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

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Seniors residing in Riverside County nursing homes can sustain injuries in a wide range of circumstances, and in many of those cases, the facility may be liable. In some situations, elder abuse or neglect may be the cause of a resident’s injury, while other instances of harm might result from the facility’s negligence in maintaining safety protocols. Abuse or neglect in a nursing home can take many different forms, from acts of intentional physical or psychological abuse to passive neglect that can result in injuries like bed sores. It is important to know that the use of physical restraints can constitute unlawful abuse, and it may be possible to hold the facility accountable. Our Riverside County nursing home abuse attorneys can tell you more about physical restraints, and we can discuss your case with you today.

Knowing the Law on Physical Restraints

The use of restraints among nursing home residents has been a concern for elder safety advocates for decades, and the federal Nursing Home Reform Act was intended in part to “crystallize a growing consensus against the use of restraints throughout all sectors of nursing home service delivery,” and it ultimately “led to a complete change in how restraint use is viewed,” according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). That law clarified “the right to be free from . . . any physical or chemical restraints imposed for purposes of discipline or convenience and not required to treat the resident’s medical symptoms.”

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Elderly adults in San Diego County nursing homes and at facilities elsewhere in Southern California frequently are subjected to abuse and neglect. Yet as a recent study underscores, many cases of nursing home abuse and neglect go unreported, and the most common reason for the lack of reporting might be a fear of retaliation. Seniors in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities and their families should be able to trust that all employees at the facility have their best interests in mind and that the facility is properly staffed to prevent injuries resulting from neglect. However, abuse and neglect injuries are much more common than many people think, and facilities do not always move quickly, if they move at all, to terminate employees who have caused harm.

What do you need to know about the recent study and its implications for addressing nursing home abuse in Southern California? Our San Diego nursing home abuse lawyers can tell you more.

Nursing Home Residents Fear Retaliation and Avoid Reporting Abuse 

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Summertime brings even hotter temperatures to Southern California than the Los Angeles County region experiences in other parts of the year, and seniors in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities can suffer harm if these facilities do not take additional precautions. Moreover, the summer months do not have any reduced likelihood of common nursing home abuse and neglect injuries that are unrelated to higher temperatures, and it is important to be on the lookout for those harms, as well. As recent research reported in Science News highlights, rising temperatures can also make people more aggressive, which might result in shorter fuses for nursing home employees who are providing care for residents and patients. Indeed, humans have difficulty “coping with extreme heat,” and during heat waves, in particular, employees could be more likely to behave aggressively.

What do you need to know if you have an elderly loved one in a nursing home or assisted-living facility in Southern California? Our Los Angeles County nursing home neglect lawyers have some key things to keep in mind.

Hot Temperatures Can Result in Distinct Injuries Due to Neglect

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For quite some time, nursing home abuse and neglect studies have shown that older adults with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia may be more vulnerable to various types of elder abuse, and it may be more difficult for them to make accurate reports of that abuse, as well. According to a new study published in the journal Health Affairs, researchers contend that nursing home residents with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia need to be in facilities where “they are the majority” in order to have the best chance at quality care, yet most facilities in California “accommodate a heterogeneous population, where specialized training is limited.” In other words, most dementia patients at California nursing homes may be unnecessarily subject to conditions where they could sustain preventable injuries. 

Dementia Patients Need to Be the Focus of Care

When an older adult has Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia, and that person is residing in a nursing home, it is particularly important for that person to be in a facility where dementia patients are the focus of the care. According to the study, ADRD residents, or nursing home residents who have been diagnosed with “Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias,” are currently “dispersed throughout all nursing homes, with fewer than half in facilities where they accounted for 60% to 90% of the population.” In these circumstances, the quality of care for ADRD residents was of a lower quality than at facilities where they were at the center of the type of care provided by the facility.

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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. 

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Since nursing home abuse and neglect in Riverside County can take many forms, it can be challenging to know whether or not a specific sign is likely to indicate nursing home abuse. It is imperative to keep in mind that any sign or symptom that raises concern should be investigated. Given that even small changes in a senior’s behavior can indicate a much larger problem, it is critical to take any concerns seriously. At the same time, some signs and symptoms of nursing home abuse and neglect are more common than others, so you should be particularly attuned to certain indicators. The following are ten of the most common signs of elder abuse in nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Southern California.

1. Unexplained Bruises and Other Soft Tissue Injuries

Anytime a senior has unexplained bruises, cuts, burn marks, or any other related injuries, they should be taken extremely seriously. They are often a sign of physical abuse.

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Nursing homes must have enough employees to provide sufficient care to residents. When skilled nursing facilities do not have enough employees to attend to the needs of all residents, the nursing home may be understaffed. It is important to know that understaffing can result in resident injuries and can be the cause of nursing home neglect, for which the facility may be liable. A nursing home or its employees do not need to engage in intentional acts of abuse or neglect for the facility to be liable. Rather, “passive neglect,” or unintentional neglect resulting from understaffing that results in injuries, can mean that the facility is legally responsible. Our San Diego County nursing home neglect attorneys can say more.

Staffing Requirements at Nursing Homes

In Southern California and throughout the state, nursing homes have a duty to have sufficient employees to provide care to the residents at the facility. Skilled nursing facilities must employ enough people to ensure that residents receive the attention and care they need and to ensure that residents do not suffer harm as a result of a lack of necessary attention or care. 

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If you have an elderly loved one in a nursing home or assisted living facility in Los Angeles County, you might have learned at some point that your loved one developed a bed sore. When bed sores are identified very early on, they are treatable and do not often have long-term or severe consequences. However, when bed sores are not properly identified and treated, they can become so serious that they can actually result in life-threatening medical emergencies. You might be wondering: is the presence of a bed sore always a sign of nursing home neglect or abuse, or are there situations in which a relatively minor bed sore can occur and be treated without the presence of abuse or neglect? And are all serious bed sores the result of abuse or neglect? These are critical questions to consider, and our Los Angeles County nursing home neglect lawyers are here to help.

Understanding Bed Sores

In order to understand when bed sores can be a result of nursing home neglect or abuse, it is essential to be clear about what bed sores are and how they form. According to the Cleveland Clinic, bed sores are, quite simply, “wounds that occur from prolonged pressure on your skin.” They occur most frequently among “people who are immobile for long periods, such as those who are bedridden or use a wheelchair.” They can be extremely painful and can result in significant and life-threatening infections if untreated. Bed sores are staged according to severity, with Stage 1 bed sores being the least severe and Stage 4 bed sores being the most severe.

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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. 

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When we think about characteristics that make people particularly vulnerable to nursing home abuse or neglect in San Bernardino County, we often think about age, socioeconomic factors, community relationships, and a nursing home resident’s relative health. It is important to know that older adults are subject to abuse and neglect in ways other patients may not. Nursing home residents who cannot afford certain types of care or do not have family members or trustworthy loved ones in their community to consider their best interests can suffer injuries due to nursing home abuse or neglect — sometimes at higher rates than others. The Alzheimer’s Association also underscores that nursing home residents with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia are especially vulnerable to abuse, often because they do not have the cognitive abilities to recognize abuse or to report it.

What about gender and sex? And, in particular, are women at higher risk of certain types of abuse in nursing home settings? Our San Bernardino nursing home abuse attorneys want to say more about gender-based violence and elder abuse in Southern California.

Women Residents of Nursing Homes Are More Likely to Be Victims of Sexual Abuse

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