Articles Posted in Orange County Nursing Home

by

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. 

Continue reading

by

Is it a good thing if there are more cameras in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities in Orange County and throughout Southern California? According to a recent article in The New York Times, cameras are becoming more prevalent in eldercare facilities across the country — both in common areas as well as in residents’ rooms. As that article emphasizes, this issue of cameras in private and semi-private rooms in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities “remains a contentious subject,” yet it is a practice that is “gaining ground” across the country. 

What should you know about cameras in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities in Southern California if you have an elderly loved one residing in one of these places? Our Orange County nursing home neglect attorneys can tell you more.

More States Allowing Cameras in Nursing Homes, Including California

Continue reading

by

Realizing that an elderly parent needs to move into a nursing home to receive the level of care they need can be difficult — both emotionally for their adult children and other family members and in terms of finding a safe and high-quality facility. When you are looking at potential nursing homes in Orange County or elsewhere in Southern California, it is important to consider a wide range of factors. You should think about indicators of good care and safety at a facility just as carefully as potential red flags that arise during a visit. It is always important to visit ahead of time and to be sure that you have a chance to see a facility before staff members can fully plan ahead for a visit. In other words, it is important to be able to see any potential facility as it operates normally on an everyday basis. 

Once you visit a facility, you should then pay attention to signs of quality care, as well as signs that safety could be an issue.

Indicators of Quality Care in a Nursing Home

Continue reading

by

Is malnutrition in an Orange County nursing home or assisted-living facility a result of nursing home neglect? The answer to this question is not always straightforward. Malnutrition can be difficult to identify, and in some cases, it can result from health issues that affect the resident. At the same time, malnutrition can be the result of elder abuse or neglect. Accordingly, it is important for anyone with a loved one in a nursing home or assisted living facility in California to understand the causes of malnutrition and common signs of malnutrition linked to elder abuse and neglect. An experienced Orange County nursing home neglect lawyer can provide you with more information, and we can speak with you today about taking action if an elderly loved one has experienced harmful malnutrition in a Southern California facility.

Learning More About Malnutrition

What is malnutrition? According to the World Health Organization (WHO), malnutrition is a term that “refers to deficiencies, excesses, or imbalances in a person’s intake of energy or nutrients.” It can take different forms, including the form known as “undernutrition,” which tends to result in the most harm for elderly Americans. Undernutrition can involve wasting, being underweight, and having important micronutrient deficiencies or insufficiencies. While malnutrition can affect people worldwide of any age, it tends to have the most significant impact among older adults in the US. 

Continue reading

by

Seniors in Orange County nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, as well as older adults throughout Southern California, are more vulnerable to forms of abuse than younger people. Indeed, elderly nursing home and assisted-living facility residents can be subject to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, as well as passive neglect — all of which can result in debilitating and even fatal injuries. Life in a nursing home or assisted-living facility should feel safe, and residents should be well cared for, yet many frequently are in precarious positions where their health and safety are at great risk. Why are older adults so susceptible to abuse? Our experienced Orange County nursing home neglect lawyers can explain in more detail, and we can speak with you today about any concerns you have that may warrant an investigation and a nursing home abuse claim.

Cognitive Impairment

Cognitive impairments, including those caused by Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, are one of the most common reasons that older adults are more susceptible to various forms of abuse and neglect in nursing homes or memory care facilities. Indeed, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, “people with dementia are especially vulnerable because the disease may prevent them from reporting the abuse or recognizing it,” which can also result in acts of abuse being perpetrated repeatedly and over time. Nursing home and assisted-living facility residents with certain types of mental health issues can also be vulnerable to abuse for similar reasons. 

Continue reading

by

When you are searching in Orange County or elsewhere in Southern California for a nursing home where your elderly loved one can obtain the level of care they need, it is essential to do as much research as possible and to choose a facility that can provide what your family member needs. There are many different types of facilities in terms of quality and size, and there are also for-profit and non-profit facilities. According to a recent report from CBS News, many for-profit nursing homes in California are not serving residents well, and it is important for families to understand the distinctions between for-profit and non-profit facilities.

