Elder Abuse

Observing World Elder Abuse Awareness Day & Fighting Back with Information and Support

June 15, 2016 | Gregory J. Brod

The calendar is filled with days we love celebrating including New Year’s Day, Independence Day, and Thanksgiving Day to name just a few. There are other days that are vitally important, but that we wish there wasn’t any need to mark. June 15, World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, is one such day. It is a day to remember the victims of an ever-increasing, worldwide epidemic of elder abuse. It is not a happy day, but it is one that is important to remember because our San Francisco elder abuse law firm knows that awareness is a key part of fighting this terrible wrong.

June 15 — World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

According to the Administration on Aging’s National Council on Elder Abuse (“NCEA”), World Elder Abuse Day (“WEAAD”) was launched ten years ago by the World Health Organization at the United Nations. WEADD is intended as an opportunity for communities across to globe to work together to advance a better understanding of the problems of abuse and neglect facing older individuals. According to the NCEA, some 5 million older Americans are victimized each year by some form of abuse, neglect, or exploitation. This number is likely a gross underestimate; experts believe that for every case that is reported, up to 23 go unreported.

Fighting Financial Fraud in 2016: Northern California Lawyer Warns of Financial Scams Targeting Seniors

January 1, 2016 | Gregory J. Brod

As a new year dawns, it occurs to us that our work is a mix of retrospective moments and prospective planning, focusing on difficult moments with the hopes of helping our clients move forward. We are proud of this work, but enjoy using this blog to help prevent these terrible moments. In this spirit, we turn today to the problem of financial scams targeting seniors. Elder abuse, one of our firm’s specialty practice areas, includes physical, emotional, and financial harm. Although people of any age can be impacted, seniors are disproportionately targeted with financial fraud targeting seniors on the rise. Today, our San Francisco, Oakland, and Santa Rosa financial abuse lawyer looks at some common scams from 2015 with the hopes of helping readers guard their money in 2016.

The Top Ten Scams of 2016 (Plus Two)

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat recently ran an informative article that elaborates on the Better Business Bureau’s (“BBB”) list of the Top Ten Scams of 2015, a list we’d subtitle “That You Should Watch Out for in 2015”:

Preventing and Reporting Sexual Abuse of the Elderly: An Obligation to Our Nation’s Seniors

July 17, 2015 | Gregory J. Brod

Trust. It is an essential part of living in a community from trusting the food we purchase is safe to trusting opposing traffic will stop when they have a red light. As our population ages, another form of trust becomes ever more important – trusting that elder care facilities will care for and protect their residents. A shocking example of the violation of this trust arises when facilities fail to guard against sexual elder abuse. Difficult as it is to think about, sexual abuse in nursing homes is a very real threat and our San Francisco nursing home abuse lawyer believes elder care facilities must take swift and comprehensive action when sexual abuse occurs whether the perpetrator is a nursing home employee or another resident.

Civil Suit Follows Investigation into Nursing Home’s Failure to Report Sexual Assault

On June 16, a civil lawsuit was filed in Washington state involving allegations that a nursing home failed to take appropriate steps to protect a resident from sexual abuse. KOMO 4 News and Wenatchee World (via San Mateo County’s Network of Care) report that the estate of Christine Trowbridge filed the suit against Cashmere Convalescent Center. The civil action follows government investigations, including a $6,500 fine levied by the state’s Department of Health and Human Services for failing to intervene in or report the abuse.

The Threat of Overmedication in California Nursing Homes

January 23, 2015 | Gregory J. Brod

In modern day America, many working adults find themselves as a caregiver two times over, caring for their growing children and aging parents. Often the needs of aging parents become too great for their adult children to address on their own and, especially when physical or mental illness is an issue, a nursing home is the best option. However, while there are many places that provide excellent care, others are the stuff of nightmares. Overmedication in nursing homes is a major problem and it is one of the forms of abuse we help people fight as a San Francisco nursing home abuse lawyer.

