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If you have an elderly loved one in a nursing home or assisted living facility in Orange County, you may be wondering about the first signs that could point to abuse or neglect. Depending upon the type of elder abuse or neglect, it can be extremely difficult to identify early warning signs, especially when those signs and symptoms do not include obvious physical harm. Given that there are so many different types of nursing home abuse and neglect that can result in injury and even death, it is important to understand that early warning signs are not always the same, and anything that seems different or suspicious should be treated seriously. Indeed, any unexplained changes in an elderly loved one, including changes in personality or demeanor, as well as indications of infection, warrant further consideration. Our Orange County nursing home abuse lawyers can explain in more detail. 

Identifying Early Signs of Elder Abuse and Neglect Can Be Complicated

One of the reasons that elder abuse or neglect can persist is that family members of the elderly person do not immediately recognize signs of symptoms of abuse. According to an article from the National Institute on Aging and the National Institutes of Health, it is critical to know that elder abuse can affect any older adult, and it can occur in nearly any location — from nursing homes with histories of abuse to state-of-the-art facilities that do not appear to have any outward indicators of problems. 

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When we think about characteristics that make people particularly vulnerable to nursing home abuse or neglect in San Bernardino County, we often think about age, socioeconomic factors, community relationships, and a nursing home resident’s relative health. It is important to know that older adults are subject to abuse and neglect in ways other patients may not. Nursing home residents who cannot afford certain types of care or do not have family members or trustworthy loved ones in their community to consider their best interests can suffer injuries due to nursing home abuse or neglect — sometimes at higher rates than others. The Alzheimer’s Association also underscores that nursing home residents with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia are especially vulnerable to abuse, often because they do not have the cognitive abilities to recognize abuse or to report it.

What about gender and sex? And, in particular, are women at higher risk of certain types of abuse in nursing home settings? Our San Bernardino nursing home abuse attorneys want to say more about gender-based violence and elder abuse in Southern California.

Women Residents of Nursing Homes Are More Likely to Be Victims of Sexual Abuse

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Older adults, including nursing home and assisted-living facility residents in Riverside County, may be more likely to suffer serious fall injuries than younger people. Yet it is important to remember that falls are preventable, and nursing homes have a duty to take steps to ensure resident safety. If a fall does occur in a Riverside County nursing home or assisted-living facility, it is important to seek advice from a Riverside County nursing home negligence lawyer who can determine whether the facility may be liable. In the meantime, the following are five things you should know about falls and nursing homes.

1. Falls are Extremely Common But Preventable Among Older Adults

Falls occur much more frequently than you might think among older adults. Indeed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were 36,000 fall-related deaths among adults aged 65 and up in 2020, which makes falls the “leading cause of injury death for that group.” Around 3 million older adults experience injuries in falls that require treatment in an emergency department, and approximately 800,000 require hospitalization. Among older adults, about 20% of all falls result in serious injury.

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Could “ownership transparency” help to prevent injuries and severe harm to patients in skilled nursing facilities in San Diego County? Nursing home abuse and neglect in Southern California have many causes, including issues of understaffing and failure to properly investigate staff members prior to employment. Commentators often argue that certain nursing homes put profits before patient well-being. According to a recent article in Skilled Nursing News, the Biden administration has been focusing on “ownership transparency,” or addressing who owns — or what entities own — skilled nursing facilities across the country. The idea is that nursing homes that are owned by real estate investment trusts (REITs) may not provide the same quality of care as other nursing homes.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently proposed a rule aimed at “ownership transparency,” or as the article describes it, “a rule requiring more ownership disclosures and floating definitions of private equity and real estate investment trusts.” Yet as the article reports, “providers are pushing back on elements of this proposal,” and commentators argue that “the proposed policy’s definitions of different ownership structures is still too vague.” What do you need to know about the proposed rule and its implications? Our San Diego County nursing home abuse lawyers can say more.

Proposed Rule is Part of Broader Ownership Transparency Plan

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“Cost-cutting is to be expected in any business, but nursing homes are particularly vulnerable. Staffing often represents the largest operating cost on a nursing home’s ledger. So, when firms buy a home, they cut staff. However, this business model has a fatal flaw. “Nurse availability,” Gupta and his colleagues wrote, “is the most important determinant of quality of care.”

“The data revealed a troubling trend: when private-equity firms acquired nursing homes, deaths among residents increased by an average of ten per cent.”

Read this compelling article from the New Yorker.

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When a senior in a Los Angeles County nursing home suffers an injury because of the facility’s negligence or because of an intentional act committed by a staff member, it may be possible to file a claim against the facility in order to seek compensation and to hold the facility accountable. Yet it can be difficult to know when a facility should be sued, especially since there are so many different types of injuries and harm that an older adult can experience. One type of harm that may not be discussed as often as physical abuse in nursing homes but that can cause serious psychological injuries is harm to a person’s dignity. What rights does a nursing home resident have in California concerning rights to dignity and the right to be free from psychological or emotional harm? Our Los Angeles County nursing home abuse attorneys can provide you with more information.

