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Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Litigation

Elder abuse and dependent adult abuse are crimes, but sometimes the response by law enforcement and the criminal courts does not make a victim whole. In those instances, Caplan Wilkinson LLP can bring an action in civil court to obtain remedies such as monetary damages, a restraining order or other injunctive relief.

California’s applicable statute, the Elder and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act (“EADACPA”), defines elder and dependent adult abuse quite broadly. It sometimes includes physical or financial abuse but often takes subtler forms, such as isolation from friends and family, deprivation of caregiving, and infliction of emotional distress. An abuser can be a family member, friend, stranger, caregiver, or even a company that violates its ethical responsibilities or duty of care toward the victim—like a care facility, a seller of investment products, or a bank that allows an account-holder to be scammed.

Here are just a few examples of elder and dependent adult abuse:

  • A caregiver uses a disabled person’s credit card to make purchases for the caregiver.

  • A retired homeowner, needing to tap his home equity to cover a major expense, is defrauded into taking out a commercial mortgage with terms that he can’t afford—like monthly payments exceeding his income and a balloon payment due after a few years—ultimately sending his home into foreclosure.

  • A grandson pressures his grandmother into changing her estate plan or signing a transfer deed on her home.

  • An older adult is pressured into purchasing an inappropriate financial product such as a high-premium life insurance policy.

  • A caregiver refuses to let the sister of a bedbound person in to the house for a visit, contrary to the desires of the bedbound person.

  • An older adult is duped into making wire transfers into a fraudster’s account.

  • An adult child uses her father’s ATM card to make unauthorized withdrawals.

Contact us if you believe you or a loved one has been the victim of elder or dependent adult abuse. Or if you’d like to read more, check out these resources: