INJURY | PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER | PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY | INJURIES

Ninety-nine percent of the time, the police are our heroes. They protect us from criminals, help during times of crisis, and make us feel safe. However, there are some unprofessional, poorly-trained, and even downright bad officers.

Police officers can cause serious injuries caused by false arrest, false imprisonment, wrongful eviction, and even brutality. When this occurs, many people lose faith in the entire justice system. But there is recourse; people who are victims of police related injuries can get help. Contacting a personal injury attorney immediately is the right first step and an important part of taking care of yourself after being injured.

False arrest and imprisonment occurs when innocent people are arrested and imprisoned for a crime they didn’t commit. They are often arrested despite lack of evidence or because evidence has been tampered with.

Wrongful eviction occurs when people are kicked out of their homes without proper warning or without reason. This can result in families becoming homeless and struggling to survive.

Finally, police officers sometimes use unnecessary physical action when arresting or responding to people. This is called police brutality. Police brutality has resulted in death in some cases, and it can also result in bruises, broken bones, and even emotional damage.

Just as destructive as physical injuries, emotional injuries can entitle sufferers to compensation. Emotional injuries can cause extreme suffering and serious financial loss. When these injuries are caused by the actions of others, victims are encouraged to seek compensation immediately.

Have you suffered from emotional injuries?
Emotional injuries are often caused by: defamation, slander, libel, abuse, neglect, or stress caused by events that are out of one’s control. Symptoms of emotional injuries take a variety of forms:

• Impaired social skills
  
• Loss of social status
  
• Decreased productivity
  
• Inability to fulfill ordinary responsibilities
  
• Altered mental state

What are the results of emotional injuries?
Emotional injuries can be very expensive in terms of treatment, loss of employment, and/or loss of business. Most frighteningly, these injuries can often cripple individuals long-term socially, emotionally, and mentally. This makes emotional injuries just as dangerous and expensive as physical ones.

What should you do if you have suffered from emotional injuries?
After obtaining primary counseling, contact a legal professional. Many attorneys specialize in obtaining compensation for victims of emotional injuries and will give you a free case consultation.

Emotional elder abuse is not the same as physical abuse, elder neglect, or financial elder abuse, although all three can definitely be linked and can be committed at the same time. Emotional elder abuse consists of:

• verbal harm
• emotional harm
• mental abuse
• emotional neglect
• psychological harm

Emotional elder abuse is usually committed by a family member or caregiver, although it is certainly not limited to them. These people inflict harm by:

• name-calling
• intimidation
• bullying
• trickery
• false promises
• giving the silent treatment
• lying
• harsh, angry words
• yelling
• threatening
• attacking the elder’s feelings of self-worth and confidence
• verbal punishment

Emotional elder abuse can be very hard to detect unless you witness it first hand. Of course, an elder might confide in you that he/she is being abused. In that case, you should ask the elder to document the abuse by keeping a diary or tape-recording the abuse, but only if you’re certain the elder won’t get caught. In the meantime, you should contact adult protective services in your state, and you should file a report with the police. If there is a family member who is outside the circle of abuse, contact that person and explain the situation. There are other ways to determine if an elder is being emotionally abused. Symptoms include:

• depression
• sulky silences
• withdrawn mood
• not wanting to see anyone
• distrust
• not speaking unless the caregiver is present (the caregiver has warned the elder against telling anyone of the abuse)
• decreased appetite
• suicide attempts
• mood swings

If you know an elder who is being emotionally abused, contact adult protective services and the police.

Elder neglect is usually committed by a family member or other caregiver. Unfortunately, elder neglect usually happens because the family member feels overburdened or angered by any inconvenience. Elder neglect is similar to emotional elder abuse, physical elder abuse and financial elder abuse, but it is in it’s own category because it highlights the neglectful actions of a caregiver. Neglect means the caregiver knowingly and even maliciously does not take care of the elder. Neglect usually occurs in the form of:

• malnourishment
• starvation
• under medicating
• not medicating at all
• not seeking medical treatment for the elder
• not dressing the elder appropriately
• leaving the elder outside during bad weather
• not caring for the elder’s physical ailments
• being harsh or cruel to the elder
• not speaking to the elder at all

It’s sometimes hard to determine whether an elder is being neglected. Sometimes it’s hard because the caregiver might try to cover up the signs. An elder might directly tell you he/she is being neglected. If so, listen. Listening is a very important thing to a person who has been neglected. If the elder has not confided in you, here are some common signs of elder neglect:

• being withdrawn and depressed
• losing weight and appearing malnourished
• injuries that are untreated
• injuries that don’t heal
• being underdressed for weather conditions
• being left unattended

If you know an elder is being neglected, there are adult protective services you can call in your state. Notify the police as well. It might also be a good idea to try contacting other family members to let them know of the neglect. Let the elder know you will do everything in your power to help.

Unfortunately, child abuse still occurs today. Child abuse involves either harming a child psychologically, physically or sexually, or it occurs when someone fails to protect or care for a child, such as in cases of neglect. Child abuse can be inflicted by parents, siblings or other family members, as well as by teachers, caregivers, other children or strangers. Birth parents are the most likely to inflict abuse—they are the abusers 80 percent of the time.

Child abuse reports are received every 10 seconds, and an average of three children die every day because of abuse. There are both physical and behavioral symptoms of child abuse. Noticing and reporting these symptoms to authorities is important; children often cannot protect themselves, and they rely on adults to help them out of abusive situations.

Psychological and emotional abuse includes bullying, name-calling, degrading, yelling and shouting, overly aggressive discipline and ridicule. Signs of psychological or emotional abuse include:

• Physical signs:
  • eating disorders
  • speech disorders
  • nervous disorders
• Behavioral signs:
  • cruel behavior, such as bullying or animal torture
  • bed wetting
  • extreme behavior such as being listless or overly withdrawn

Physical child abuse cases include brain and head traumas, bruising and broken bones, spinal cord injuries, and cuts and burns. Signs of physical abuse include:

• Physical signs:
  • unexplained bruises
  • unexplained burns
  • untreated injuries and burns
  • injuries that take an excessively long time to heal
• Behavioral signs:
  • fear of caregivers
  • running away
  • inconsistent explanation for injuries
  • fear of physical contact
  • excessive shyness

Sexual abuse includes inappropriate touching, forcing the child to participate in or watch sexual acts, lewd behavior toward a child, and making the child undress. Signs of sexual abuse include:

• Physical signs
  • frequent sore throat
  • pain and bruising in genital areas
  • sexually-transmitted diseases
  • pregnancy
• Behavioral signs
  • promiscuous behavior
  • difficulty moving and sitting
  • decline in schoolwork
  • nightmares
  • reluctance to undress

If a child decides to disclose abuse to you, listen carefully and either sit or kneel in order to be at their eye level. The child has decided to place his or her trust in you, so be respectful, do not interrupt, and do not try to make any physical contact that will alarm the child, especially if he or she is a victim of physical or sexual abuse.

Once the child has disclosed abuse, or if you are suspicious of abuse even if the child hasn’t told you directly, report the abuse to police, child protective services or family services. Contact a personal injury attorney in order to be informed of your legal rights regarding the abuse.

Child abuse can be prevented. Volunteer your time in schools and daycare centers. Know the signs of child abuse, and educate yourself and others. Educate yourself and others about correct disciplinary actions.