Elder Law

Horrific Elder Abuse Case Highlights Need For Change

By Levin & Perconti

The Forbes Blog included a post last week that discussed one truly heartbreaking story of elder abuse. The example was shared as part of the Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing that was held in Congress last week to discuss issues related to elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation. The committee is considering ways in which the federal government can become involved in ending these unacceptable problems facing far too many vulnerable seniors. A variety of individuals provided testimony at the hearing to shed light on the issues.

One testimony shared the story of an elderly mother who became bedridden after suffering physical mobility problems, dementia, and isolation. Her son was supposed to be taking care of her, but he did nothing of the sort. Instead, while his mother spent weeks on end without being moved from her bed, her son would cash her pension payments and use the proceeds at his whim.

The elder victim was essentially forced to rot in bed?literally calling out for help to neighbors through open windows. The neighbors ignored her pleas. As a result, the victim developed 8 large pressure sores, some to the bone, eventually dying without a single person coming to her aid.

Shockingly, this abusive treatment is not uncommon. All blog readers are well aware of the continued examples of Illinois nursing home abuse. Even those aging citizens who remain at home have a high chance of suffering maltreatment. A new survey found that a startlingly 47% of people with dementia who are treated by family members are mistreated in some form.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on March 15, 2011 (boomark / email).