Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Cleveland Nursing Home Injury Attorney: Billions of Dollars in Elderly Financial Abuse

Physical abuse is not the only abuse the elderly may suffer in their sunset rules. Financial abuse is another devastating form of abuse, whether by a family member, a care provider, or a facility, and it costs the aging community literally billions.

A 2009 study by the MetLife Mature Market Institute estimated the financial loss from such abuse to be about $2.6 billion per year. But that’s just an educated guess, and a conservative one at that. The same study also found that only 1 in 6 cases of elderly financial abuse is ever reported.

That’s less than 20%, which is tragic. If more family members of victims of financial abuse in Ohio not only reported the incidents, but contacted a nursing home injury attorney in Cleveland, we’d not only have a more honest picture of the problem, but greater advocacy to prevent such abuse from happening in the future.

“Right now, we truly don’t know how much exists,” says Professor Pamela Teaster, who chairs the department of gerontology at the University of Kentucky and is on the board of the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, told NBCNews. “We believe it is an incredibly under-reported problem.”

Lives Lost, Nest Eggs Stolen

Abuse can happen from the staff at a care facility who may come into contact with expensive possessions such as jewelry or money, or from a family member. Often, the abuse can take place without other family members even knowing about it.

If your loved one has been the victim of elderly financial abuse, contact the police, but also contact a Cleveland nursing home injury and abuse attorney.