Another "Gray" Area

In our last post, we discussed what is a "reasonable" suspicion for reporting child abuse. This is the same standard used for reporting elder abuse, which can be an equally difficult judgment call.

A case in point involves Mr. Dowdall, a 70-year-old man who suffers from an advanced form of dementia and was not supposed to be driving. However, when he was left at home alone one day, he drove his older model car down to the dealership and traded it in on a brand new convertible. Described as a "frugal man" before the onset of dementia, Dowdall signed a purchase contract for $62,130, including $10,000 of dealer add-ons, without negotiating.

The dealership helped him finance the purchase, obligating Mr. Dowdall to make $923 monthly payments that his wife said he could not afford. So, she hired an attorney to determine if her husband was the victim of elder abuse.

The salesman "acknowledged that something had seemed amiss with the man," but said there was nothing he could do once the sale was completed.

Later, the dealership agreed to take back the car after being "inundated with angry phone calls and emails" in response to media reports of this incident.