facility may not follow the rules about reporting the abuse. Federal regulations are very clear on the matter. Nursing homes must report abuse to the relevant state authority and the nursing home administrator within 24 hours and within two hours if there is bodily injury involved.
While the elder might say something, the nursing home could fail to follow its own legal obligations, allowing the allegations to essentially go unreported because no one ends up investigating them.
There are numerous instances where the law fines skilled nursing facilities because they have not followed the law about reporting abuse. This failure only comes to light after someone has sustained a serious injury or the state has carried out a compliance inspection. The nursing home presumably buries the abuse allegation in the hopes that it goes away.
One study from the Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General found that there were 6,600 cases of bodily injuries from abuse in hospitalized nursing home residents where the abuse was not reported to the relevant authorities, constituting roughly 18 percent of the cases where nursing home staff admitted seniors to the hospitals under suspicious circumstances.
Remember, abuse is only considered legally reported if the state is informed, and nothing less. In many cases when a senior has reported the abuse to someone other than the state, the abuse will continue to happen because the state still does not know of it.
It Can Fall on Families to Report the Abuse
When the senior cannot or will not speak, it is incumbent on someone else to detect and report the abuse. While such an individual can be a member of nursing home staff or a social worker in contact with the elder, most often duty falls on the family. These are the loved ones who are responsible for noticing any signs or indicators of elder abuse.
The family does not always notice signs of abuse. Some types of mistreatment are difficult to detect. Family members would need to know what they are looking for to notice certain types of exploitation. Either they are not vigilant enough or do not know the signs of abuse. Thus, the first line of defense may fail to bring abuse to the attention of the appropriate authorities.
We mentioned above that families sometimes do not spot the signs of abuse, so it goes unreported. This failure is not always because families are not actively involved in their loved one’s life. There are some types of abuse that are more difficult to spot than others.
Sexual Abuse Is Often Difficult to Detect
For example, sexual abuse may be the most difficult form of abuse to spot, especially if the senior is nonverbal. Detecting this form of criminal behavior requires paying very close attention to signs. Even then, families may not notice that something is wrong. It requires a close analysis of physical evidence and the ability to spot even small changes in their emotional well-being.
Sexual abuse has an added element of shame. Even if the abused senior can say something, they may feel embarrassed and ashamed of what happened and do not report the abuse. This shame compounds the fear that the abuse may become an ongoing pattern.
Elders Are Also Embarrassed to Report Financial Abuse
Financial abuse often goes unreported too, oftentimes for similar reasons. Defrauded seniors may feel embarrassed about what happened to them. They may be ashamed that someone took advantage of them. Elders cannot believe that they allowed someone to use them and just want it to remain their own secret and keep others from knowing about it.
At the same time, many cases of financial abuse go undetected. Sometimes, a senior does not have the capacity to check their own accounts to notice that something is wrong. If the abuse involves property of theirs, they may not even know that it is missing. At the same time, they may not know where they can go to report the abuse.
People May Not Realize That Emotional Abuse Is Illegal
When it comes to emotional abuse, victims often do not realize that the nasty treatment they are experiencing is actually reportable abuse. They could chalk it up to the abuser having a “bad day.” Victims could just think that the abuser is being rude or is brusque. However, there are cases where the treatment crosses a line and is illegal. For example, if the interaction between the staff member and the resident involves threats, it becomes emotional abuse.
The lines regarding emotional abuse are not always clear. When a caregiver treats the resident in a manner that causes them emotional distress, it could be considered abuse.
The treatment can include:
- Mocking or humiliating a senior who is having difficulty performing a task
- Screaming or berating a resident, either in private or in front of other people
- Disparaging a senior to others within their earshot
- Threatening a resident with abuse or overly harsh punishment
- Continuously blaming the same elder for mistakes, accidents, or issues
Of course, practically everyone realizes that physical and sexual abuse is reportable. People might not know that the conduct described above is illegal and should be reported and is every bit as illegal as the other types of exploitation.
Neglect Is a Form of Abuse
Similarly, people might not also realize that they should also report neglect. They certainly know that it is wrong but do not understand that it is illegal. An understaffed nursing home violates federal and state nursing home laws, and business is not an excuse. When a nursing home violates the law, regulators and courts do not care what the explanation is. If your loved one is not getting the care that the law requires, you should report that as well.
As a result, families must bear heavy obligations. Loved ones do the best that they can, often dealing with nursing homes that try to put obstacles in their way when they are trying to do right by their senior. Families need to be vigilant to spot signs of potential abuse. The same applies if their loved one is in a setting outside a skilled nursing facility.
A Report Starts an Investigation
If families see any signs of abuse, they should not hesitate to report their suspicions. All it takes is a report, and that is enough to start an investigation, even if the allegations seem unspecified and far-fetched. When it comes to abuse and exploitation, no allegation is too small or improbable to investigate. Otherwise, your loved one may end up becoming a statistic.
If you suspect that a loved one is the victim of abuse, either in a nursing home or elsewhere, he or she has legal rights, but might need your help to uphold them. With your assistance, they can file a lawsuit against the abuser and the organizations that employ them. If they are successful, they can recover financial compensation for the damages that the senior has suffered.
Our lawyers can help you and your family get to the bottom of what is happening to your loved one. The first rule when it comes to nursing home abuse is that if you see something or suspect something, you need to say something. In the end, the goal is to provide a safe place for the nation’s seniors and eliminate elder abuse. Contact Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC to learn more about your legal options.
