ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Caregivers and Physical and Financial Elder Abuse
Extreme Abuse and Neglect
Caregiver abuse of the elderly can be so shocking that it’s hard to believe anyone is capable of so much cruelty toward a dependent senior. In a recent California criminal case[1] of physical and financial elder abuse a caregiver has been charged with murder, kidnapping, elder physical and financial abuse, false imprisonment, and perjury. The caregiver allegedly kept a 74-year-old man and an elderly woman in her care captive in their apartment, refused them food, and spent their Social Security benefits on herself. When the elderly man was brought to the hospital, the caregiver posed as his niece and told medical personnel he did not wish to be resuscitated; the man died. The elderly woman survived and testified that she had been confined to a separate bedroom and that the caregiver would hit her if she disobeyed the caregiver’s orders. The Marin County and California elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. represent seniors victimized by such horrific physical and financial elder abuse by caregivers and others. If you or someone you know is a victim of elder abuse in Marin County or elsewhere in California, call us today at 415-441-8669, and we can help.
Our litigators have seen these kinds of cases of extreme physical and financial elder abuse by caregivers. The dangers are real whenever a caregiver is brought into a failing senior’s home. In the reported case, while keeping the seniors under her thumb, the caregiver spent their monthly benefits for personal purposes such as a new truck and frequently gambling their funds away at local casinos. The family of the deceased man told authorities that they were only informed of his hospitalization after his death. Sadly, these kind of fact patterns are all too frequent.
If you have a loved one under the care of an in-home caregiver, stay involved in the senior’s life. Drop by unexpectedly and make sure personal papers, financial information and valuables are secure. Never ever allow the senior to grant a Power of Attorney to a caregiver and keep and Will, trust agreement, Power of Attorney and Social Security number and information out of reach. Review bank statements and all bills regularly and monitor household expenses and cash. 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 laws. 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 lawsuit for elder abuse.
Contact Us
If you or a loved one been the victim of elder abuse in Marin 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.
[1] Evans Law Firm, Inc. was not involved in the case in any way.