Nursing Home Abuse and Negligence Can Happen Anywhere

Before we discuss the important distinctions between for-profit and non-profit nursing homes, and the research surrounding those distinctions, we want to emphasize that nursing home abuse and negligence can happen anywhere. Even seemingly high quality facilities can have issues, and nursing homes with no past records of safety problems can be places where injuries occur. 

Continue reading

by

Elder abuse and neglect in Orange County often result in severe and deadly resident injuries in nursing homes. Abuse can take many different forms, from intentional physical, emotional, or sexual abuse to passive neglect. To be clear, even when a staff member or other employee of a nursing home does not intend to cause harm, failing to attend to a resident’s health needs can result in serious harm for which the facility can be liable. Likewise, injuries resulting from intentional harm can also result in successful nursing home abuse and neglect claims against the facility, as well as the perpetrators. While studies underscore that nursing home abuse and neglect injuries occur with some frequency, they also highlight that abuse and neglect often go unreported.

To be sure, some studies suggest that the underreporting of nursing home abuse and neglect means that rates of harm are significantly higher than data currently indicate. Why is nursing home abuse and neglect underreported? There are many potential reasons that various studies have addressed, but a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Connecticut argues that fears of retaliation are central to understanding the problem. What do you need to know? Our Orange County nursing home negligence lawyers can say more.

Common Reasons for Abuse and Neglect Underreporting in Southern California Nursing Homes and Assisted-Living Facilities

Continue reading

by

Falls can result in severe injuries for people of any age in Orange County, but they are particularly dangerous for older adults who may live in nursing homes or assisted living facilities in Southern California. Indeed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 20 percent of all falls among the elderly result in a debilitating injury such as a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or a broken bone, and approximately three million older adults need to be treated in emergency departments every year for injuries they have sustained from falls. Of those seniors, about 800,000 need to be hospitalized because of the severity of the injury, which is usually a TBI or a hip fracture. In total, around 300,000 elderly people need to be hospitalized due to hip fractures every year.

When falls happen in nursing homes or assisted living facilities and residents sustain hip fractures, TBIs, or other serious injuries, the nursing home may be liable. Our Orange County nursing home negligence lawyers can explain.

Preventing Nursing Home Falls

Continue reading

by

Nursing home abuse occurs frequently, but it can still be difficult to spot or identify if you do not know what to look for. Quite often, friends and family members of older adults in nursing homes are in the best position to spot injuries that may have resulted from abuse or neglect, so it is critical to know what you should be observing and reporting. Our Orange County nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys have tips. The following are the top ways to spot nursing home abuse in Orange County.

Learn About Different Forms of Abuse and Neglect

Nursing home abuse and neglect can take many different forms, so it is critical to understand the types of abuse that can occur. Those forms of abuse typically include physical abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, sexual abuse, willful deprivation, and passive neglect.

Continue reading

by

Many nursing home residents in Orange County and throughout Southern California, as well as at assisted living facilities in the area, require help with activities of daily living (or ADLs). Activities of daily living include things like getting dressed, bathing, using the bathroom, and eating. Help with ADLs does not need to be provided by a nurse, but families should be able to expect that their elderly loved ones will have the assistance with these activities that they need at any nursing home or assisted living facility in Orange County. When a facility is negligent or when an employee fails to adequately assist a resident with one of these ADLs, the resident can suffer serious and sometimes life-threatening injuries. When it comes to eating, there is a serious risk of choking among older adults who need assistance.

What do you need to know about choking hazards among older adults and facility liability for these injuries? Our Orange County nursing home neglect attorneys can say more. 

Choking Hazards and Older Adults

Continue reading
Justia Lawyer Rating
Super Lawyers
BBB Rating A+
Avvo Rating 10.0
Elder Justice Advocates
Consumer Attorneys California
AV Preeminent badge
Contact Information
North County Office
950 Boardwalk
#304
San Marcos, CA 92078
Toll Free: 866.607.1325 Local: 760.571.5500 Fax: 760.571.5501
San Diego Office
2169 1st Ave
San Diego, CA 92101
Toll Free: 866.607.1325

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2025, Walton Law Firm
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design