Elder Neglect vs. Elder Abuse
Understanding the difference between elder neglect and elder abuse is essential to pursuing your case. Here are a few types of neglect your loved one may have been subjected to:
Physical Neglect
When a victim has suffered physical harm, this is physical neglect. It could be due to a lack of hygiene, not being fed enough, or not being given medication when they need it. Failure to help them clean and dress, failure to change bandages, or any failure in care that leads to physical harm can be classified as physical neglect.
Emotional Neglect
When you hire a caregiver for your senior loved one, part of their duty is to provide companionship and comfort. When they fail at this responsibility, and when they belittle, dismiss, ignore, or otherwise fail to provide for their adult emotional needs, this can result in actual psychological harm such as anguish, isolation, fear, and anger.
Financial Neglect
If you have hired a caregiver to help with your senior parent or grandparent’s finances and they fail to do so, this is financial neglect. It can occur if they fail to make payments for their patient on rent, mortgage, taxes, utility bills, and even health insurance.
Abandonment
One of the most horrifying kinds of neglect is complete abandonment. This happens when a caregiver leaves their patient with no replacement caregiver. If they can’t perform their duties for any reason, they have an obligation to let you know in advance, and possibly even to help find new care.