Financial abuse in nursing homes occurs when someone takes advantage of the vulnerable position of nursing home residents and illegally or improperly uses their funds, assets, or property. With approximately 1.3 million people living in nursing rooms across the U.S. financial abuse in nursing homes is becoming an increasingly widespread and hard-to-detect problem.
If you believe that someone inside the nursing home is stealing from your loved one, we are here to help. The team at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm wants to help you pursue compensation for your injuries and hold the at-fault party responsible for their behavior. We understand that these cases can be challenging, but we do not shy away from tough cases.
For a free case evaluation, contact us today. We work on a contingency-fee-basis, which means you pay nothing upfront or out of pocket. Our fee comes from the settlement that you receive if we win. You have nothing to lose.
Examples of Financial Abuse in Nursing Homes
Examples of financial exploitation of the elderly can include:
- Taking someone’s Social Security or retirement benefits.
- Using the elderly resident’s bank account or credit cards.
- Changing names on their bank account, insurance policies, the title of their home, or will without permission.
- Stealing belongings or money.
- Coercing the resident to sign documents like contracts or wills.
- Forging their signature on checks.
Warning Signs of Financial Abuse
According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, 90% of the people who commit financial abuse are those who know the nursing home resident well, such as friends or caregivers.
One red flag can be if someone who is usually aware of financial matters suddenly does not recall important matters. For example, if you notice that your loved one’s signature is on a large withdrawal slip, but they do not remember taking the money out of the bank, there is cause for concern. It is possible that this is a sign that someone else has gained unauthorized access to the account.
Other signs of financial abuse include:
- Unusual and unexpected changes in spending behavior.
- Payments made with cash.
- Assets that disappear with no explanation, such as valuables, securities, or cash.
- Changes to a will, trust, or the beneficiaries.
- Unexpected or unexplained loans.
- Unusual fear or anxiety when discussing finances.
- Surrendering financial control to someone new.
- No memory of financial transactions.
- Missing credit cards or bank cards.
- Additional authorized users on a credit card.
- Changes in behavior, such as anxiety or sadness.
If you believe that someone you love is suffering from financial abuse in their nursing home, contact Pintas & Mullins Law Firm. We can evaluate the details of your case and help you explore what options you have for recovering compensation.
For a free legal consultation, call (800) 842-6336
Preventing Financial Abuse in Nursing Homes
There are some steps you can take to reduce the likelihood of someone you love being the victim of financial abuse. They include:
- Monitoring automatic bill payments or direct deposits for checks.
- Communicating with banks and asking them to monitor accounts for suspicious activity.
- Monitoring the behavior of your loved one to ensure caregivers are not isolating them.
- Carefully checking the reviews of nursing care facilities prior to moving your loved one into the facility.
What to Do If You Suspect Your Loved One Is the Victim of Financial Abuse
While we understand that it can be difficult to talk about finances with elderly family members, if you suspect that your loved one is the victim of financial abuse, there are some steps you may want to take:
- Talk to your loved one to ensure you have all the facts before you take any kind of action.
- Talk to the administrators in your loved one’s nursing home, as they may already have their own suspicions and could potentially help you find the person who is responsible.
- Put controls on credit cards or bank accounts so that any transactions over a specified amount require confirmation.
- Consider setting up a separate bank account to store most of the money and for paying bills and another for spending money.
You may also want to consider speaking to a nursing home lawyer who can review the details of your case and offer legal guidance on how to proceed.
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How the Team at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm Can Help
We understand how angry you must feel after learning that someone took advantage of your loved one’s vulnerable state. We are here to help you recover losses.
If you are eligible, our team will investigate your case, gathering evidence like bills, financial statements, and witness statements that help us determine who was responsible for your losses. We will also use those documents to calculate the extent of your financial losses–as well as the pain and suffering your loved one endured – in order to determine the full value of your case.
Our team will handle your case from start to finish. We will file the claim on your behalf, and once we have built a strong case, negotiate fully with the insurance company or the at-fault party’s lawyer to pursue awards for your loved one’s injuries. If we cannot reach an agreeable settlement, we will not hesitate to take your case to court.
We understand that these cases can be challenging, but we do not shy away from tough cases. You will not pay money upfront or out of pocket to cover the cost of our representation. We are paid on a contingency-fee-basis and take our payment from the settlement you receive. That means you do not pay unless we win. In other words, you have nothing to lose.
For a free, no-risk review of your claim, contact Pintas & Mullins Law Firm today.
Call or text (800) 842-6336 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
