Types of Elder Maltreatment

Physical maltreatment – inflicting, or threatening to inflict, physical pain or injury on a vulnerable elder, or depriving the elder of a basic need. Signs may include:

• bruises; lip trauma; bone fractures; broken eyeglasses or frames; fractured, loose, or unexplained missing teeth; unexplained bruises, pressure marks, bruising of eye(s), welts, lacerations, cuts, burns, restraining against their will, and/or broken dentures or RPDs.

Sexual maltreatment – inflicting non-consensual sexual contact of any kind.

Emotional or psychological maltreatment – inflicting mental or emotional anguish or distress on an elder person through verbal or nonverbal acts. Signs may include:

• caregiver’s refusal to allow visitors to see the elder alone,

• consistent degrading comments or threats (including the threat of moving the elder to a nursing home or other facility), or

• yelling, threatening, saying hurtful things, or repeatedly ignoring the elderly person, or

• depriving the elder from going into the community.

Financial or material exploitation – illegal taking, misuse, or concealment of funds, property, or assets of a vulnerable elder. Signs may include:

• report of unexpected withdrawals from financial accounts; abrupt changes in the elder’s financial documents such as power of attorney forms, healthcare directives, trusts, or a will; and unpaid dental bills (especially if finances are controlled by a fiduciary such as a power of attorney or conservator).

Neglect and Abandonment  – refusal or failure by those responsible to provide food, shelter, health care, or protection to a vulnerable elder. Signs may include:

• ill-fitting dentures, lack of dental care, and poor dental or personal hygiene; report of confinement or isolation; failure to appear at scheduled appointments; withholding food and/or medications, and delays in seeking care.

• Abandonment is the desertion of a vulnerable elder by anyone who has assumed the responsibility for care or custody of that person without planning for their care.