Elder Abuse in Tennessee: Reporting, Penalties, and Lawsuits

Elder abuse in Tennessee is handled under two overlapping laws: the Adult Protection Act and the criminal code’s elder abuse offenses. Anyone who suspects an older or vulnerable adult is being harmed is legally required to report it to Adult Protective Services, abusers can face felony charges and civil lawsuits, and courts can issue protective orders keeping the abuser away from the victim and their money.

What Counts as Elder Abuse

Tennessee law recognizes several forms of mistreatment. Physical abuse is a caregiver inflicting bodily pain or injury. Neglect is a caregiver’s failure to provide food, shelter, or medical care, or creating conditions that keep the person from getting those things on their own. Self-neglect applies when an adult cannot care for themselves without outside help.¹

Financial exploitation is defined broadly in the criminal code. It covers using deception, intimidation, or undue influence to take control of an elderly or vulnerable person’s property, breaching a fiduciary duty as a guardian or power of attorney holder, and obtaining property without giving fair value in return.²

Confinement is a separate offense. It means knowingly and unreasonably restricting an elderly or vulnerable person’s movement, including locking them in a room, separating them from their living area, using physical restraints, or giving unnecessary medications to control their behavior. Licensed care facilities that follow state and federal restraint standards are exempt.²

Warning Signs Families Should Watch For

The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance highlights a handful of red flags: unexplained large withdrawals from the person’s accounts, sudden changes in financial circumstances, valuables or cash missing from the home, and an increase in junk mail about sweepstakes or solicitations. A noticeable decline in living conditions despite adequate income can also signal that money is being diverted.³

Common scams aimed at Tennessee seniors include callers posing as Medicare representatives to harvest personal information, funeral-related fraud targeting grieving families, and telemarketing schemes that circulate victims’ names among scam networks once a first payment is made.³

Who the Laws Protect

Two different age thresholds apply depending on which law is in play. Under the Adult Protection Act, “advanced age” means 60 or older, and the law covers any adult 18 or older who cannot manage daily needs or protect themselves because of a physical limitation, mental limitation, or advanced age, and who has no one willing and able to help.¹

The criminal statutes use a higher threshold. An “elderly adult” is someone 70 or older. A “vulnerable adult” is anyone 18 or older whose physical or mental condition leaves them unable to protect themselves from abuse, neglect, or exploitation.² A healthy 65-year-old qualifies for Adult Protective Services involvement but would need to show a specific vulnerability to trigger a criminal elder abuse charge.

Who Qualifies as a Caregiver

Several elder abuse offenses apply only when the person causing harm is a “caregiver” or “caretaker.” Under the Adult Protection Act, a caretaker is anyone who has agreed by contract to provide care; a parent, spouse, adult child, or other relative who lives with or regularly visits the person and knows about their limitations; or someone living in the adult’s home who has taken on caregiving duties.¹

The criminal code uses a similar list and adds one category: a person in a dating or romantic relationship with someone who has a legal duty to provide care, and who lives with or has regular contact with the elderly or vulnerable adult.² Banks and financial institutions do not count as caretakers unless they have a formal trustee agreement or court appointment.

You Are Required to Report

Tennessee is a universal mandatory reporting state. Anyone with reasonable cause to suspect that an adult has been abused, neglected, or exploited must report it. The duty is not limited to doctors, nurses, or social workers. The obligation also applies if the adult has died and the circumstances need reporting.⁴

Failing to make reasonable efforts to report is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to 11 months and 29 days in jail, a fine up to $2,500, or both.⁵⁶

Reporters are protected. Anyone who files a report or participates in an investigation is presumed to be acting in good faith and receives immunity from civil and criminal liability, including in any resulting judicial proceedings. An employer who retaliates against you for reporting can be sued for compensatory and punitive damages.⁷ The reporter’s name is confidential and cannot be released except by court order for good cause, or when APS shares its file with law enforcement or a district attorney for a criminal case.⁸

How to File a Report

Reports go to Adult Protective Services at the Tennessee Department of Human Services. There are three ways to file:

Online at OneDHS.tn.gov/csp. No login is required, and each report gets a reference number you can use to check its status.
By phone, 24 hours a day, at 1-888-277-8366.
Anonymously, through either the online portal or the hotline.⁹

When you file, give whatever you know: the adult’s name, address, and age; the name and address of anyone responsible for their care; what you’ve seen or suspect, including any sign of prior mistreatment; who you think the perpetrator is; and your own contact information if you’re willing to share it.⁴ If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 first. Online reports can take up to one business day to process, so use the phone hotline for urgent situations.