NPR Reports on the Overuse of Antipsychotics in Nursing Homes

Last month, NPR reported on the problem of drugging in nursing homes, opening with the fact that almost 300,000 nursing home residents receive antipsychotic medications. These medications are approved for serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but are often used to suppress anxiety and agitation in Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. This is despite the fact that the medications carry a black box warning, the most serious warning a drug can carry while remaining on the market, indicating they can raise the risk of heart failure, infection, and even death when used by dementia patients. Even when they are medically indicated, these drugs should be used for as short a period as possible, often only a month. Still, as in examples cited in the NPR article demonstrate, many care centers use these drugs for the convenience of the staff because they can sedate patients and blunt behaviors. Guardians and patients often agree to the medications without knowing the drugs are unnecessary.

Resident Aggression: A Growing Threat in Senior Care Homes and Facility Liability

January 14, 2015 | Gregory J. Brod

Nursing home abuse is a terrible crime that preys on the very people whom society should most respect. Abuse in senior care facilities can take a range of forms including physical, sexual, emotional, and financial mistreatment as well as neglect. Often, abuse is perpetrated by overworked staff members and the law typically holds both the individual abuser and his/her employer criminally and civilly responsible. There is, however, a less talked about scenario – resident-on-resident nursing home abuse, also known as peer abuse Our experienced Northern California nursing home abuse law firm believes that care centers should be held liable when their negligence or failure to provide adequate care allows one resident to abuse another.

Resident Dispute Ends With Stabbing at Sacramento Senior Care Facility

A case of peer abuse is believed to have left a 75 year-old woman with serious injuries according to an article in Monday’s Oakland Tribune. Police believe that 70 year-old Barbara Holland had an ongoing dispute with her neighbor at St. Francis Manor, a senior living facility in Sacramento. According to investigators, Holland arrived at her neighbor’s door last Saturday armed with a knife and stabbed the 75 year-old before fleeing the scene. Eventually, Holland was found in her own apartment, arrested, and booked on suspicion of attempted murder. Doctors say the 75 year-old, who was taken to an area hospital, is expected to survive.

A Victim-Centered Approach to Prescription Theft

December 9, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

Asked to imagine a drug theft, many Americans would form an image that includes the threat of violence and illicit substances like marijuana, heroin, or cocaine. Drug theft in 2014 often takes a much different form, a much “quieter” affair that happens on a daily basis in the Bay Area when a trusted individual slides a prescription bottle from a home medicine cabinet or bedside shelf into a pocket and is gone well before the missing vial is noticed. Prescription theft often targets seniors who may be left facing a frightening health crisis because of the missing medications. In fact, as our Northern California prescription theft attorney understands, whether part of a larger pattern of financial and/or physical abuse or a standalone event, medication theft can be a form of elder abuse, leading to unnecessary pain, uncontrolled illness, or even death and the culprits can be those whom the victim least expects.

Firefighter Accused of Swiping Medications

Usually when a firefighter makes the news, he or she is being hailed for bravery and heroism. This weekend, however, local and national news sources including Sacramento’s KCRA carried a very different tale as police announced the arrest of Sacramento firefighter Craig White on five counts of burglary and three of elder abuse. White allegedly targeted seniors, gaining entrance to homes by claiming to be performing inspections of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and then stealing prescription medications. Citrus Hills Police Department began investigating after eight area seniors reported similar incidents. The Sacramento Fire Department wants people to know that they do not perform surprise residential inspections.

Holding Facilities Responsible for Inadequate Supervision of the Developmentally Disabled

October 23, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

It has often been said that one of the best ways to judge a society is by how it treats its weakest, most helpless members. Individuals with significant developmental disabilities rely on their families and society as a whole for care and protection. When these individuals are placed in a specialized care facility, the facility has ethical, moral, and legal duties to protect the residents. As an Oakland law firm for the elderly and disabled, we are ready to advocate on behalf of vulnerable adults when care facilities fail to fulfill their duties. An obvious example of such a failure is when the resident is permitted to wander away from an institution that promised to care for and keep the resident safe. Wandering by developmentally disabled adults is a potentially deadly occurrence and we must hold institutions responsible for the failures that endanger their residents.

