Southern California Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

May 22, 2014

Blood Pressure Drugs and Dangerous Falls Among Older Adults

When nursing home neglect happens, elderly patients can sustain serious and life-threatening injuries. But a recent article in the New York Times suggests that care facilities may need to pay particular attention to residents who take high blood pressure medication. What’s going on with blood pressure medication? In short, patients who take these drugs might be much more likely to suffer injuries in a dangerous fall. And, according to the article, “more than 70 percent of those over age 70 contend with high blood pressure.”

Has your elderly loved one sustained injuries in a fall? Nursing homes and assisted living facilities have a duty to keep residents safe, and many advocates in California currently are working to make RCFEs safer places for residents. Don’t hesitate to discuss your case with an experienced San Diego nursing home abuse lawyer. At the Walton Law Firm, we are dedicated to helping victims of elder abuse, and we can answer your questions today.

New Study: Link Between High Blood Pressure and Serious Fall Injuries

May 16, 2014

Higher Penalties for Assisted Living Facilities

by Walton Law Firm

Senate Bill Could Impose Tougher Penalties

With the serious elder abuse problems in residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs) that have been coming to light in recent months, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to California residents that a new senate bill aims to “give California regulators the power to impose tougher penalties,” according to an article in Westport News.

What is this legislation? The bill, SB1153, would provide the California Department of Social Services (DSS) greater authority over care facilities that break the law. According to another article in the San FranciscoChronicle, the bill would allow the California DSS to “ban new admissions to residential care facilities for the elderly that fail to correct serious health and safety violations.” And when RCFEs fail to pay their fines, the SB1153 would allow regulators with DSS to “block admissions to facilities.”

May 5, 2014

Elder Care and Technology

by Walton Law Firm

We live in an age of technology, yet the elder care industry doesn’t seem to have taken notice. According to a recent article in Forbes, the internet and other digital tools may be able to improve the quality of elder care, and to attend to matters of elder abuse and neglect across the country. We mentioned a recent story about elder financial abuse and online mapping. This is only one of the tools that may help our older loved ones in the years to come.

Taking care of our elderly loved ones will be especially important in the coming years as the large number of Americans who make up the baby boomer generation grow old and require care in assisted living facilities and nursing homes. While none of us likes to believe that nursing home neglect is a problem that can affect our loved ones, recent news stories throughout California suggest that elder abuse is a problem that afflicts many people. As a result, it’s important to contact a nursing home abuse attorney if you suspect that your elderly loved one has been the victim of nursing home neglect.

High Costs of Elder Care

April 30, 2014

Elder Abuse and Educating Caregivers

by Walton Law Firm

Helping Caregivers to Help the Elderly through Education

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.

April 23, 2014

Reassignment of Los Angeles County Nursing Home Supervisor

by Walton Law Firm

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.

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

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.

April 9, 2014

Online Map to Track Elder Financial Abuse

by Walton Law Firm

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

April 4, 2014

Nursing Home Inspectors “Rushed” Investigations in Los Angeles County

by Walton Law Firm

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

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

March 19, 2014

Can Advocacy and Awareness Remedy Nursing Home Patient Injuries?

by Walton Law Firm

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

“From our first phone conversation, Mr. Walton provided a sincere interest in our case. My mother had suffered both abuse and neglect while in the care of a nursing facility, ultimately resulting in her death. My family and I would highly recommend Randy Walton.★★★★★- Judy S., San Diego -

"Walton Law Firm was amazing. Very professional, but personal. Having a lawyer to make sure that everything is taken care of removed so much stress."★★★★★- Wayne G., Encinitas -

"After my husband was killed in a motorcycle accident, Randy was there from the moment I first called."★★★★★- Suzanne S., Escondido -

"Calling Randy was the best decision I could have made. He got me an excellent settlement that covered all my medical bills and put a sizable chunk of money in my pocket."★★★★★- Erik S., San Marcos -

"Truly as good as it gets, if not beyond great, for Randy Walton and his paralegal Sarah Earnest. He and she are both incredibly dedicated to what they do and I never felt I couldn't trust him."★★★★★- Natalie T., Lake Elsinore -

"Randy is a great lawyer and a better person. He went above and beyond the call of duty to reach a settlement in my case. He believed in my case when no one else did."★★★★★- David C., San Diego -