Things to consider for investigation:
- Insults
- Humiliation
- Silent treatment
- Trying to scare the vulnerable adult
Definition of Verbal Abuse: the use of words, sounds, or other communication including, but not limited to, gestures, actions, or behaviors, by a caretaker or other person providing services to a vulnerable adult that are likely to cause a reasonable person to experience humiliation, intimidation, fear, shame, or degradation.
oklahoma.gov | Definition of Verbal Abuse
Example of Appropriate Findings Narrative
Substantiated Verbal Abuse:
Allegation of verbal abuse is substantiated. Client is a 55-year-old male who is bedridden and requires total care. At the time the allegations occurred, he resided with his wife (Tammy Misap), their daughter (Veronica Milsap), and their daughter’s fiancé, George Jones.
Mr. Jones provided care to client on 05/15/23 while client’s wife had a doctor’s appointment. The client reports that Mr. Jones told him, “I would be better off dead and that I wasn’t wanted anymore.” Client also states Mr. Jones threatened to kill him. He reports, “George showed me the gun and then showed me a machete and knives. He said he was going to use them to cut me up. He told me he was a cannibal, and he was going to eat me in a soup. He said if I told anyone they wouldn’t believe me because he’s a vegetarian.”
When Mrs. Milsap arrived back at the home, she witnessed a gun and a hammer or mallet on the table. She states George made a statement to her that, “I could just kill that man (referring to client) and no one would know.” She states client told her on 05/17/23 that George threatened to kill him and that no one would know. She also declares client said George told him that he could “cut him up and eat him in a soup.” During the interview with Mr. Jones, he reports he took client into the bathroom and as he was moving the client from his wheelchair to his shower chair the client “shit on my foot which really pissed me off.” He states he told client, “Motherfucker, you just shit on me.” He declares he told client he was upset, and he was going to leave him in the bathroom to go downstairs to smoke a joint so he could calm himself down.
When asked about the machete and the gun, Mr. Jones reports he had a decorative gun on the table. He clarifies it was basically a fancy cap gun and his plans were to hang it on the wall. Worker asked Mr. Jones about making a comment to client about cutting him up and eating him in a soup. Mr. Jones states he feels that comment is racist, and he always jokes that, “The only meat I eat is dick. I’m a vegetarian.” He adds, “Tammy thought I was going to kill Merle and eat him.” Mr. Jones may have thought he was joking, but Mr. Milsap was intimidated and degraded.
Unsubstantiated Verbal Abuse:
Mr. Tony Danza is nearly deaf without his hearing aids. He often does not wear his hearing aids. That leaves people having to speak loudly, evening appearing to yell, so he can hear at least part of what is being said to him. Mrs. Danza gets so frustrated with him for not wearing his hearing aids. She is soft spoken and has a difficult time speaking loudly enough for him to hear her. At time she feels like is yelling at him.
The Danzas were at their doctor’s office. Mr. Danza was walking across the room to go out to their truck to get his reading glasses and Mrs. Danza tried to get his attention She finally yelled across the room at her husband as loud as she could. He just looked at her. The other folks in the room were surprised about the yelling. He went to get his reading glasses from the truck, and she wanted him to get his hearing aids also. Mrs. Danza and everyone else that speaks to Mr. Danza when is hearing aids are out has to talk loudly and even yell for him to hear.
When asked Mr. Danza said his wife does not yell him. She has to get loud for him to hear. He know it frustrates her. He laughed and stated he sometimes leaves them out on purpose.
