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

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While hospice fraud in Riverside County and elsewhere in Southern California is not new, California has been attempting to crack down on hospice fraud over the last year. Indeed, according to a report from ProPublica, hospice fraud has been drawing more attention recently, and it is linked to nursing home negligence and abuse throughout the country. What is hospice fraud, and how does it relate to residents of nursing homes receiving negligent or substandard care? Our experienced Riverside County nursing home neglect attorneys can provide you with more information.

Learning More About Hospice Fraud

What is hospice fraud, exactly? And what is the relationship between hospice fraud and allegations of nursing home negligence? In short, as the ProPublica report explains, hospice facilities can receive money from Medicare (or Medi-Cal in California) for patients at the hospice facility. You might be thinking that this makes perfect sense, but consider this: the Hospice Foundation of America explains that hospice is a specific type of “medical care for people with an anticipated life expectancy of 6 months or less when cure is not an option and the focus shifts to symptom management and quality of life.” If hospice is only for people who will not get better, why are nursing home residents with broken bones or other temporary conditions and injuries moving into hospices?

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Are California nursing homes in San Diego County prepared to keep residents safe in the event of a wildfire? According to a new study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, nursing homes in California where wildfires are a risk or ill-prepared for these emergencies and for other emergency situations that may arise. More specifically, nursing homes in areas that are likely to be affected by wildfires are often out of compliance with the emergency preparedness standards required by Medicare, putting residents throughout the facilities at risk of a wide range of injuries in the event of an emergency situation. What do you need to know about the study and its implications for nursing home neglect and injuries in nursing homes in Southern California? Our San Diego nursing home neglect lawyers can say more. 

Details of the Recent Nursing Home Emergency Preparedness Study

The article stems from an analysis conducted by researchers at Yale University. As background to the study, the authors indicated that they were interested in assessing the “relationship between the risk of exposure to environmental hazards and the emergency preparedness of nursing homes” since this relationship is not well known or well studied.

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Many people assume that the term nursing home abuse in Los Angeles County refers to situations in which staff members intentionally inflict physical harm upon residents through unnecessary physical restraints, burning, kicking, hitting, slapping, and other forms of physical violence. However, it is essential to know that there are many different forms of nursing home abuse, and the signs or symptoms of certain types of neglect may cause significant damage to a senior’s mental health. What should you know about the various forms of nursing home abuse that can occur and how they can impact an older adult’s mental health?

Physical Abuse Can Affect Mental Health

Physical abuse does not just cause physical harm — it can affect a nursing home resident’s mental health and well-being, as well. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains, forms of physical abuse can result in depression and other mental health consequences.

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Nobody wants to think about the risks of nursing home abuse in Riverside County or elsewhere in Southern California, but nursing home abuse and neglect do occur with relative frequency and can result in debilitating and life-threatening injuries among older adults. When you have an elderly loved one in a nursing home in Riverside County or anywhere else in the area, it is important to know about common signs and symptoms of abuse so that you can take steps quickly to stop the abuse and hold the facility accountable. Given that many family members visit elderly relatives in nursing homes during the holiday season, the early days of the new year are a good time to assess a loved one’s quality of life in their nursing home and to consider any signs of abuse or neglect.

Our Riverside County nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers can tell you more about some of the most common indicators of abuse and neglect in California nursing homes.

Unexplained Injuries

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Elder abuse in nursing homes in San Diego County takes many different forms, and certain types of abuse or neglect can often be more difficult to identify than others. While physical abuse commonly produces signs of more obvious physical injuries, signs of sexual abuse may not be as apparent to a friend or family member visiting an elderly loved one in a nursing home or assisted living facility. While it can be difficult to think about sexual abuse and sexual violence occurring in nursing home settings, it is critical to remember that sexual abuse of elderly nursing home residents occurs more often than many people suspect, and it can have physical and psychological consequences.

What are signs of sexual abuse to look for if you have concerns about an elderly loved one’s safety in a San Diego County nursing home? Consider some of the following signs and symptoms identified by the National Council on Aging (NCOA), and be sure to contact an experienced San Diego nursing home abuse lawyer if you notice any of them when you visit an elderly relative at a skilled nursing facility or residential care facility for the elderly.

