Pattern of injuries flags elder abuse: study TORONTO - Older
people who have a wrist or hip fracture often get such injuries
after taking a fall. But researchers say there's a distinct
pattern of broken bones and bruises that suggests something more
sinister — elder abuse. After reviewing international medical
literature and Ontario coroner's reports, Dr. Kieran Murphy and
colleagues saw the same pattern of fractures and soft-tissue
injuries over and over again. "There is indeed a typical
distribution of injuries that are seen radiologically in the
elderly who are beaten," said Murphy, a radiologist at the
University Health Network in Toronto. "So they have injuries
around their eyes, they have injuries to their teeth. "They may
have shaking injuries which cause bleeds (inside) the head
called subdurals, they may have soft-tissue injuries and upper
extremities injuries," he added. Murphy and his team reviewed
more than 1,100 cases of abuse in people over age 60. Their
findings will be presented Tuesday at the