Articles Posted in San Diego Nursing Home

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How often does elder abuse and neglect occur in San Diego County nursing homes and assisted-living facilities? According to new data reported by the National Council on Aging (NCOA), as many as one out of every five older adults in recent years — or 20% of the older adult population — may have been subject to some form of abuse or neglect. And that information still coincides with estimates that only about one out of every 24 cases of elder abuse are actually reported. As such, it is possible that far more than 20% of the elderly population experiences some form of abuse at least once. How often do subsequent acts of abuse or neglect occur? That information is not especially well documented, but according to a recent article in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, a new program could help to prevent repeat acts of abuse and neglect in various long-term care settings.

New Hospital-Based Program Helps Seniors Who Have Experienced Elder Abuse

Older adults who have suffered harm as a result of nursing home abuse and neglect may experience abuse again — especially those who are particularly vulnerable, such as older adults with dementia or cognitive impairments. The article in McKnight’s discusses a new program specifically designed to identify seniors who have experienced mistreatment and to intervene effectively.

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Whether you have already made one or more visits to a loved one in San Diego County during the holiday season or you have plans for an upcoming visit, it is a particularly good time of the year to be on the lookout for any signs of elder abuse or neglect if your elderly loved one is living in a nursing home, a skilled nursing facility, an assisted-living facility, or any other type of residential care facility for the elderly (RCFE) in Southern California. The holiday season often involves multiple visits from family and adult children gathering to see their parents, which means adult children and other family members can work together to identify potential abuse or neglect risks.

Making a Plan to Focus on Your Elderly Loved One’s Safety 

During the holiday season — or during any time of the year when family members gather to see a loved one in a nursing home or assisted-living facility — it is helpful to make a plan to focus on health and safety. Sporadic visits at other times of the year may be relatively quick, and those visits may involve only one person stopping by an elderly parent’s nursing home room or assisted-living facility residence. When multiple family members are together, especially adult children, they can work together to consider injury risks at the nursing home or other facility and to pay particular attention to warning signs of abuse or neglect.

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If you suspect that your parent has been abused or neglected in a North County San Diego nursing home or assisted living facility, taking swift and decisive action is crucial. The consequences of elder neglect and abuse can be devastating, not only compromising the health and safety of your loved one but also causing irreparable harm to their emotional well-being. Southern California Nursing Home Law Group is here to support you and your family every step of the way, with over 20 years of experience representing victims of elder neglect and abuse. Our team is deeply committed to seeking justice for vulnerable seniors and ensuring that negligent facilities are held accountable for their actions.

Neglect and abuse in nursing homes can take many forms. Common types of neglect include failing to provide basic medical care, improper wound care for bed sores, malnutrition, dehydration, inadequate hygiene, and medication errors. In some cases, vulnerable seniors are left in soiled clothing for hours, experience prolonged isolation, or suffer from dangerous falls because of inadequate supervision or poor safety measures. These conditions are not merely oversights; they are violations of the duty of care that nursing homes owe to their residents. Elder abuse may also present as physical, emotional, or even financial harm, where residents are subjected to physical assaults, emotional torment, or exploitation of their finances by staff members. Any signs of bruising, rapid weight loss, behavioral changes, or unexplained injuries warrant immediate investigation and action.

The consequences of neglect and abuse in nursing homes can be severe, leading to long-term physical complications, psychological trauma, or even premature death. For families already grappling with the emotional burden of entrusting a loved one to the care of others, discovering mistreatment can be heart-wrenching. This is why holding nursing homes accountable is not just about seeking compensation for the harm caused; it’s also about promoting systemic change in the industry. When facilities are allowed to operate negligently without repercussions, more families stand to suffer the same fate. Pursuing justice sends a strong message that negligent behavior will not be tolerated, and it may prevent future incidents from occurring.

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Elderly adults in San Diego County nursing homes or specialized memory-care facilities often have been diagnosed with forms of cognitive impairment, including Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. When a person has cognitive impairment, the facility must take steps to ensure that they receive a certain level of care related to their condition. In other words, skilled nursing facilities have a duty to provide the type of care that is necessary based on the resident’s needs, and for residents with Alzheimer’s disease and other causes of cognitive impairment, it may be necessary to take steps to prevent wandering. When a resident wanders and suffers an injury, the facility could be liable based on a theory of negligence. Our San Diego County nursing home negligence lawyers can tell you more.

What is Wandering?

What does the term “wandering” mean in relation to nursing home care and older adults in Southern California? According to the National Council on Aging (NCOA), wandering is also known as elopement, and it refers to a situation “when someone leaves a safe area or responsible caregiver.” As the NCOA clarifies, when a nursing home resident wants, they “may not be aware of their safety, which puts them at risk of getting lost, falling, or other accidents with injuries.”

