Kirkland Elder Abuse Lawyer

Fighting For Your Family's Rights in a Scary Situation

Are you concerned that a family member may be suffering from elder abuse at the hands of a nursing home facility, hospice nurse, or another caretaker? Elder abuse is a serious crime, and it isn’t just harmful and dangerous; it could be deadly. As with any type of abuse, elder abuse can take many forms. Elders are often abused financially, sexually, physically, and mentally, or by negligence. If you find yourself dealing with elder abuse, you need to contact an experienced personal injury attorney right away.

Call now at (425) 657-5255 for a free, private consultation with Attorney Neil Lindquist. We are dedicated to protecting the elderly in Everett, Kirkland, Bellevue, and the Greater Washington State Area.

About Nursing Home Abuse

Elder abuse can happen anywhere, though it often occurs within nursing homes. Nursing home facilities are meant to shelter and care for our elderly loved ones, but all too often they end up allowing negligence and abuse to take hold and thrive.

Anyone could be a potential abuser, but elders often suffer abuse from their nurses, doctors, or other caretakers on staff at the nursing home. In some cases, they might be abused by other residents, visitors, or people who work closely with the nursing home facility.

Types of Elder Abuse

Elder abuse can take many forms. It is often physical in nature, meaning victims suffer physical neglect and abuse. However, elder abuse can also be emotional, mental, financial, or sexual in nature. For example, if a nursing home staff member frequently berates, yells at, or manipulates a resident, this is emotional abuse. Elderly individuals can also be taken advantage of financially. A caretaker may steal a senior’s credit cards or pocket funds intended to be used for the care of the elderly individual. A caretaker may even convince a senior to change his or her will—or do so without the elderly individual’s knowledge.

While these actions against seniors can seem unthinkable, such abuse can and does occur with alarming frequency. It’s important that you are aware of the common signs of elder abuse, as your loved one may be unable to speak up for themselves when abuse is occurring. In fact, your loved one may not even realize that what they are experiencing is, in fact, abuse and not something they have to tolerate.

Common signs and symptoms of abuse include:

• Loss of interest or depression
• Physical signs of assault, such as bruising, missing patches of hair, burns, etc.
• Soreness between the legs, especially when sitting
• Unexplained financial changes
• Changes to power of attorney
• Personal hygiene is regularly poor
• Missed medication doses
• Environment is unclean
• Fearfulness or strange behavior around particular caretakers
• Bed sores and injuries caused by negligent care