Defending Accountants In Elder Care/Elder Abuse Litigation (Page 2)
by Arthur V. Pearson

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Elder Abuse Laws

The Elder Abuse legislative arena is one that the federal government has chosen not to occupy. There is no superseding federal law in this area. The Older Americans Act (42 USC 3001 et seq.) provides definitions of elder abuse and authorizes federal funds for the National Center on Elder Abuse, and for elder abuse awareness, training, and coordination at the state and local level. However, it does not provide a cause of action for elder abuse or any other enforceable right by elders or their representatives. What we are left with is a collection of state laws.¹

All states have Adult Protective Services (APS) which provide a system for the reporting and investigation of elder abuse, and most APS can provide directly, or make a referral for, social services to assist the victim of elder abuse. However, who is an "elder," the types of neglect or abuse covered, and what APS can do varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Some states may also have statutes that specifically cover only Long Term Care Facilities (LTCF) and establish reporting and oversight of elder abuse complaints for elders in long term care situations.²

All states have a Long Term Care Ombudsman Program (LTCOP) whose job is to advocate on behalf of long term care facility residents who experience abuse, violations of their rights, or other problems. LTCOP are mandated by federal law to be established in each state that receives federal funds under the Older American Act. In many states the LTCOP serves as the APS, and has the legal authority to investigate and act on complaints of elder abuse.

Many states in enacting elder abuse laws have also created criminal penalties for their violation. These range from misdemeanors to felonies, for abuses as varied as the failure to report abuse,³ to the actual physical abuse of an elder. While these criminal laws are beyond the scope of this article, attorneys should be aware of their existence in litigating cases involving elder abuse issues. The focus of this article is on the civil remedies that are provided by this collection of states' law in the elder abuse area, and make some suggestions about how counsel might respond to them.

All 50 states have enacted legislation that arm the abused elder, or the elder's representative, with new civil causes of action, embellish and enhance existing tort theories of recovery, and expand available remedies. Despite some variations, many common threads run through all of these laws, including:

1. Creation of causes of action for elder abuse,
2. Multipliers of compensatory damages,
3. Award of attorneys' fees,
4. Award of punitive damages,
5. Higher burden of proof (usually clear and convincing) if
    seeking 2-4 above,
6. Mandatory reporting of elder abuse with sanctions for failure,
    and
7. Survival of emotional distress damages after death of elder.

In addition to the newly created causes of action and remedies, elders and their representatives have an arsenal of common law tort and contract theories upon which to base a claim for relief depending upon the situation:

1. Fraud,
2. Constructive trust,
3. Negligent representation,
4. Breach of fiduciary duty, conflict of interest, intermingling of
     funds, failure to make full disclosure, self-dealing,
5. Conversion,
6. Professional negligence,
7. Infliction of emotional distress,
8. Negligent infliction of emotional distress,
9. Breach of contract,
10. Battery,
11. Civil rights violations (violation of a protected status, e.g.,
      age), and
12. Exercising undue influence in testamentary dispositions.

