Nursing Home Financial Exploitation

How to Spot Nursing Home Financial Exploitation

For many of us, placing a loved one in a nursing home is a gut-wrenching decision. Discovering your loved one’s caregivers have taken advantage of them can be devastating -- riddling you with guilt, anger, shame, and outrage. Unfortunately, nursing home financial exploitation has been on the rise in recent years.

Nursing Home Financial Exploitation Defined

There are several common types of nursing home financial exploitation. Some of the more common forms are:

• Writing or cashing checks from the victim’s account without his or her authorization.
• Providing “services” which are neither requested nor needed.
• Stealing personal information. This can be used to take advantage of an elderly person in a number of ways, including withdrawing money from the elderly person’s accounts or opening credit card accounts in his or her name.
• Modifying legal documents such as wills, deeds, or contracts without the elderly person’s knowledge or consent.
• Stealing the victim’s money or possessions.
• Charging invalid fees, often for services which were not actually received.
• Forging the nursing home resident’s signature.
• Using coercion or threats to get the nursing home resident to agree to any financially related decision.

How to Spot Nursing Home Financial Exploitation

The best way to protect your loved one from nursing home financial exploitation is to be vigilant. Keep a close eye on all financial transactions. Ask to see a rundown of all charges. Request documentation showing your loved one received the services in they paid for including dates and names of all service givers.

If your loved one is capable of communicating with you, ask his or her about the services they are receiving. If you have any question regarding the necessity of services the nursing home is charging for, or whether your loved one is actually receiving the services he or she is being charged for, don’t hesitate to ask questions. Often, the very fact that you are checking up will help ensure that your loved one receives the services she needs and is not taken advantage of by those who would prey on the elderly.

Keep an especially close eye on your loved one’s financial records and legal documents. Review checkbooks regularly and ask about anything that doesn’t add up. You should also review any bank or credit card statements.

Keep an inventory of all of your loved one’s possessions. Items such as personal jewelry, cash, and any other valuable possessions should be detailed. The nursing home is responsible for making sure your loved one and her possessions are kept safe. Failure to do so may constitute nursing home financial exploitation. At the very least, it constitutes negligence.

Nursing Home Financial Exploitation is a Crime

Nursing home residents have rights, including the right to expect protection from nursing home financial exploitation. Financially exploiting an elderly or otherwise infirm person is a crime and is punishable by law. If your loved one has been exploited, it’s likely that other seniors are suffering the treatment as well. Always report nursing home financial exploitation when you become aware of it.

If you suspect nursing home financial exploitation, call the lawyers at Sweeney Law Firm. In addition to the criminal charges which may be brought against the perpetrators, you and your loved one may be entitled to financial compensation for the damages incurred by nursing home financial exploitation. The lawyers at Sweeney Law Firm specialize in elder care law and will help ensure that the exploitation does not continue and that your loved one receives adequate care. There is no cost or obligation for us to evaluate your case. The Sweeney Law Firm works on a contingency fee basis. There is never a fee unless a recovery is made for you.