Elder Law

Health Care Aides Steal From Elderly Resident

By Levin & Perconti

Yet another example of elder financial abuse is being reported in Poughkeepsie Journal. Two female aides were working at the Lake View Arms apartment complex, assisting the elderly residents who lived in the units with basic health and household upkeep tasks.

However, authorities recently discovered that the aides were stealing from the elderly residents to whom they were providing care. The women stole cash, blank checks, and personal property from the vulnerable seniors who they were supposed to be serving. Luckily, police officers were made aware of the theft and arrested the women before they were able to commit any additional acts of robbery. As reported often on this blog, the vast majority of cases of elder financial abuse are never reported. Several billion dollars are taken from seniors each year.

Our Chicago nursing home abuse attorneys at Levin & Perconti encourage more vigilant oversight of the financial transactions of our all vulnerable seniors. Many seniors have no choice but to place enormous trust in the care workers who are supposed to assist in their daily needs. All too often, those workers are unable to resist the temptation to take advantage of their authority and steal the resources of the senior. Sadly, most seniors have no one to stand up to their abusers, and so the thieves get away.

This abuse occurs at the hand of nursing home workers, at-home aides, and even family members of the victim. While many officials are working to limit the problem, there is still enormous work to do before our seniors are protected and respected. Please contact an elder lawyer if you know of any suspicious elder financial abuse.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on August 01, 2010 (boomark / email).