Adam Peck, Author at PLG Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect Injury Attorneys in California

Elder Annuity Scams Constitute Financial Elder Abuse

Posted on December 17, 2014 - 3:03 pm by Adam Peck

Are You Worried About Financial Exploitation of Your Elderly Loved One?

stop elder abuse Baby Boomers are retiring at an alarming rate and shall continue to be a very large part of the senior population. Additionally, Seniors, as well as most Baby Boomers, have acquired a considerable amounts of assets over there working years, have distinct amounts of money to spend, subjecting this part of the population segment subject to being financially exploited.

Financial exploitation of this segment of the population is growing rapidly more each year. Many authorities believe this kind of Elder Abuse is epidemic. Elder Abuse is such a serious growing problem that occurs daily in every community across the United States.

Financial Elder Abuse can drain people, especially the elderly and baby boomers, who are now retiring, of all their life savings, leaving them quite vulnerable, especially when a family emergency that requires health care or long term care occurs. Illnesses such as Dementia and Alzheimer’s often make it difficult for a person to ask for help when confronted with financial problems.

Watch Out for Annuity Scams!

Substantial commissions on the sale of annuities are made by Agents, who have manipulated Elders and unsuspecting individuals into purchasing an unsuitable annuity or replacing existing or established annuities with a new one simply for the Agent’s substantial commissions earned. Please contact the Peck Law Group if you know of an individual that has been financially abused and sold an unsuitable Annuity.

Elder Abuse & Neglect Is Significant As the World Population Ages

Posted on December 12, 2014 - 9:13 am by Adam Peck

Bedsores the four stages Millions of elderly people report significant elder abuse and neglect each month, “an important public health problem” expected to increase in many countries as the number of people aged 60 and older is forecasted to reach about 1.2 billion by the year 2025, the World Health Organization reports.

The World Health Organization Reports on Aging and Elder Abuse

“Abusive acts in institutions include physically restraining patients, depriving them of dignity (by for instance leaving them in soiled clothes) and choice over daily affairs, intentionally providing insufficient care (such as allowing them to develop pressure sores), over- and under-medicating and withholding medication from patients; and emotional neglect and abuse,” WHO said in a fact sheet released.

“While there is little information regarding the extent of abuse in elderly populations, especially in developing countries, it is estimated that 4-6 per cent of elderly people report significant abuse in the last month,” according to the UN health agency.

That figure translates into the tens of millions and is predicted to increase as many countries experience rapidly ageing populations. The number of people worldwide aged 60 years and older will more than double, from 542 million in 1995 to about 1.2 billion in 2025.

“Older people are often afraid to report cases of abuse to family, friends, or to the authorities,” according to WHO.

WHO also noted that data on the extent of the problem in institutions such as hospitals, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are scarce.

“A survey of nursing home staff in the United States of America, however, suggests rates may be high: 36 per cent witnessed at least one incident of physical abuse, which might include medical neglect, dehydration, malnutrition, infected bedsores of an elderly patient during any given year; 10 per cent committed at least one act of physical abuse towards an elderly patient,” WHO said. In addition, 40 per cent admitted to psychologically abusing patients, the same survey showed.

And The Global Status Report on Violence Prevention 2014, the first survey of its kind, which was released today and assessed national efforts to address interpersonal violence including elder abuse, noted that less than half of the 133 surveyed countries reported plans to address elder abuse (41 per cent).

WHO defined elder abuse as “a single or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes harm or distress to an older person.”

And “the consequences of elder abuse and neglect can be especially serious because their bones are more brittle and convalescence is longer.”

“While older men have the same risk of abuse as women, in some cultures where women have inferior social status, elderly women are at higher risk of elder abuse and neglect through abandonment when they are widowed and their property is seized,” according to the fact sheet. “Women may also be at higher risk of more persistent and severe forms of elder abuse and neglect including personal injury.”

WHO drew attention to the fact that “too little is known about elder abuse and neglect and how to prevent it, particularly in developing countries. The scope and nature of the problem is only beginning to be delineated, many risk factors remain contested, and the evidence for what works to prevent elder abuse and neglect is limited.”

– from Steven Peck, Senior Attorney at Peck Law Group

Antipsychotics Used In Nursing Homes Can Be A Sign of Elder Abuse & Neglect

Posted on December 10, 2014 - 2:21 pm by Adam Peck

Antipsychotic drugs have helped many people with serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. But for older people with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia, they can be deadly. The Food and Drug Administration has given these drugs a black box warning saying they can increase the risk of heart failure, infections and death. Yet almost 300,000 nursing home residents still get them and there use can be a sign of Nursing Home Elder Abuse & Neglect.

So in 2012, the federal government started a campaign to get nursing homes to reduce their use of these drugs. But an NPR analysis of government data shows that the government rarely penalizes nursing homes when they don’t get with the program.

There is a better way to manage the anxiety or aggression that sometimes goes with dementia. It’s one element of the national campaign started by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to reduce the use of antipsychotics in nursing homes and stop unnecessary elder abuse and neglect.

The approach being taught is sometimes called individualized care. The idea is that if nursing home employees know enough about a resident, and they should, they can figure out the reason behind challenging behavior and deal with it without resorting to administering antipsychotic drugs.

What the government needs to do is enforce the Nursing Home Reform Act that was passed 27 years ago. That law says residents have a right to be free from “chemical restraints.” It also says that nursing home residents should only receive antipsychotics if the drugs are medically necessary.

Check NPR’s interactive database below to see the history of antipsychotic drug usage at nursing homes in your area and how they compare to national and state averages.

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