ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Caregivers and Physical and Financial Elder Abuse
A caregiver is a person who takes care of the daily needs of a person who cannot take care of themselves. The relationship is personal and sadly conducive to caregiver abuse and fraud. The abuse may include physical and emotional abuse and the financial elder abuse or fraud may be unauthorized use of credit cards and ATM cards, access to bank accounts and identity information, undue influence to force gifts or Will changes, embezzlement, transfers of property and property theft, changing a life insurance beneficiary designation, and more. The Alameda County and California elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. represent seniors and their loved ones victimized by abusive caregivers and others. If you or someone you know is a victim of elder abuse in Alameda County or elsewhere in California, call us today at 415-441-8669, and we can help.
Fraudulent and abusive caregivers take advantage of a senior’s dependence, isolation and vulnerability. Such unscrupulous caregivers use an isolated senior’s weakness or forgetfulness to ingratiate themselves to the senior, gaining access to the elder’s financial accounts, important papers and personal records. In-home caregivers have time to search through records, forge checks and other documents, use phone or online connections to manipulate account information or add themselves as account beneficiaries, pocket cash and credit cards, and sort and block important mail. Caregivers in skilled nursing or assisted living facilities can also abuse a senior physically and financially.
Protecting Your Senior Loved One From Abuse and Fraud
The best protection for a senior is to stay active in his or her life and regularly visit and review statements, records and the mail. Always run a background check and contact references for any in-home caregiver before hiring them. Keep valuables and important papers like a Will or Power of Attorney in a safe place. Report suspicions of elder abuse to the police and Adult Protective Services immediately. And call qualified elder abuse counsel. While official reporting is important, you should pursue all civil remedies available to senior victims under California elder abuse law. Our lawyers handle elder abuse cases of all varieties and know the remedies and extra damages to which you or your victimized loved one is entitled. We fight for seniors every day. Bringing a timely civil action against abusers can secure justice for an injured senior. California courts award attorneys’ fees to victimized seniors in certain cases and this can ease the burden of bringing a suit.
Contact Us
If you or a loved one been the victim of elder abuse in Alameda County or elsewhere in California, contact Ingrid M. Evans and the other Evans Law Firm elder abuse attorneys at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. We can help guide your case through investigation, discovery, through a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, qui tam and whistleblower law, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
