Nursing Home Financial Abuse

There are federal regulations that govern how nursing homes must handle the assets and funds of their residents. Nursing homes must stringently document residents’ personal assets and funds down to the penny. Federal regulators will comb through ledgers and receipts for individual residents on every single expenditure. In addition, each state will have its own laws and regulations that will govern how the nursing homes care for and look after their residents. 

Nursing homes undergo an inspection on behalf of the federal government once a year, and nursing homes can be cited and fined for any financial violations. Nursing homes must keep meticulous records of anything having to do with their residents’ finances, and even the slightest discrepancy can catch the attention of the inspectors. Nursing homes have been cited for seemingly minor mistakes and issues in handling resident funds.

Nonetheless, financial abuse in nursing homes is still a widespread problem regardless of the safeguards designed to mitigate the issue. Unscrupulous staff members can take advantage of seniors who trust them unquestionably and by the time abuse is discovered, these staff members may have already absconded with the senior’s money.

Fraudsters and scammers view seniors as easy prey. Residents of nursing homes are at a high risk of theft since they are away from their families and loved ones. To protect yourself or a loved one, it is crucial to know the warning signs and what to do if they appear.

Some of these warning signs include:

• No memory of financial transactions
• Bank account is missing funds
• Unexplained withdrawals
• Unusual credit card transactions
• Missing credit cards
• Unpaid bills and collection letters
• Fraudulent signatures
• Sudden changes to a will or other financial documents
• Personal possessions are missing
• Additional authorized users on the senior’s credit card
• Changes in behavior such as increased sadness or anxiety

As soon as warning signs such as these are discovered, immediate action should be taken. If you suspect financial abuse is occurring in your loved one’s nursing home, you should first report your concerns to the nursing home’s administrative staff. Additionally, families may also want to contact local law enforcement to investigate the situation, report the abuse to the state’s elder abuse hotline, and/or speak with an experienced elder abuse lawyer to learn about filing a nursing home financial abuse lawsuit.

One important factor to remember is that financial abuse in nursing homes is not just limited to nursing home staff. Many types of abuse, such as physical abuse and sexual abuse, could be committed by other residents. A nursing home financial abuse lawyer will advise that it does not matter whether or not the abuse was committed by staff members. The nursing home where the senior lives is responsible for preventing all types of abuse within its facility no matter who commits it. 

Many nursing home financial abuse lawsuits have found that nursing homes were responsible when it was another resident committing the abuse on the grounds that the nursing home failed to prevent foreseeable abuse. Thus, even if the senior has been swindled by their roommate, the nursing home may still be liable.

Another important consideration to note is that the list of defendants will always include the nursing home as opposed to the actual person who committed financial abuse. The nursing home has significantly greater assets and carries liability insurance. Lawsuits against other nursing home residents will most likely not yield enforceable judgments. 

The elder abuse lawyers at KBA Attorneys can help families and seniors who have been the victims of nursing home financial abuse. They can help ensure that this does not happen again, along with taking legal action to right the wrong that has occurred. 

The law firm’s skilled nursing home abuse attorneys are committed to helping the elderly with any type of nursing home abuse. KBA Attorneys will conduct a thorough investigation into the financial exploitations that occurred and determine the best legal options available for recovering lost assets. 

Call today at (855) 522-5297 or fill out an online form for a free case evaluation.

• U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. “Nursing Homes”, U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/CertificationandComplianc/NHs.html. Accessed June 19, 2019.
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “Protecting residents from financial exploitation: A manual for assisted living and nursing facilities”, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201406_cfpb_guide_protecting-residents-from-financial-exploitation.pdf. Accessed June 19, 2019.
• National Institute on Aging. “Elder Abuse”, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/elder-abuse. Accessed June 13, 2019.
• National Center on Elder Abuse. “Types of Abuse”, Administration for Community Living, https://ncea.acl.gov/Suspect-Abuse/Abuse-Types.aspx. Accessed June 13, 2019.