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When an elderly loved one requires care outside their home, it is important to find a facility that can meet your loved one’s needs and ensure that they will receive proper care so that they do not sustain preventable injuries. Yet, risks of falls in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, as well as issues with understaffing, can result in different types of accidents that can cause traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in residents. While TBIs are most commonly associated with contact sports (like football and soccer) in the news or with motor vehicle crashes and certain high-risk recreational activities, they also occur more often than you might think in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. 

According to a new report in McKnights Long-Term Care News, sustaining multiple TBIs can have particularly harmful effects on older adults. In short, multiple TBIs can increase the risk for “worse cognitive decline” and, ultimately, a reduced life expectancy and reduced quality of life. Our San Diego County nursing home neglect lawyers can explain in more detail.

Traumatic Brain Injuries and Dementia in Older Adults

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Elderly residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities in San Diego County can sustain injuries in many different ways, unfortunately. In some cases, an elderly resident might suffer a preventable injury resulting from negligence. In other words, nobody intended to harm, but a lack of proper care or a failure to attend to safety concerns might have resulted in an accident and injury. Under other circumstances, an elderly resident might be harmed by intentional abuse at the hands of a staff member or caregiver. When is a San Diego nursing home itself liable for resident injuries? In short, a nursing home or assisted living facility can be liable in most cases involving resident injuries. Our San Diego nursing home abuse lawyers can tell you more.

Medication Mistakes

Medication mistakes are especially common in nursing homes, and they can involve mistakes in prescribing, dosing, filling prescriptions, and administering drugs. Often, staff members without the necessary training make errors in administering resident medications, and those residents sustain injuries. Even if a particular healthcare provider may also be liable for a medication mistake, nursing homes can also be liable.

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From nursing homes in San Diego County to those elsewhere in Southern California and across the country, staffing shortages can lead to serious resident injuries as a result of passive neglect. In short, when a nursing home does not have a sufficient number of employees to provide appropriate care for residents based on individual resident needs, residents can sustain injuries like bed sores because they are not moving or broken bones in falls when they try to get out of bed or make it to the restroom themselves despite requiring assistance with these activities. According to a recent article in The New York Times, the significant staffing shortages that were identified at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic are persisting in nursing homes throughout the United States, along with problems concerning infection control measures and protocol.

Staffing Problems Could Be “Monumental”

A new report on nursing home safety, discussed by the Times, was recently prepared by the inspector general’s office at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The report cited how the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is responsible for overseeing about 1.2 million nursing home residents nationwide, and for many of those residents at facilities in California and elsewhere, staffing issues are “monumental.” To be sure, the report identified “high levels of burnout, frequent employee turnover, and the burdens of constantly training new employees, some of whom fail to show up for their first day of work.”

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Having an elderly loved one in a nursing home or assisted living facility in San Diego County can be stressful, especially when there is so much news coverage about abuse and neglect impacting residents at these types of facilities. There are also many different forms of elder abuse, which can make it difficult for family members and friends to have the information they need about a particular kind of abuse. Our San Diego nursing home neglect attorneys can give you more information. The following are some of the most important things to know about passive neglect.

Passive Neglect is Not Usually Intentional

The term “passive neglect” refers to a type of elder abuse where a resident of a nursing home or assisted living facility does not receive the type or amount of care they need, but it is not usually intentional. The National Council on Aging (NCOA) defines passive neglect as “a caregiver’s failure to provide an older adult with life’s necessities, including, but not limited to, food, clothing, shelter, or medical care.” Passive neglect frequently occurs when a nursing home is understaffed.

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Elderly adults in San Diego County nursing homes and at facilities elsewhere in Southern California frequently are subjected to abuse and neglect. Yet as a recent study underscores, many cases of nursing home abuse and neglect go unreported, and the most common reason for the lack of reporting might be a fear of retaliation. Seniors in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities and their families should be able to trust that all employees at the facility have their best interests in mind and that the facility is properly staffed to prevent injuries resulting from neglect. However, abuse and neglect injuries are much more common than many people think, and facilities do not always move quickly, if they move at all, to terminate employees who have caused harm.

What do you need to know about the recent study and its implications for addressing nursing home abuse in Southern California? Our San Diego nursing home abuse lawyers can tell you more.

Nursing Home Residents Fear Retaliation and Avoid Reporting Abuse 

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Nursing homes must have enough employees to provide sufficient care to residents. When skilled nursing facilities do not have enough employees to attend to the needs of all residents, the nursing home may be understaffed. It is important to know that understaffing can result in resident injuries and can be the cause of nursing home neglect, for which the facility may be liable. A nursing home or its employees do not need to engage in intentional acts of abuse or neglect for the facility to be liable. Rather, “passive neglect,” or unintentional neglect resulting from understaffing that results in injuries, can mean that the facility is legally responsible. Our San Diego County nursing home neglect attorneys can say more.

Staffing Requirements at Nursing Homes

In Southern California and throughout the state, nursing homes have a duty to have sufficient employees to provide care to the residents at the facility. Skilled nursing facilities must employ enough people to ensure that residents receive the attention and care they need and to ensure that residents do not suffer harm as a result of a lack of necessary attention or care. 

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