New York City Vulnerable Adults Abuse Lawyer
As defined by New York law, a vulnerable adult is anybody who is over the age of 18 who has some sort of physical or mental impairment that makes them more susceptible to either some sort of abuse or mistreatment. A New York City vulnerable adults abuse lawyer knows that these cases generally involve an elderly person over 60, typically they have a physical limitation, mental limitation or disability. An experienced domestic violence attorney can help those charged with vulnerable adults abuse defend their rights and reputation.
What is Required to Demonstrate Criminal Abuse of a Vulnerable Adult?
When seeking conviction for abuse of vulnerable adults, the prosecution needs to establish that the adult is vulnerable and any sort of physical injuries caused by the defendant in an intentional way.
If it is some sort of financial scam, they need to prove that the defendant took advantage of the person’s mental limitations, for instance, and caused them to do things against their own financial interest in favor of the defendant.
The underlying thing is that the prosecutor must prove the vulnerability aspect of the elderly person. In terms of what they have to prove on top of that, they are required to prove the elements of the substantive crime as well.
Examples of Abuse of the Elderly
The most common examples a New York City vulnerable adults abuse attorney sees are physical abuse, where a vulnerable adult is subject to physical violence where they are either struck or hit, or neglect that leads to injury, which is seen in situations where the elderly person is unable to care for themself.
There is a fiscal abuse where an individual may be stealing or appropriating an elderly person’s money through scam or through taking advantage of diminished faculties.
Someone with a slight mental deficiency and a lot of money can easily become targeted by people looking to scam someone because vulnerable adults tend to not report any sort financial malfeasance. There are people who take advantage of vulnerable, elderly people through scamming them to take their money.
Criminal Penalties for Elder Abuse Offenses
Elder abuse cases start out as E-felonies and can get escalated from there so endangering the welfare of the vulnerable elderly person and the second degree E-felony and the first degree is a D-felony. If the penalties are severe, meaning there may likely be a minimum over a year in jail, a felony record and possibly a strong social stigma. New York City vulnerable adults abuse attorneys have seen a lot of community outrage against somebody who is alleged to be abusing somebody who is vulnerable.
What is the Related Social Stigma?
A vulnerable adults abuse felony offense can come with significant jail time, and/or court-ordered supervision may be imposed. The individual could be labeled as somebody who preys on vulnerable victims. This is the type of offense that communities have a hard time forgiving.
Defending Vulnerable Adult Abuse Charges
There are always a number of defenses but they are generally dependent on what the actual charges are. The most common defenses are either a straight denial of the specific charges or that there is some sort of justification for the defendant’s actions or that the actions themselves are not criminal.
The most common defense a New York City lawyer may use for a vulnerable adults abuse case is that the individual did not commit the offense at all and that there is an associated non-criminal explanation for their actions.
When to Contact a Vulnerable Adults Abuse Lawyer
Someone charged with elder abuse offenses should contact a New York City vulnerable adults abuse lawyer soon as they find out that they are either under investigation or have been arrested. If a person is charged under abusing a vulnerable adult or a vulnerable elderly person in New York City, they will be charged with a felony. It is a serious allegation and the individual should make sure that their rights are being protected as soon as they realize that law enforcement is interested in them or investigating them.