Nursing Home Abuse Glossary

E

Edema. Excessive accumulation of water in the tissues.

Elder Law. Laws regarding the rights of elderly people.

Eldercare. Programs, support systems, laws, and funding that meet the needs of the elderly. Examples include Social Security, health insurance, and elder law.

Elopement. The ability of a nursing home resident who is not capable of self-preservation to successfully leave the nursing home unsupervised and undetected and enter into a harmful situation. Compare with Wandering.

End-Stage Renal Disease. Permanent kidney failure requiring lifetime dialysis or a kidney transplant.

Error. In the legal sense, a mistaken interpretation of facts or application of the law that can prove grounds for an appeal.

Exemplary Damages or Punitive Damages. Compensation greater than is necessary to pay a plaintiff for a loss. These damages are awarded because the loss was aggravated by violence, oppression, malice, fraud or wanton and wicked conduct on the part of the defendant. Such damages are intended to punish the defendant for his evil behavior or make an example of him or her.

Evidence. Proof of a probative matter presented at trial for the purpose of inducing belief in the minds of the jury or judge. Evidence comes in a variety of forms, including testimony, writings, tangible objects, and exhibits.

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