Guidelines Aim To Reduce Elderly Abuse During Disasters
The likelihood of elderly abuse or nursing home negligence is usually higher in situations when a potential victim is in some type of complicated situation, in the midst of a serious health issue, or in some type of distress.
With this in mind, we feel it is important to share a new publication from the U.S. Department of Health’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released that seeks to prevent any type of injury or abuse to the elderly during natural disasters or other types of emergencies.
Noting that predicting certain emergencies – as well as the groups that will be primarily affected by them – is extremely hard to do, the publication - ,titled "Identifying Vulnerable Older Adults and Legal Options for Increasing Their Protection During All-Hazards Emergencies" - suggests that recent events have shown that the elderly are at the highest risk of suffering illness or death during many types of emergencies. This is attributable to the “impaired mobility, diminished sensory awareness, multiple chronic health conditions, and social and economic limitations” that they face at a higher rate than younger demographics.
Furthermore, research for the publication found that there were three major limitations that currently hinder the ability for people to assist the elderly during a natural disaster:
- While many strategies are used to identify vulnerable elderly across the country, none of them have been evaluated.
- No consensus exists on the best way to identify and protect the elderly.
- There are still gaps that exist in legal mandates to protect the elderly.
Read the rest of the report here. If you or a loved one has been victimized by elderly abuse, there are legal options available to you. Call Sokolove Law today to learn more about possible pursuing a elderly abuse lawsuit. For legal help, call (800) 581-6358.
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