Developmentally Disabled Man Missing from Oakland Care Facility

The Oakland Tribune and other news outlets in our region are asking for help locating a missing man. On Thursday October 16 at around 1:30 P.M., Michael Kilroy wandered away from a residential care facility located on the 3200 block of 99th Avenue. Kilroy is 55 years old but has the functional capacity of a typical 6 year-old. He needs medicine that he doesn’t have with him. Police note he is 5’3″ and 150 pounds with blue eyes and gray hair. Anyone who sees him is asked to call the missing persons’ unit at the Oakland Police Department (510-238-3641).

Empowering Seniors to Fight Back Against Financial Abuse

October 2, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

From the time we start earning our first regular paychecks, Americans are reminded of the importance of saving for retirement. This can be incredibly hard to do. Sadly, reaching one’s senior years with a comfortable amount of savings is not the end of the story. Financial elder abuse is a growing threat to the economic well-being of older Americans. These crimes are also very personal; they strike at people’s hearts and souls, especially when the perpetrators are trusted caregivers. Our Northern California financial elder abuse law firm wants to empower seniors to fight back.

The Need for Vigilance: Woman Accused of Violating Probation Following Financial Abuse Plea

A short article in last week’s Santa Rosa Press Democrat is a striking reminder of the need for vigilance in the fight against elder abuse. In 2010, Gloria Garcia Bernal pleaded no contest to charges that she stole $6,500 from a senior citizen in her care by forging and cashing checks belonging to the elderly man. Bernal’s probation agreement prohibits her from working with the elderly or other dependent adults. Recently, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office was informed that Bernal (age 43 of Healdsburg) had been using the pseudonym Janeth Narcizo and was working at a private care facility in Windsor. Police arrested Bernal on suspicion of violating her probation and she was placed on a no-bail hold in county jail. Notably, the Windsor facility, located on Birdie Road, appears to be under the same ownership as the facility Bernal worked for at the time of her initial arrest.

Understanding & Combatting Financial Elder Abuse

June 27, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

We’ve been talking a lot recently about the problem of Medicare fraud, schemes that essentially steal money from the government and everyone who has any interaction with our nation’s healthcare system (i.e. everyone). In addition to working on these cases, Attorney Brod helps individual victims of fraud and targeted groups, including serving as a Northern California financial elder abuse lawyer. These cases are serious and becoming ever more common. Combatting financial elder abuse requires both the criminal and civil law systems and, much like health care fraud, begins with people coming forward to report misdeeds.

Sentence Handed Down in Financial Abuse Case

This week, California’s Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and the District Attorney from Sonoma County, Jill Ravitch, announced the sentencing of Aldo Joseph Baccala on elder abuse, securities fraud, and grand theft charges. As detailed in the press release carried by Yuba.net, Baccala used his Petaluma-based realty company to solicit money from investors in a number of ventures in both California and elsewhere, promising monthly returns at a rate of 12% annually. Despite soliciting investments over a four year period and issuing notes allegedly secured with real property, Baccala did not actually own any of the facilities and was unable to provide any returns to the investors. Instead, he used the “investor’s” money for his own unsuccessful stock market investments. Many of those who invested with Baccala were elderly individuals who had known both Baccala and his family for a long period. Over time, Baccala’s company lost more than $7 million and had nearly $17 million in outstanding promissory notes.

Oakland Attorney on the Fight Against Financial Exploitation of Older Americans

April 23, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

Financially savvy individuals set aside money during their working years so that they can enjoy a secure retirement, making short-term sacrifices for long-term security. Some people plan for specific dreams such as having the ability to travel, pursue hobbies, or simply spoil their grandchildren rotten! Unfortunately, the growing epidemic of financial elder abuse threatens these dreams and can even endanger a target’s day-to-day financial security. As an Oakland elder abuse law firm, we believe that awareness is key to helping seniors avoid falling prey to these schemes. When abuse does occur, we urge both victims and their families to seek legal counsel to help them recover lost monies and regain financial security.

Police: Oakland Trio Stole $250,000 from Older Piedmont Couple

According to The Oakland Tribune, investigators believe that an Oakland trio targeted an elderly Piedmont couple, allegedly stealing over $250,000 during a two-year time period. On Monday, police arrested 53 year-old Penielli Tutuila, his 49 year-old wife Favita, and their 29 year-old daughter Sophia at their Oakland home. All three family members were booked on suspicion of elder abuse, conspiracy, and forgery charges.