What Happens After You Report

APS screens incoming reports to decide whether the situation meets the criteria for an investigation. Accepted cases get a priority level that controls how fast an investigator must make face-to-face contact with the alleged victim:

Priority A: contact within 24 hours. If law enforcement makes the initial contact, APS follows up within two business days.
Priority B: contact within one to five business days, depending on urgency.
Priority C: contact within one to seven business days.

Those timeframes run from the date the case is assigned, not the date you filed.¹⁰

Criminal Penalties for Abusers

Tennessee treats elder abuse as a felony in most cases, with penalties scaled to the type of conduct and the victim’s status.

A caregiver who knowingly neglects an elderly adult (70 or older) in a way that harms their health or welfare commits a Class E felony. The same conduct against a vulnerable adult of any age is a Class D felony, which carries longer potential prison time. If the neglect involved abandonment or confinement but caused no physical injury, the charge drops to a Class A misdemeanor.¹¹

Financial exploitation is punished as theft, but one classification higher than ordinary theft for the same dollar amount. Because Tennessee’s theft penalties step up by the value of what was taken, that enhancement can push a case from a misdemeanor into a felony. A breach of fiduciary duty by a guardian or power of attorney holder falls directly under this statute.¹²

Civil Lawsuits by Victims and Families

Criminal charges aren’t the only option. An elderly person or disabled adult can bring a civil lawsuit in their own name, or through a conservator or “next friend,” for abuse, neglect, sexual exploitation, or theft of money or property through fraud, deception, or coercion.¹³

Recoverable damages include compensatory awards, reasonable expenses, and attorney fees. Courts can also impose punitive damages under common law standards when the defendant’s conduct warrants it.¹³ Attorney fee recovery is a practical point: it makes these cases economically viable for lawyers to take even when the amount stolen was modest.

Orders of Protection

Several categories of people can ask a court for a protective order on behalf of an elderly or vulnerable adult. A relative, conservator, agent or employee of the Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability, or an attorney ad litem can file a sworn petition alleging that the adult has been subjected to, or threatened with, criminal abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation. The adult can also file on their own behalf.

In an emergency, a law enforcement officer responding to an incident can seek an ex parte protective order if the officer has reasonable grounds to believe the adult is in immediate danger and the adult either consents in writing or lacks the capacity to consent. A protective order can bar the abuser from further harmful conduct, prohibit any further misappropriation of the adult’s money or property, and require the return of funds or assets already taken.

Abuse in Nursing Homes and Licensed Care Facilities

Licensed healthcare facilities face an added layer of accountability. Tennessee law prohibits willful abuse or neglect of residents and uses the same definitions found in the Adult Protection Act. Facilities that violate these standards are subject to civil monetary penalties imposed by state licensing authorities.¹⁴

Restraint practices are regulated in detail. Patients under restraint must be checked every 30 minutes and have the restraints released every two hours for repositioning and exercise. Restraints require a written physician’s order for a limited period, standing orders are prohibited, and locked restraints are banned entirely.¹⁴ If you suspect a family member in a care facility is being improperly restrained or sedated, that is reportable conduct under both the facility licensing statutes and the Adult Protection Act.

1
Justia. Tennessee Code 71-6-102 – Part Definitions
2
Justia. Tennessee Code 39-15-501 – Part Definitions
3
Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance. Elder Abuse Awareness Resources
4
Justia. Tennessee Code 71-6-103 – Rules and Regulations – Reports of Abuse or Neglect
5
Justia. Tennessee Code 39-15-509 – Report of Abuse, Sexual Abuse
6
Justia. Tennessee Code 40-35-111 – Authorized Terms of Imprisonment and Fines for Misdemeanors
7
Tennessee Department of Human Services. Tennessee Code 71-6-105 – Reports and Investigations; Privileges and Immunities
8
Justia. Tennessee Code 71-6-118 – Confidentiality of Records and Reports
9
Tennessee Department of Human Services. Adult Protective Services
10
Tennessee Department of Human Services. APS Policy Manual – Assignment Response Categories
11
Justia. Tennessee Code 39-15-507 – Offense of Neglect of Elderly or Vulnerable Adult
12
FindLaw. Tennessee Code 39-15-502 – Financial Exploitation of Elderly or Vulnerable Adult
13
Justia. Tennessee Code 71-6-120 – Right of Elderly Person or Disabled Adult to Bring Action
14
Justia. Tennessee Code 68-11-803 – Type B Civil Monetary Penalties