Articles Posted in Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

Bedsores-300x188When a loved one develops a large, painful bed sore in a nursing home, it is almost always a sign that something went terribly wrong. Families often feel a mix of anger, guilt, and confusion — and they want to know one thing: Can I sue a nursing home in California for allowing this to happen? The answer is yes. Under California law, bed sores are a preventable medical condition, and when they occur, they often indicate neglect.

Below is a clear, compassionate explanation of your rights and what to do next.

What a Bed Sore Really Means in a Nursing Home

IMG_29490008-300x227Across the country, state leaders are sounding the alarm about the growing influence of private equity in nursing homes and long term care. According to the Private Equity Stakeholder Project’s 2025 legislative tracker, this year marks a turning point in states’ efforts to scale back private equity’s footprint in the healthcare sector. From California to Massachusetts, lawmakers are beginning to recognize what families and advocates have been experiencing for years: when private equity buys nursing homes, patient care often suffers.

How Many Nursing Homes Are Owned by Private Equity

Researchers estimate that private equity firms now own roughly eleven percent of all nursing homes in the United States, representing more than one thousand five hundred facilities nationwide. Some studies place the number even higher when including complex ownership structures, management companies and affiliated real estate trusts used to mask true ownership.

Do you have an elderly loved one in a nursing home in San Bernardino County or elsewhere in Southern California? If so, it is critical that you learn more about identifying signs of nursing home abuse and neglect, and that you learn about your options for reporting it. Much too often, when a visitor at a nursing home or assisted-living facility suspects abuse or neglect, they do not know who they should alert to their concerns or what steps to take in order to have their concerns addressed. Many people also worry that they will report their concerns when there is insufficient evidence, or when they are not completely certain that neglect or abuse has occurred.

If you have any concerns at all about nursing home abuse or neglect — including abuse or neglect in an assisted-living facility or another type of residential care facility for the elderly (RCFE) in Southern California — it is important to report it. You might just save your own loved one from further harm, as well as other residents at the facility. How do you make a report? There are different options you can consider.

Identify and Record Abuse and Neglect Concerns

Nursing home abuse and neglect can happen at any facility in San Jose and throughout California. There are ways to reduce the risk of moving an elderly loved one into a facility where abuse or neglect may be more likely, such as by reviewing facility ratings, researching safety records, and visiting the facility to look for common red flags associated with abuse, neglect, or negligence. Yet even when you take all the precautions, abuse or neglect injuries can still happen. We often think about adult children of elderly residents being the ones to spot the signs of abuse or neglect, but spouses can also be extremely important when it comes to identifying symptoms of elder abuse. 

If your spouse is now living in a nursing home and you are still living independently, what should you look for when you visit? The following are some of the most common signs that something is not right, and you should seek advice from a San Jose nursing home neglect lawyer as soon as possible.

Physical or Visible Injuries

If you have an elderly loved one who currently resides in a nursing home in San Bernardino County or elsewhere in North County, it is critical to be aware of injury risks at their nursing home — including common signs of harm. It is critical to know that a nursing home can be liable for harm even in circumstances where harm was not intentional, including when a resident develops an infection like a bed sore.

When are bed sores most likely to occur in nursing home residents? While we know that patients with certain mobility issues are at greatest risk for this type of infection, a recent report from McKnight’s Long-Term Care News suggests that the wounds occur most frequently when nursing homes have staff members on overtime hours. 

What are Bed Sores?

Older adults in Orange County nursing homes should always expect to be treated with dignity and respect, and they should also be able to expect that nursing homes are employing a sufficient number of staff to provide for the individual needs of residents. Yet, much too often, nursing homes do not provide the quality of care that they promise to provide. As a result of nursing home abuse — including intentional acts of physical and emotional harm, as well as sexual abuse — and nursing home neglect or negligence, Southern California nursing home residents suffer serious and sometimes deadly injuries. Families are often taught to be aware of the signs and symptoms of abuse or neglect, including physical and psychological warning signs about an elderly loved one’s well-being. 

We often think about nursing home abuse as intentional harm and neglect as a failure to provide care due to understaffing, for example, yet there are some cases in which nursing home neglect is intentional. In other words, staff members might make intentional decisions to withhold care in order to deprive elderly residents of the assistance they need or the medications on which they rely. Our Orange County nursing home neglect lawyers can explain in more detail.

Understanding Willful Deprivation in Southern California Nursing Homes

Older adults in Solano County and throughout California are not only at greater risk of falling than younger adults, but they are also more likely to sustain serious injuries when they do fall. According to a recent report in The New York Times, falls are nearly always preventable, yet they continue to harm seniors in assisted-living facilities and nursing homes. Sometimes falls occur because a facility has an inadequate number of staff, such that residents do not receive the help and assistance they need with mobility tasks. In other circumstances, a facility might have certain hazards on the premises that result in a fall. At the same time, nursing homes and assisted-living facilities may not prioritize fall prevention, and thus they may not be employing many of the “small changes and good habits” that the report suggests can make a significant difference in reducing falls among the elderly.

What should you know about falls and fall risks in California nursing homes? Our Riverside County nursing home neglect attorneys can tell you more.

Why is Falling So Common Among Older Adults?

Nursing home and assisted living facility residents, as a result of age and certain underlying conditions, can be at greater risk of certain types of wounds and other injuries. Skin tears are among those, and when they are not properly treated, they can result in serious and even life-threatening infections. While skin tears on their own may not be the result of nursing home negligence or neglect, serious infections that result from them can be. When skin tear wounds do lead to severe infections, it is essential to seek advice from a San Diego County nursing home neglect lawyer who can help. 

A recent report in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News discusses a new study concerning skin tears and risk factors among nursing home residents. Our San Diego County nursing home injury lawyers can tell you more. 

What Are Skin Tears?

Nursing home negligence can take many different forms, and it is important for anyone with an elderly loved one in a Los Angeles County nursing home to know when a facility can be liable for a careless act or omission. Wandering and elopement are common issues among nursing home residents that raise questions about nursing home negligence. When an elderly nursing home resident wanders from an area that is safe, they can get hurt. In many cases, the nursing home can be liable for any harm that occurs because the facility has a duty to ensure that staff members properly monitor residents who may be likely to wander.

Our Los Angeles County nursing home negligence lawyers can tell you more about wandering and elopement, and we can help you understand whether a facility may be liable if your loved one suffered harm because of wandering or elopement.

What are Wandering and Elopement?

When your elderly parent or another elderly loved one needs to move into a nursing home in Orange County for care, it can be difficult to know how to choose the right facility. While safety records, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Five-Star Quality Rating System, and personal nursing home visits can help families to make informed decisions about nursing homes in Southern California, there are also other factors that you should consider. A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, suggests that staffing instability may be among the most important factors in identifying the quality of care a nursing home can provide. Our Orange County nursing home neglect attorneys can tell you more.

Staffing Instability Impacts the Quality of Care in Nursing Homes

Consistent staffing may be among the most important factors that families should consider when deciding on a nursing home for a loved one, the recent study from UC Irvine suggests. That research, published in the journal Health Affairs Scholar, “showed that nursing homes either gained or lost a quality star when the staffing instability measure was included in the Five-Star metric,” a news release from UC Irvine reported. 

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