Elder abuse is far too common across the United States. California was recently ranked 49th on the list of states with the best elder abuse protections. This is a scary revelation, particularly considering that this state is home to the largest population in the country and has millions of elderly residents who require care. Here, we want to discuss what this ranking means for our state and steps that you can take to ensure your elderly loved ones are properly cared for.
Elder Abuse Rankings: What They Mean for California
Elder abuse has been a rising concern for many across this country. For decades, elder abuse has been vastly understudied and poorly understood. However, most experts agree it is much more prevalent than most people realize. Over the last year, the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated nursing homes and brought rising attention to the care that we give to the elderly in the United States.
Recently, the personal finance website WalletHub released rankings of the 50 states and Washington DC on 16 different metrics related to elder abuse in the United States. The three key dimensions that the rankings analyzed were:
- Prevalence of elder abuse
- Resources to combat elder abuse
- Protections for the elderly
The team at WalletHub evaluated these three dimensions using the 16 relevant metrics and weighted the score to reach an average for each state.
California was ranked 49th out of the 51 total jurisdictions. This is alarming, particularly when we see that California ranked 50th for prevalence of elder abuse and 36th for resources available to combat elder abuse in the state. On a somewhat bright note, California ranked second on the list of protections available for the elderly. However, this does not seem to be helping decrease the total number of elder abuse cases across the state.
Suspect Elder Abuse? Work With a Lawyer
If you suspect that a loved one has been the victim of elder abuse, whether in a nursing facility or a home setting, you need to speak to an attorney as soon as possible. California elder abuse lawyer Joel Bryant has extensive experience handling these cases. He has the resources and legal expertise necessary to conduct a complete investigation into the case and help determine liability. Attorney Bryant understands the various types of abuse that can occur, including the following:
There may be various types of compensation available to an elderly person who has experienced abuse at the hands of a caregiver, family member, or another person. Data available from the National Council on Aging shows us that approximately one in ten people aged 60 and over have experienced some form of elder abuse. Some studies show that as many as 5 million elderly people are abused each year in this country. Unfortunately, only approximately one of every 14 cases of abuse are reported to authorities.