Articles Tagged with California nursing home abuse lawyer

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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

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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?

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As recent wildfires began to spread quickly in various parts of Los Angeles County and throughout Southern California, many residents of nursing homes and assisted-living facilities in affected areas were evacuated. According to data from the California Department of Public Health, nearly 1,000 residents of nursing homes and residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs) were evacuated as a result of fire risks. At the same time, not all facilities took steps to evacuate residents or to account for resident safety. 

Indeed, a recent report from NBC Los Angeles described a 96-year-old nursing home resident in her room who could see the Eaton Fire burning nearby, outside her window. The facility where that resident lived had been evacuated, but she was left in her room. Other similar news stories told of residents in Southern California left behind in nursing home evacuations, or unable to leave nursing homes where evacuations did not occur properly. What duties do nursing homes and assisted-living facilities owe residents in the event of wildfires or other environmental hazards? Consider the following information from our Los Angeles County nursing home negligence lawyers.

Nursing Homes Must Have Preparations for Safe Evacuations

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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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Serious and fatal injuries can happen at nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Los Angeles County for many different reasons. Some of those reasons involve intentionally bad acts, including physical, emotional, and sexual abuse toward elderly residents or willful deprivation of elderly residents. Under other circumstances, older adults can sustain serious harm as a result of negligence. A staff member or the facility itself may not intend any harm, but because of issues like understaffing or employee burnout, the elderly residents might not receive the oversight and care they need to stay safe and healthy. The latter is often how choking injuries and deaths occur in nursing homes and other residential care facilities for the elderly in Southern California.

When a choking injury or death occurs, who is liable? Our Los Angeles nursing home negligence lawyers can explain in more detail.

Nursing Home Duty to Understand Choking Risks and to Take Precautions

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When a resident falls at a nursing home or assisted-living facility in Los Angeles County, who is accountable? And, perhaps more importantly, who is liable if the fallen resident does not receive quick and effective assistance, ultimately resulting in their injuries worsening? According to a recent report in The Washington Post, new data suggests that employees at nursing homes and assisted-living facilities across the country often refuse to lift residents who have fallen to avoid liability, instead calling emergency medical responders to lift the resident. By the time an emergency medical responder arrives, injuries from the fall may have worsened.

From liability to initial falls in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities to injuries worsened by a lack of quick response time, it is important to know that the facility itself could be accountable. Our Los Angeles County nursing home neglect lawyers can tell you more.

Fall Hazards in Nursing Homes and Assisted-Living Facilities

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Anyone who has an elderly parent or relative who resides in a nursing home or assisted-living facility in San Bernardino County should know about the risks of nursing home abuse, neglect, and negligence. Generally speaking, older adults in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities can be at risk of injuries from various types of harm, both intentional and unintentional. Trying to understand the distinctions between abuse, neglect, and negligence in relation to seniors can be confusing, and our Southern California nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers can help to clarify the terms for you. If you have further questions or if you need assistance with a claim, do not hesitate to get in touch with us.

Intentional Elder Abuse

The term elder abuse often refers to acts of intentional abuse. The National Council on Aging (NCOA) underscores that there are many forms of intentional abuse that can result in severe harm to older adults in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, including physical abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, sexual abuse, and willful deprivation. 

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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. 

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Whether it is in Riverside County or elsewhere in Southern California, it is critical for friends and family members of older LGBTQ adults who reside in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities to be at severe risk of injuries from abuse and neglect than others. Indeed, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society, although there is insufficient research on elder abuse and neglect among members of the LGBTQ community in California and elsewhere, it is clear that “this population faces a greater risk of abuse and likely experiences abuse differently, and needs different resources.” 

If an elderly parent or loved one is a member of the LGBTQ community and is currently living in a nursing home or assisted living facility, what do you need to know? Our Riverside County nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys can tell you more.

LGBTQ Seniors Experience Abuse and Neglect in Nursing Homes and assisted living Facilities in Southern California

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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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