Lawmakers consider bill to protect the elderly

Wednesday, Feb. 12, 1997 | 4:23 a.m.

"We need to throw the book at these people," said Deputy Attorney General Bonnie Brand. "People who take advantage of our senior citizens are predators."

SB80, requested by the attorney general's office, makes an offender liable in treble damages for willfully inflicting pain, injury or mental anguish on a person who's at least 60 years old.

It also punishes people who deprive an elderly person of food, shelter, clothing or take control of the senior citizen's money, assets or property through deception or intimidation.

"The anxiety level of an older person is much greater," Brand said. "We need to help these senior citizens at a time when they can't help themselves."

Brand said she has heard of instances of care-givers taking ATM or credit cards belonging to the person for whom they're responsible.

"A lot of elderly wish to remain in their home and hire someone to help them," she said. "And sometimes these people talk them into signing things over to them, deeds or property."

Some seniors are neglected to the point of physical abuse by not providing heat to a home or food to someone shut in, she said.

"Our aging population is growing so rapidly, we want to keep ahead of the situation," Brand added.

Ed Fend, of the American Association of Retired Persons, which represents 190,000 people in Nevada, said he fully supports the bill.

"Nevada has the largest increase in its senior citizen population in the nation," he said. "There was a 27 percent increase in the last year alone."

"We need to reduce the mistreatment of senior citizens," he added. "Some of them who are in nursing homes or residential care facilities suffer physical or mental abuse, but with no other place to turn, they are resistant to reporting it."

Some seniors suffer from financial abuse by people who talk them into investments through telemarketing operations that leave their savings accounts empty, Fend said.

The bill now goes to a Judiciary subcommittee to consider adding the disabled or other vulnerable people.