Understanding Sexual Abuse in Nursing Homes

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When most of us think about nursing home abuse in San Bernardino County, we think about instances of physical abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, or even sexual abuse. Many people also know that passive neglect, which can result in serious resident harm, can lead to a nursing home abuse and neglect claim. Yet discussions about resident-to-resident abuse are less common. What should you know about resident-to-resident abuse in Southern California? The most important thing to know is that nursing homes have a duty to protect patients from injuries and to appropriately handle instances of abuse and neglect, even when the perpetrator is another resident. As such, similar to cases involving other forms of abuse, nursing homes may be liable for resident-to-resident abuse. Our San Bernardino nursing home abuse attorneys can provide you with more information.

Resident-to-Resident Mistreatment Can Take Many Forms

Resident-to-resident abuse or mistreatment is a form of nursing home abuse or neglect that is often overlooked. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), resident-to-resident abuse or mistreatment can be defined as “negative, often aggressive, interactions between residents in long-term care communities.” This type of abuse or mistreatment may include “physical, verbal, and sexual abuse,” and the NCEA emphasizes that it is “likely to cause emotional and/or physical harm.”

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Depending upon the outcome of a U.S. Supreme Court case, the rights of nursing home residents in Orange County could become devastatingly limited. The Supreme Court recently heard the case of Health & Hospital Corporation of Marion County v. Talevski, a case that concerns the right of individual nursing home residents to file lawsuits for elder abuse and negligence. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, this case “raises the issue of whether Medicaid beneficiaries can seek relief in federal court when they believe their rights are being violated by state officials, or whether enforcement of state compliance with federal Medicaid rules should be left solely to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).” 

Ultimately, the case could have reverberations far beyond nursing home resident rights. Our Orange County nursing home abuse lawyers can provide you with more information.

Getting the Facts About Talevski

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Nursing home abuse can take many different forms in San Diego County, including sexual abuse. In Southern California, nursing home residents can be victims of sexual abuse and assault perpetrated by other residents, as well as by staff members. According to a recent report from KPBS, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is supposed to be transparent in providing information about nursing homes and histories of abuse, yet a recent investigation suggests that records of sexual abuse contain “inaccuracies and omissions.” It is important to be able to recognize signs of nursing home sexual abuse and to consider filing a claim against the negligent facility where the abuse occurred. 

California Department of Public Health’s Reporting of Sexual Abuse

The KPBS report discusses various incidents of sexual abuse in California nursing homes that have been identified as “enforcement actions” with findings of nursing home negligence. For example, the report discusses a case in which a woman in a nursing home alleged that she was raped by her caregiver. The investigation report, which can be found in the Cal Health Find Database, concludes that the nursing home where the sexual assault is alleged to have occurred “failed to provide a safe environment” for the resident. However, as the KPBS report points out, “one has to dig deep into what is known as CDPH’s ‘transparency website’ to find it.” Indeed, as the report underscores, the “main complaint page describes the attack as simply employee-to-resident abuse that was substantiated.”

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Nobody wants to think about the risks of injury that an elderly loved one could face in a nursing home or assisted living facility in Riverside County. Yet nursing home negligence and elder abuse and neglect are more common than you might expect. As a result, seniors in nursing homes and residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs) sustain injuries that could have been avoided with proper care. How can you prove that the facility is responsible for a resident’s injuries? And what type of evidence can be used in a Southern California nursing home negligence lawsuit? Our experienced Riverside County nursing home neglect lawyers at our firm can provide you with more information.

Understanding the Elements of a Nursing Home Negligence Case

First, in order to prove liability in a nursing home negligence lawsuit, you should know that you will need to prove the elements of a negligence claim. While the specific and detailed elements of your case will be based on the circumstances and facts surrounding your elderly loved one’s injuries, the following are the general elements of a negligence claim in California:

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It can be difficult to know what to do when you have concerns about an elderly loved one’s safety in a nursing home in Los Angeles County or elsewhere in Southern California. Whether you are visiting a family member in a nursing home or you have other reasons for suspecting abuse or neglect after talking to a loved one or speaking with a healthcare provider, it is important to know what steps you should take. Consider the following tips from our Los Angeles County nursing home neglect lawyers.

Do Not Second Guess Your Instincts

If you have concerns about a senior’s health or well-being in a nursing home, and especially if you have concerns about elder abuse or neglect at a facility, it is critical that you trust yourself and that you do not second-guess your instincts. Many family members feel uncertain about reporting abuse or taking action when they have concerns about an elderly resident. Indeed, some people feel concerned about erroneously making a report about abuse or neglect concerns or moving forward with a complaint against a facility. You should trust yourself, and you should remember that the most important thing is ensuring that a senior you love is not being harmed because of abuse or neglect. As such, making a report or filing a complaint may often be necessary.

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