People tend to believe that healthcare professionals can be trusted with the care of the weak. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. In reality, some of these same people that families trust turn out to be predators and criminals. This is nowhere more apparent than in the repeating problems that plague the nursing home industry. This includes financial crimes such as theft and fraud.
Kinds of Financial Exploitation of Nursing Home Patients
First, it’s good to understand exactly how nursing home patients can be swindled. While this list is in no way exhaustive, some of the most common strategies used to steal from nursing home patients include:
- Charging for services not actually rendered
- Double billing
- Forging of signatures on checks and documents
- Fraudulent alteration of wills and powers of attorney
- Fraudulent or unfair fees
- Outright theft of money and property
- Signing of blank checks
- Unauthorized withdrawals from patients’ bank accounts
As you can see, there are many ways that nursing homes and nursing home staff can choose to steal from a vulnerable patient. Sadly, many times they get away with these crimes because there’s no one there to stop them. If you suspect any of the crimes above, you should certainly speak with a skilled nursing home abuse lawyer.
Cognitive and Mental Impairment
One of the reasons why perpetrators can get away with such crime is because the victims often don’t have the mental clarity anymore to realize they are being taken advantage of. Many nursing home patients have ailments such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. These diseases can lead to a patient barely, if at all, having an understanding of what is going on around them. As such, they can become very easy to manipulate by staff members and others that wish to have them do things to their own financial detriment, such as signing documents or checks.
This kind of fraud is clearly illegal in the United States and is certainly justification for seeking the services of a nursing home abuse lawyer. A person has to be of sound mind to make important financial decisions. They cannot be taken advantage of in this way, especially by someone who does not legally have power of attorney privileges.
Isolation
Another reason why nursing home patients can be preyed on in this way is due to the level of social isolation patients experience within many nursing homes. Staff can take steps to limit a patient’s interactions with others outside the institution. This can even include family and friends who would otherwise advise them against making poor financial decisions. Instead, in many cases, caregivers, nurses, and other staff are the primary people that patients interact with. Taking advantage of this relationship is far easier than would be the case if the patient wasn’t so isolated.
Accumulated Wealth
Older individuals that end up in nursing homes often have accumulated wealth in regard to things like lifetime savings, retirement benefits, stocks and bonds, real estate, and more. As such, they are a target for those trying to do them harm. With how easy it is to manipulate nursing home patients, many assume that targeting them will be the perfect crime. This can include basic caregivers and even the very owners and managers of a nursing home.
Nursing homes, themselves, can be very predatory. They are for-profit businesses, of course, and oftentimes see seniors as a simple means to produce a profit as opposed to vulnerable human beings with rights that need to be protected. If you have a family member who is in a nursing home, you must stay vigilant and look out for this kind of fraud.
Overall, if you suspect that a nursing home patient has been taken advantage of financially or even stolen from directly, you should hold them accountable. Such actions can result in both criminal and civil penalties. Certainly discuss your options for finding justice for you or your family member with an attorney.