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1. List, by state, of Elder Protective Statutes: Ala. Code §§ 38-9-1 to -11 (1992 & Supp. 1997); Alaska Stat. §§ 47.24.010 to .900 (Michie 1996); Alaska Stat. § 11.81.900 (Michie 1996); Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 46-45 1 to -454 (West 1997); Ark. Code Ann. §§ 5-28-101 to -306 (Michie 1997), Cal. Welt. & Inst Code §§ 15600 to 15660 (West 1991 & Supp. 1998); Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 26-3.1-101 to -106 (West 1998); Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. §§ 17b-450 to -461 (West 1998); Del. Code Ann. tit. 31, §§ 3902 to 3913 (1997); D.C. Code Ann. §§ 6-2501 to 6-2513 (1995 & Supp. 1998); Fla. Stat. Ann. §§ 415.101 to .113 (West 1998); Ga. Code Ann. §§ 30-5-1 to -8 (Harrison 1994 & Supp. 1997); Ga. Code Ann. § 31-8-80 (Harrison 1994 & Supp. 1997); Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 346-221 to -253 (1993 & Supp. 1996); Idaho Code §§ 39-5301 to -5312 (Michie 1993 & Supp. 1998); 320 III Comp. Stat. 15/0.01 to 15/10 (West 1993 & Supp. 1998); 320 III. Comp Stat. 20/1 to 20/12 (West 1993 & Supp. 1998); 720 III. Comp. Stat. Ann. 5/12 to 5/21 (West 1993 & Supp. 1998); Ind. Code Ann. §§ 12-10-3-1 to -31 (Michie 1997 & Supp. 1998); Iowa Code Ann. §§ 235B.1 to .6 (West 1994 & Supp. 1998); Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 39-1430 to -1442 (1993 & Supp. 1997); Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 209.01010 .160 (Banks-Baldwin 1997); La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 14:403.2 (West 1986 & Supp. 1998); La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 40:2009.13 (West 1992 & Supp. 1998); Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 22, §§ 3470 to -3487 (West 1992 & Supp. 1997); Md. Code Ann., CTS. & JUD. PROC. § 5-359 (1995 & Supp. 1997); Md. Code Ann., Fam. Law §§ 14-101 to -404 (1991 & Supp. 1997); Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 19A, §§ 14 to 36 (West 1994 & Supp. 1998); Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. §§400.1 la to .11f (West 1997 & Supp. 1998); Minn. Stat. Ann. § 626.557 (West 1992 & Supp. 1998); Miss. Code Ann. §§ 43-47-1 to -37 (1993 & Supp. 1998); Mo. Ann. Stat. §§ 660.250 to .320 (West 1988 & Supp. 1998); Mont. Code Ann. §§ 52-3-801 to -825 (1997); Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-212 (1997); Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 28-348 to -387 (1995 & Supp. 1996); Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 200.5091 to .5095 (Michie 1997 & Supp. 1997); N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 161-F:42 to :57 (1994 & Supp. 1997); N.J. Stat. Ann. §§ 52:27D-406 to -425 (West Supp. 1997); N.M. Stat. Ann. §§ 27-7-14 to -31 (Michie 1997); N.M. Stat. Ann. § 28-17-9 (Michie 1996 & Supp. 1998); N.Y. SOC. Serv. Law § 473 (McKinney 1992 & Supp. 1998); N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 108A-99 to -111(1997); N.D. Cent. Code §§ 50-25.2-0 10-14 (1989 & Supp. 1997); Ohio Rev. Code Ann. §§ 5101.60 to .72 (Anderson 1998); Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 5101.99 (Banks-Baldwin 1995 & Supp. 1998); Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 43A, §§ 10-101 to -110 (West 1990 & Supp. 1998); Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 124.050 to .140 (Supp. 1996); 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 5608 (West Supp. 1998); 35 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. §§ 10225.101 to .103, 10225.301 to .310, 10225.312 (West Supp. 1998); R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-66-1 (1995); RI. Gen. Laws § 23-4-7 (1996); S.C. Code Ann. §§ 43-35-5 to -90 (Law. Co-op. 1997); S.D. Codified Laws §§ 22-46-1 to-6 (Michie 1988); Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 71-6-101 to -119 (1995 & Supp. 1997); Tex. Hum. Res. Code Ann. §§ 48.001 to .103 (West 1990 & Supp. 1998); Utah Code Ann. §§ 62A-3-301 to -312 (1997 & Supp. 1998); Vt. Stat. Ann. tit, 33, §§ 6901 to 6941 (1991 & Supp. 1998); Va. Code Ann. §§ 63.1-55.2 to -55.7 (Michie 1995 & Supp. 1998); Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 18.51 .060 (West 1989 & Supp. 1998) (repealed); Wash. Rev. Code Ann. §§ 74.34.010 to .901 (West Supp. 1998); Wash. Rev. Code Ann. §§ 26.44.010 to .160 (West 1997 & Supp. 1998); W. Va. Code §§ 9-6-1 to -15 (1998); Wis. Stat. Ann. § 46.90 (West 1997 & Supp. 1997); Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 35-20-1 01 to -109 (Michie 1997).

2. See, Del. Code Ann. tit. 16, § 1131; Ga. Code Ann. § 31-8-80; 210 III. Comp. Stat. 30/1; Kan. Stat. Ann. § 39-1401; Md. Code Ann., Health § 19-347; Mass. Gen. Laws Ann.ch. 111, § 72F; Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 400.11f; Miss. Code Ann. § 43-47-37; Mo. Ann. Stat. § 198.070; N.J. Stat. Ann. § 52:27G-7.l; Or. Rev. Stat. § 441.630; R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17.8-1;Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. § 242.121.

3. For statutes mandating professionals and/or others to report suspected elder abuse/neglect: see generally footnote 1, supra.

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