California's Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act protects elders and "dependent adults" from abuse and neglect. Any person who is 65 years or more is an elder. A dependent adult is a person between 18 and 64 years of age with a physical or mental disability that restricts that person's ability to carry out normal, everyday activities. A person between 18 and 64 years who stays at least overnight in a hospital is also considered a dependent adult.

Elder Abuse

Elder or dependent adult abuse can occur as either physical abuse, psychological abuse and/or financial abuse. In addition to instances of assault or battery, physical abuse can occur in many unexpected forms including deprivation of water or food, misuse of medicine or other drugs or chemicals, physical constraint, unwelcome touching, and unwanted sexual advances. Psychological abuse is present when an elder or dependent adult is psychologically harmed due to cruel or intimidating treatment, threats, or insults. Examples of psychological harm that an elder or dependent adult incurs as a result of psychological abuse include: fear, depression, loneliness, or mental or emotional stress. Financial abuse occurs when an elder or dependent adult is deprived of his or her property (land, house, money, personal items) and he or she is harmed or damaged as a result. Financial abuse involves stealing from the elder or dependent adult and often includes taking advantage of the elder or dependent adult's frail mental or physical condition to deceive or defraud the elder or dependent adult into handing over his or her property.

Neglect

Neglect exists when an elder or dependent adult is harmed or injured by a caretaker or a person who has custody (custodian) because the caretaker or custodian did not use the level of care that would have been used by a reasonable person in similar circumstances. Examples of neglect include: failure to prevent starvation, malnourishment or dehydration, failure to provide physical or mental medical care, failure to protect from hazards, and failure to provide food, clothing, shelter or aid in personal hygiene.

How to recognize abuse and neglect

Some common indications of abuse and/or neglect include: bed sores, unsanitary living conditions, sudden weight loss, sudden changes in mood or behavior, displaying fear of a caretaker, medication prescriptions not lasting for the allotted time period, unexplained missing money or sudden transfers of property, and mysterious occurrences of bruises or marks.

Authored by Stan Grombchevsky of Spray, Gould and Bowers LLP.