Financial Abuse More Likely To Occur During The Holidays

Nursing home abuse takes many forms, and all of them are devastating. Sadly, nursing home abuse is rising at an alarming rate despite the efforts of the legislature and government agencies to prevent it. During the holidays, financial abuse is the most common type of exploitation elders face. This type of abuse is always concerning, but it becomes a much larger concern during the holidays. If you have a loved one in a facility and believe they have been the victim of financial abuse, our Tampa nursing home abuse lawyer can help you make it right.

Study Shows Financial Elder Abuse Increases Around the Holidays

A study conducted by the MetLife Study of Elder Financial Abuse at Virginia Tech University shows the real price of financial elder abuse. Each year, financial elder abuse costs older Americans over $2.9 billion every year. Given that the study was conducted ten years ago, that dollar amount is likely much more than that today. What likely remains unchanged is that this type of abuse increases during the holidays. November and January are the two months that see the most increased financial elder abuse.

The study also showed another very sad trend. While throughout the rest of the year, financial elder abuse is usually perpetrated by nursing home abuse staff, over the holidays, family members and friends are at fault for financial abuse in 50 percent of cases.

Protecting Your Loved One from Financial Abuse

Under Florida Statute 825.102, elders that are harmed by financial abuse can hold the perpetrator accountable and recover compensation through a personal injury claim. Loved ones often file these claims on behalf of their loved ones that may not have the capacity to file a claim on their own. Just like when filing a claim based on physical or emotional abuse, you will have to prove several elements of your claim. These include:

• Your loved one is 65 or years older in age,
• An abusive act, or an omission of an act occurred,
• Your loved one suffered physical, psychological, or financial harm as a result, and
• Causation, meaning you must show the harm was the direct result of the defendant’s actions

When you are trying to prove financial abuse, you must also generally show the defendant had assumed a caregiving role over the elderly individual. A Tampa nursing home abuse lawyer can help you prove all elements of your claim so your loved one recovers the compensation they deserve.

Call Our Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer in Tampa Today

Any type of nursing home abuse is unacceptable and there is no excuse for it. If you believe that your loved one has been the victim of financial abuse, our Tampa nursing home abuse lawyer at Kohn Law can help you make things right. Our skilled attorney is passionate about standing up for society’s most vulnerable, and will put that experience to work for you. Call us today at 813-428-8504 or fill out our online form to schedule a free consultation so we can review your case.

Resource:

ncvc.dspacedirect.org/handle/20.500.11990/641