Elder Care Lawyer Interviews

Beverly Hills, CA A 2015 report produced by True Link Financial estimates that the amount lost by senior citizens through financial elder abuse in the US is at a staggering $36.48 billion annually. That number surges well past a previous MetLife Institute report in 2011 that estimated the amount to be $2.9 billion.

Walnut Creek, CADefrauding elderly Americans of their life savings is a multibillion-dollar problem in the United States. Attorney Craig Niven’s law practice partly focuses on trying to recover assets for seniors who have fallen prey to the perpetrators of all kinds of cruel construction and real estate swindles.

Beverly Hills, CA After 45 years practicing law, Phil Brown could go golfing and forget about coming to the office every day. Instead, he says he can’t wait to get to work every morning. His focus for almost a decade now has been financial elder abuse.

Renton, WA Leonard Swenson was a lonely Washington state widower with a house, a truck, $90,000 in savings and a regular income. A trusting man with a limited education, Swenson became a target of devastating emotional and financial abuse.

Seattle, WA King County prosecutor Page Ulrey calls the growing number of financial abuse cases “outrageous.” There are two prosecuting attorneys in her office who work on financial elder abuse but she says they need more like five prosecutors to handle the work. “We’re swamped,” says Ulrey, who recently spoke at a White House conference on the subject and is fast becoming known for her very effective work bringing perpetrators to trial.

New York, NY Families of nursing home residents need to be on guard says personal injury and medical malpractice attorney Paul Dansker. "There are a few basic problems that occur over and over again," says Dansker. "And those problems can be very, very dangerous."

Valencia, CA Attorneys at Owen, Patterson & Owen thought they were looking at a nursing home abuse case and found a ruthless Ponzi scheme that put greed far ahead of the safety and well-being of patients. And it was this callousness, says lawyer Greg Owen, that left 92-year-old dementia patient Sophie Schwartz alone and unguarded one night in December 2007.

Callahan, CA A few days ago Michael Thamer and three other lawyers won a $671 million elder abuse verdict against a group of nursing homes that operate under the banner of Skilled Healthcare Group. It a large award that sent the company's stock price sharply lower, and Thamer hopes corporate for-profit nursing homes get the message.

Chicago, IL: For a while, nursing home care was improving. Bad operators in the business were sued into submission or driven out of business by tough legislation. "Unfortunately, conditions for nursing home residents are once again on the decline," says Steve Levin, a well-known lawyer and litigator from the firm of Levin & Perconti.

Chicago, Ill Attorney Matthew Passen knew he had his work cut out for him when he decided to step up to the plate for an elderly couple who had been injured in a car accident. He'd have to get a jury to understand that all his clients' pain and suffering, the torn tissues, all the medical bills, prescription drugs, as well as the visits to doctors and hospitals over the last four years had nothing to do with their age. "It's always difficult to get a jury to understand that elderly people's injuries are due to the accident and not just things that go along with being old," says Passen.