Elder Abuse and Carer Neglect: Analysis and Legal Implications

Running head: TRANSITIONAL TO PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE 1
Transitional To Professional Practice
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

TRANSITIONAL TO PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE 2
Section One: Patient safety
This is an analysis of the elder abuse along with carer neglect in the Coroner case. To
start with, the Elder abuse is termed as any act which results to harm to an older person and
usually carried out by a known person. On the other hand, it is an intentional act by the caregiver
in a relation involving the expectation of trust which causes risk and harm. Examples of persons
which might cause elder abuse are partners, friends, neighbors, grandchild, son or daughter.
Accordingly, the carer neglect is termed as the failure of the carer to give the life necessities to
the person they are caring and can be either intentional or unintentional (Barnett, Miller-Perrin &
Perrin, 2015).
Some of the key concerns which lead to elder abuse are as highlighted below. The first
one is the chronological age. As an illustration, when a person advances in age, the cognitive and
psychological functioning deteriorates and hence increases the chances of being abused and
neglected. The second factor is the marital status. This implies whereby the married women are
more at risk of being abused. Chronic health problem is also another factor which can cause
elderly abuse and neglect (Mair, 2015). In this case, the older adults with chronic physical issues
are at high chances of being abused and neglected by the caregivers. This is because the
caregivers might be facing stress (Chesterman, 2016).
The cognitive disorders and substance are also factors which might cause elderly abuse.
The older people who servers from diseases such as dementia can tend to behave violently
towards their caregivers especially when the disease is progressing, and this increases the
chances of elderly abuse (Eysenbach & Till, 2016). On the other hand, those older adults who

TRANSITIONAL TO PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE 3
drink excessively or abuse substances are highly at risk of being abused physically since they
may behave verbally abusive.
The factors identified by Coroner with the potential carer neglect before Marcia Clark’s
admission to the hospital are outlined below (Zador & Sunjic, 2015). The first one is that Mrs.
Clark had dementia in her past medical history which is one of the factors that can cause her to
be abused and neglected. Accordingly, it is recorded Nadia was unkempt and dirty and seemed
confused about describing her Mother’s history. This implies that she was very much stressed
with her mother's state, therefore, lay less concern on her (Tomsen, 2014).
Mrs. Clark seems to be undergoing physical abuse since it is recorded in the first place
when she was admitted to the hospital was put on a pressure mattress because of the open
wounds and injuries that she was having (Tomsen, 2014). Moreover, there is an abandonment of
abuse since it is recorded when Nadia when for consultation, she left her Mother alone. Mrs.
Clark was also neglected, and the possible indicators of this are the unclean living conditions
such as dirt, urine, and smell. She also had untreated bed sores, and she suffered from
malnutrition and dehydration.
The roles of registered nurse usually vary as per the areas of their expertise. Conversely,
they typically perform critical tasks in promoting the wellness by doing a wide range of services
(Eysenbach & Till, 2016). To start with, the registered nurse should know to educate the patients
along with their families about early recovery along with the ways of diseases. Furthermore, they
have to communicate with the physicians about the patients’ conditions during anesthesia.
Section Two: Legal implications of Elder Abuse

TRANSITIONAL TO PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE 4
Explain the legal consequences of elder abuse. How do laws relating to elder abuse work in
practice, for the registered nurse working with families in the community setting?
Elder abuse most often happens in places senior lives, frequently within homes where
Abusers are often adult children, other family members such as grandchildren, or
spouses/partners of elders. It can also occur in institutional settings, mainly long-term care
facilities (Zador & Sunjic, 2015). There are various types of damages which are physical,
emotional, sexual, neglect, or financial. Neglect and commercial exploitation are the most
reported abuse ("Elder justice: Preventing and intervening in elder mistreatment," 2015). The
responsibilities and demands of elder caregiving can also be extremely stressful. The stress of
more aged care can lead to mental and physical health problems that make caregivers burned out,
impatient, and unable to keep from lashing out against elders in their care.
Some of the legal implications of elder abuse are a felony. Someone might be charged
with felony elder abuse if his/her negligence conduct causes an elderly individual to suffer
unjustifiable pain and suffering. This is however punishable by two to four years imprisonment
and a $10,000 criminal fine (Dong, 2015). The implication is the misdemeanor elder abuse
which includes a one year sentence and a $6,000 fine, restitution to the elderly victim and
successful completion of the court-ordered treatment programs. The laws relating to elder abuse
usually work in the sense that if a registered nurse is found guilty of elderly abuse, then he/she is
imprisoned along with significant fines.
Discuss the components of the law that outline the legal role of the registered nurse when
dealing with acts of elder abuse/carer neglect.
Some of the components of laws which outline the legal roles of the registered nurses in
the case of dealing with the activities such as elder abuse or carer neglect areas highlighted