San diego elder abuse lawyer

June 13, 2014

Estranged Wife Commits Elder Abuse in La Jolla

We often think about staff members and other employees at nursing homes and assisted living facilities when we worry about whether our elderly loved ones are receiving proper care. However, spouses, children, and other close relatives of older adults can commit elder abuse, too. Indeed, anyone can commit elder abuse. And a recent article from NBC San Diego reports that a woman from La Jolla, Victoria Turner, who has already been accused of abusing her now-estranged husband, attempted to make her way into a care facility in order to force him to sign legal documents.

Details of the La Jolla Elder Abuse

Back in March, Robert Stella was “rescued from the garbage and filth in his own home,” where Turner was supposed to be caring for him, according to NBC San Diego. Stella recently turned 91 years old. In addition to allowing Stella to reside in a home that was “cluttered and filthy,” Turner has also been accused of tying him to his bed. Turner is almost 40 years younger than Stella, and she’s currently under investigation for elder abuse, as well as animal neglect and cruelty.

June 2, 2014

Nursing Home Staffing Numbers and Elder Abuse

by Walton Law Firm

Does the number of staff relate to the level of care in nursing homes and assisted living facilities? According to a recent article in McKnight’sLong Term Care News Online, a new study suggests that staffing levels at nursing homes do in fact “correlate with better quality of care.” But what does this mean, exactly? Does simply hiring more staff mean that nursing home residents will be less likely to suffer from nursing home neglect, or should nursing homes invest in specific types of staff members with particular skill sets?

The study, which appeared late last month in Health Economics, suggests that mandatory staffing regulations often result in caregivers with less skill—in short, fewer registered nurses. And registered nurses could be precisely what many nursing home residents need in order to obtain necessary care. If your elderly loved one has sustained injuries as a result of nursing home abuse or neglect, you should talk with an experienced San Diego nursing home abuse lawyer as soon as possible. A dedicated elder justice advocate at the Walton Law Firm would be happy to discuss your case with you today.

Details of the Study

May 27, 2014

New Scams Targeting the Elderly

by Walton Law Firm

California Seniors and Fraudulent Telephone Calls

Older adults are becoming especially susceptible to elder financial abuse, and a recent article in the San Mateo Daily Journal suggests that police have noticed a “rise in fraudulent telephone scams that target seniors.” Elder abuse can take many different forms, and scammers often prey upon older adults who aren’t familiar with new financial technologies and have money saved. And this form of abuse can occur anywhere—at the home of a caregiver or at a nursing home. For example, we recently wrote about a financial abuse scheme at a Palo Alto care community for the elderly.

What have some of the recent scams looked like? According to the San Francisco police, there’s a new telephone scam in California in which an older adult receives a phone call from a person who claims to be a paralegal who is calling from the Attorney general’s office. The caller then tells the elderly victim that there’s “a warrant for her arrest” and that she’ll need to “pay a fee by using a Vanilla prepaid cash card, or risk being sent to jail.” When the scam first was reported by a woman in South San Francisco, the victim described the caller as having a “Russian accident.”

April 16, 2014

RCFE Reform Act of 2014 Gains Momentum

by Walton Law Firm

We’ve been following the reform initiatives for residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs) in California, and a story in U-T San Diego emphasizes that support for the RCFE Reform Act of 2014 has been gaining momentum. Last Tuesday, legislation “pushed through separate committees at the state Capitol,” thus “making it more likely that rules governing senior homes will get tighter.” Potential reform legislation now includes “nearly 20 different bills authored by lawmakers from both political parties,” reported U-T San Diego.

Currently, approximately 7,500 residential care facilities exist in California, and reform advocates are eager to support any legislation that will require greater oversight and will help to prevent instances of elder abuse. Numerous nursing home abuse and neglect cases have made local and national news over the last year, and many of the recent reform measures have been offered in response to those reports.

However, not all Californians are in favor of the legislation. We’ll go over the key points of the recent testimony and the perceived advantages and disadvantages of the RCFE Reform Act of 2014. In the meantime, if you suspect that your elderly parent or loved one has sustained injuries because of elder neglect at a nursing home or residential care facility, it is very important to speak to an experienced San Diego nursing home abuse lawyer.

March 26, 2014

More Oversight of Elder Care Facilities in San Diego County

by Walton Law Firm

Over the past several months, Southern California has been in the elder law spotlight. With news of rampant nursing home abuse throughout the state and a PBS frontline special, California legislators have been looking to more closely regulate residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs) in our state. During the second week of March, the San Diego Board of Supervisors made a decision to “tighten oversight of residential care facilities for the elderly,” and they also elected to fund a “one-year pilot program to investigate and prosecute crimes committed at care homes, according to an article in KPBS San Diego.

Nursing home abuse and neglect is a serious problem in San Diego and, indeed, across the state and country. If you suspect that your elderly loved one has been injured because of nursing home abuse or nursing home neglect, you shouldn’t hesitate to speak with an experienced California nursing home abuse lawyer. At the Walton Law Firm, we have years of experience handling these claims, and we’re eager to help with your case.

Details of the San Diego County Supervisors’ Decision