Harm to a Person’s Dignity Can Be a Form of Nursing Home Abuse

It is critical to know that nursing home abuse is a term that can refer to many different types of harm — not just physical abuse. Indeed, there are many kinds of elder abuse and neglect that can occur at nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Southern California. In some cases, a staff member at a nursing home might not even intend to cause harm but may be so busy or overwhelmed that they cannot fully perform the requirements of their job, which results in a nursing home resident suffering an injury. In other cases, various forms of intentional abuse, including physical abuse, psychological abuse, and willful deprivation, may result in harm to a person’s dignity.

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Although COVID-19 does not pose the same broad risks in San Bernardino County that it did in the early years of the pandemic, the virus does continue to pose a relatively serious risk to older adults in nursing homes. Even seniors who have been fully vaccinated and boosted are still at higher risk of developing serious symptoms from COVID-19, and nursing homes have a duty to ensure that infection-control measures are in place to prevent the spread of the virus if a resident does become infected. According to a recent story from KQED, some nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are using COVID-sniffing dogs to identify the virus in residents. Can dogs really sniff out COVID? And when can a nursing home be liable for injury or death caused by COVID in a nursing home, assisted-living facility, or another type of long-term care facility?

Learning More About COVID-Sniffing Dogs in California

Can dogs really sniff out COVID? And can this practice make nursing homes and assisted-living facilities safer for residents? According to the KQED story, using COVID-sniffing dogs can be quick and effective, in large part. Indeed, the piece says, “in less than a half hour, dogs can scan hundreds of patients at a nursing home by sniffing their shoes and ankles,” and “if they identify COVID, they will sit down next to the suspected resident.” Facilities are then using rapid antigen tests to “verify the results” provided by the dogs.

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If you are considering the possibility of filing a nursing home abuse or neglect claim in Orange County, or if you are wondering whether you have a valid nursing home abuse or neglect claim, it is important to learn more about how these claims work. A recent Forbes article provided information about the key elements of a nursing home abuse claim regardless of where you are in the country. Still, it is also important to understand how California law works specifically. The following is a general guide to nursing home abuse and neglect claims in Orange County and throughout California.

Understand What Constitutes Nursing Home Abuse, Neglect, and Negligence

The terms nursing home “abuse” and “neglect” are often used interchangeably, and you will also often see references to “nursing home negligence.” Generally speaking, nursing home negligence claims can include claims of abuse and neglect, and they usually name a specific nursing home or group of facilities (although sometimes additional parties may be named, such as certain staff members), and they allege that the nursing home’s negligence resulted in a resident’s injuries. More specifically, nursing home abuse claims tend to involve specific allegations of known types of nursing home abuse, and they may name the nursing home in addition to a specific staff member who perpetrated the abuse. At the same time, you may see these terms used interchangeably in various circumstances.

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As a law firm who specializes in the abuse and neglect of seniors, it’s important to stay informed about cases involving elder abuse. Unfortunately, these cases occur far too often, and can take many forms, including physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. Neglect, in particular, is a type of elder abuse that can be difficult to detect, but can have devastating consequences.

Recently, a registered nurse who worked at a Riverside assisted living facility was charged with abuse by neglect of a 69-year-old woman who died after she developed gangrene. Emily Jones, 40, of Riverside, has pleaded not guilty to elder abuse that caused great bodily injury and remains free on $50,000 bail.

According to prosecutors, Jones was a case manager for a resident at Brookdale Senior Living in 2017 when she failed to properly assess an ulcer on the woman’s right heel. As a result, a Plan of Care was never developed, and the ulcer worsened into a wound that required the resident to undergo emergency surgery to her right foot, which had become septic and gangrenous. Jones also failed to notify a doctor and the woman’s family that her health was declining as a result of the lack of care, and she eventually died.

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While hospice fraud in Riverside County and elsewhere in Southern California is not new, California has been attempting to crack down on hospice fraud over the last year. Indeed, according to a report from ProPublica, hospice fraud has been drawing more attention recently, and it is linked to nursing home negligence and abuse throughout the country. What is hospice fraud, and how does it relate to residents of nursing homes receiving negligent or substandard care? Our experienced Riverside County nursing home neglect attorneys can provide you with more information.

Learning More About Hospice Fraud

What is hospice fraud, exactly? And what is the relationship between hospice fraud and allegations of nursing home negligence? In short, as the ProPublica report explains, hospice facilities can receive money from Medicare (or Medi-Cal in California) for patients at the hospice facility. You might be thinking that this makes perfect sense, but consider this: the Hospice Foundation of America explains that hospice is a specific type of “medical care for people with an anticipated life expectancy of 6 months or less when cure is not an option and the focus shifts to symptom management and quality of life.” If hospice is only for people who will not get better, why are nursing home residents with broken bones or other temporary conditions and injuries moving into hospices?

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