Articles Tagged with orange county elder abuse

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

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.

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

Nursing home abuse and neglect in Orange County is more common than many people think, and some studies estimate that it impacts 10% or more of older adults. Indeed, according to the National Council on Aging (NCOA), one out of every 10 people aged 60 and older suffers some type of abuse each year, and some studies suggest that only about one out of every 24 cases of elder abuse is actually reported, which could mean that the rates of abuse and neglect are significantly higher than what we already know. Some signs of abuse or neglect may be more obvious than others, such as physical bruises or cuts or reports made by seniors who have experienced abuse. Yet as an article in U.S. News & World Report intimates, it is always important to think about signs and symptoms of abuse that may not be as obvious or transparent. Often, the way to learn about some of these issues is to ask questions. Our Orange County nursing home neglect lawyers can tell you more.

When Nursing Home Abuse is Not Transparent

The article in U.S. News & World Report emphasizes that, more often than you might anticipate, “there are harsh secrets in nursing homes” that frequently include “resident neglect or abuse.” As that piece underscores, the COVID-19 pandemic worsened safety and health issues that were already present in many nursing homes in California and across the country as those facilities failed to implement effective infection control measures or to address the effects of isolation and emotional neglect. Yet often, these kinds of issues will only be known to prospective residents or to current residents’ family members if they ask. 

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. 

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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