When you move your elderly loved one into a nursing home, you put your trust in the facility and staff to care for them. But if you notice an unexplained charge, missing possessions, or a request for money that does not make sense, you may find yourself questioning that trust. Is it a mistake, or is someone taking advantage of them? If you suspect financial elder abuse, a lawyer in Queens can help you assess whether your loved one has a civil claim.
Your loved one has worked hard for the assets they rely on today. The attorneys at Shaevitz & Shaevitz are ready to help your family explore possible remedies if you suspect someone has tried to take advantage of those resources.
What Financial Abuse Can Look Like in a Nursing Home
Financial exploitation is a specific type of nursing home abuse that can involve someone improperly using an older adult’s money, property, or other resources. New York Social Services Law § 473(6)(g) includes fraud, forgery, and coerced property transfers among its examples of financial exploitation.
In a care setting, you might notice some of the following warning signs:
- Unexpected withdrawals or purchases
- Missing possessions or records
- Unpaid bills despite available funds
- Sudden changes in financial documents or account management
These are signs worth investigating, but they don’t automatically mean you need to establish a civil claim. A seemingly rogue charge on a card, for instance, may have a simple explanation. Moreover, a missing possession doesn’t tell you who took it, or whether anyone did.
The next step is to find out what happened and whose actions caused it. If you’re considering a claim against the nursing home itself, you need more than proof that the loss happened there. You need facts showing how the facility’s actions, or its failure to meet its responsibilities, caused the loss.
What to Do If You Suspect Financial Abuse in a Nursing Home
If you’re concerned about financial elder abuse in a nursing home, take action. First, if possible, talk privately with your loved one and listen to their explanation.
Next, save any relevant statements, receipts, messages, and a dated account of what was noticed. If you think a bank account may be at risk, reach out to the bank or card issuer as soon as possible.
Raise a facility-related concern through the nursing home’s complaint process. When appropriate, you can use the New York State Department of Health’s nursing home complaint channel. Its hotline is 1-888-201-4563, but you can also file a nursing home complaint online.
This complaint gives the Department of Health an opportunity to investigate whether the nursing home violated specific rules. Depending on the findings, the department can cite the facility and require corrective action.
To explore your options for recovering your loved one’s losses, bring the records you’ve gathered to an elder abuse lawyer in Queens, such as Shaevitz & Shaevitz. Our attorneys can explain whether your loved one has a claim and what the appropriate next steps are.
How a Financial Elder Abuse Lawyer in Queens Can Support a Civil Claim
How can a financial elder abuse lawyer in Queens support a civil claim? The attorneys at Shaevitz & Shaevitz can review what happened and assess whether a civil claim may help recover your loved one’s losses. If we find that you have a claim, our attorneys take the following action steps:
- File the lawsuit: Our attorneys identify who may bring the claim and who may be legally responsible, then prepare the court papers and arrange for them to be served.
- Build the case: Once we initiate a lawsuit, we can seek key documents and testimony that build a case. For example, we can seek records that help establish who authorized a disputed transaction or how the nursing home handled the resident’s funds.
- Seek remedies: That may include compensation for a proven financial loss. In a qualifying claim against a residential health care facility, New York law may provide for other forms of relief, such as punitive damages or attorney’s fees.
- Negotiate or litigate: We may push to resolve the claim through a settlement. If we believe it’s in your best interest, we will take the claim to trial.
Throughout the process, we will fight to keep families informed and to pursue compensation based on whatever the evidence supports. Our goal is to rectify the situation and hold the wrongdoer legally responsible.
Contact a Financial Elder Abuse Lawyer in Queens
Your loved one’s money should support their care and comfort. If you see unexplained activity on their accounts or other signs that they’re being financially exploited, you deserve answers. A financial elder abuse lawyer in Queens can help you understand your options for what happens next. When it makes sense, we’re ready to pursue a claim and help secure compensation for financial losses and any other available damages.
Contact Shaevitz & Shaevitz in Queens, NY, for a free consultation.
