Bronx Nursing Home Financial Abuse Lawyer

Important Things to Know About Financial Abuse in Nursing Homes

While living in a nursing home, elderly residents expect care and assistance to live a healthy life. However, abuse does occur in some cases, whether it be purposeful or from negligence. Another form of abuse is financial abuse. This is when employees or caretakers illegally use a nursing home resident’s funds or property. Nursing home residents are easy targets for this type of theft, due to their vulnerability and ability to become confused. The signs of financial abuse are harder to find than other types of abuse, so it is important to know what to look for.

Was Your Family Member The Victim of Financial Abuse in a Nursing Home?

Financial abuse can occur in a few different ways. This includes:

Forcing a resident’s signature on a check or documents such as a will;
Financial exploitation;
Stealing a resident’s money or possessions;
Cashing a resident’s check without permission; and
Improper use of power of attorney or guardianship.

While these forms of financial abuse seem complicated, basically anyone with a close relationship to the elderly resident can commit financial abuse. This can include nursing home employees, caretakers, or even family members.

Nursing Home Resident’s Signs of Financial Abuse

Since financial abuse does not show physical or emotional symptoms, it can be hard to detect when the abuse is occurring. When monitoring an elderly family member’s finances, remember to look for:

Unexplained money transfers to another person;
Sudden changes in their will or other documents;
Frequent checks written to a caregiver;
Sudden changes in funds, such as unexpected withdraws:
Personal items are missing from the resident’s possession;
The resident suddenly does not want to talk about finances; and
Additional names appearing on the resident’s bank signature card.

Since these signs do not appear physically or emotionally on the resident, it is important to pay close attention to the resident’s banking and financial accounts. Some ways to prevent financial abuse include setting up automatic bill payments and direct deposit for checks and communicating closely with the banks. It is also important to review nursing home and caretaker options carefully when selecting assistance for the elderly.

Experienced Nursing Home Injury Attorneys Ready to Help

Financial abuse can be just as devastating to a nursing home resident as other forms of abuse. Protect your family members and ensure that they receive the best care possible by watching for warning signs of theft and abuse. If you suspect financial abuse is occurring, contact our experienced nursing home injury attorneys as soon as possible.

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If you have any questions concerning financial abuse and nursing home negligence, contact our experienced nursing home injury attorneys for more information by email or calling (718) 364-4000. You can also get started by simply filling out one of our case intake forms, and we will have one of our attorneys get right back to you.