DO YOU SUSPECT ABUSE OR NEGLECT? Contact Us for a Free Consultation

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Helping Caregivers to Help the Elderly through Education

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How can caregivers best spot patterns of elder abuse after their loved ones return from medical appointments or adult daycare?  And how should caregivers handle older adults who act abusively toward medical staff or other persons involved in their care and treatment?  According to a recent news report from Aging Today, a bimonthly newspaper published by the American Society on Aging, elderly caregivers in America aren’t provided with sufficient education about elder abuse.

The news report recently made it into the hands of Californians with the help of the Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse & Neglect.  The Center, housed at the University of California, Irvine, seeks to bridge the academic side of elder neglect with important issues of medical and legal practice.  In addition to conducting research, the Center aims to provide education to California residents and other community members by hosting the Elder Abuse Training Institute, which “identifies the most pressing training needs in elder mistreatment.”  The educational programs are interdisciplinary, moving among medical, sociological, and legal issues.

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With California making national news over elder abuse at nursing homes and residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs), it may not come as a surprise that the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has reassigned Ernest Poolean, the “supervisor in charge of nursing home inspections,” only a few days following the “release of a highly critical audit of his division,” according to an article in Kaiser Health News.

Old Guy

Poolean’s reassignment suggests that the California Department of Public Health is beginning to look at nursing home neglect more closely and has decided to make elder abuse an important issue in Los Angeles and throughout the state.  If your elderly loved one has suffered injuries as a result of nursing home abuse or neglect, it’s very important to contact an experienced San Diego nursing home abuse lawyer. At the Walton Law Firm, we are committed to helping older adults throughout Southern California.

Chief Inspector Reassignment Details

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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.

Old Man 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.

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Plug In

Elder abuse and nursing home neglect are crimes that aren’t confined to physical or emotional abuse.  In fact, every year many older Americans become victims of financial mistreatment.  A recent article in the New York Times reports that the AARP has developed a new interactive online tool—a map of sorts—to prevent fraudulent practices that target the elderly.  The tool is available to California seniors and older adults across the country.

Are you concerned that your elderly loved one has been the victim of financial elder abuse?  It’s very important to contact an experienced elder law attorney as soon as possible.  Elderly financial abuse can prevent Americans from living comfortably during old age, and even worse, fraudulent schemes can prevent older adults from being able to pay for nursing home care or other expensive treatments they might require.  At the Walton Law Firm, we have significant experience handling many different types of elder abuse claims.  An elder justice advocate at our firm can talk with you today.

AARP’s Fraud Watch Network Map

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Old Woman

As many California residents know, our state has made national news over the last year for concerns about nursing home negligence and nursing home abuse.  A recent article in the Sacramento Bee reported that Los Angeles County public health officials, “in an effort to reduce California’s backlog of health and safety complaints at nursing homes,” might have urged inspectors “to close cases without fully investigating them.”  Internal memos sent between managers, inspectors, and supervisors from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health suggest that these quick and potentially harmful case closures are part of an effort called the “Complaint Workload Clean Up Project,” and it has been in effect “since at least the summer of 2012.”

What does this mean for elderly nursing home residents?  In short, complaints at nursing homes and nursing facilities in Los Angeles County might not have been adequately investigated, and county supervisors could be held liable for injuries that occurred.  Do you have a loved one who resides at a nursing facility in Southern California?  At the Walton Law Firm, our California nursing home abuse attorneys have years of experience handling elder law claims and can speak with you today.

Nursing Home Residents at Risk of Inattention in Southern California

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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.

Old Man

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

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Last week, we told you about a recent study conducted by the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The report focused on skilled nursing facilities and found that about one-third of all nursing home patients suffer injuries, and more than half were preventable. The study focused on more than 600 patients from over 600 skilled nursing facilities during a one-month period in 2011. Using these figures to project nationally, the study asserted that nearly 22,000 patients sustained injuries, and more than 1,500 patients died as a result of nursing home abuse or neglect during the month of the study.

How can we repair this shocking problem? Legislators and advocates for nursing home reform have expressed serious concern over the facts presented in this recent report. Is raising awareness about health care standards in skilled nursing facilities sufficient? Would increased inspections help? Or can we do even more to remedy the harms suffered by elderly loved ones in nursing homes?

Patients “Deserve Better,” Legislators Say

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When we trust the care of our elderly loved ones to skilled nursing facilities, we expect that they’ll receive proper treatment and won’t suffer unnecessary harms. Nobody anticipates nursing home abuse and neglect, but a recent article in ProPublica indicates that about one-third of patients in skilled nursing facilities suffer harms during their treatments. Based on a study conducted by the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “nearly 22,000 patients were injured and more than 1,500 died in a single month—a higher rate of medical errors than hospitals.”

Is your elderly loved one in safe hands at her nursing home? Nursing home neglect occurs more frequently than we’d like to think. And while California legislators are hoping to change some of the rules for residential facilities in our state, it’s important to be vigilant. If you suspect that an older adult has been mistreated in a nursing home or assisted living facility, contact the experienced San Diego nursing home abuse lawyers at the Walton Law Firm today.

What is a Skilled Nursing Facility?

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As lawmakers in our state continue to think about elder abuse and the salient problems with California assisted living facilities, some of these residences are being ordered to pay damages for the harms they’ve inflicted on the elderly. According to a recent article in the Long Beach Press Telegram, a jury recently said that an assisted living facility in downtown Long Beach is liable for “hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages” connected to one resident’s spinal injury.

Has your elderly loved one suffered abuse or neglect in a California residential care facility? This is an important concern in our state, and juries take these cases very seriously. You should speak to an experienced San Diego nursing home abuse attorney about filing a claim for compensation.

Details of the Residential Care Facility

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Have California seniors been subject to financial abuse? A recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle reported that residents at an “exclusive continue-care community” for the elderly in Palo Alto might have been fraudulently cheated out of millions of dollars. In short, many of these older adults paid substantial fees—some as pricey as $2 million, according to the article—based on a promise from the company to repay the remainder if the resident moved or to repay the remainder to the resident’s next-of-kin in case of death. However, residents and their relatives are accusing the facility, the Vi at Palo Alto, of “reneging on a promise to return most of the money to them.”

Nursing home abuse can take many forms, and elder abuse is a term that refers to more than just physical abuse or elder neglect. As we’ve noted in recent news cases, the elderly can be particularly susceptible to financial abuse and instances of consumer fraud. Are you concerned that your older parent or relative has been the victim of a financial crime? The sooner you speak to an experienced elder law attorney, the quicker you’ll be able to take action for your elderly loved one. Contact the California nursing home abuse lawyers at the Walton Law Firm today to learn more about elder financial rights.

Financial Security and “High-End” Elder Living—Not What it Seems?

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