Southern California Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog
When a senior in San Marcos suffers injuries as a result of nursing home neglect or elder abuse, family members should know that this might not be a one-time occurrence. A fact sheet from the World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes that nursing home abuse can be a single occurrence, or it can be repeated. In many situations, older adults are victims of recurrent abuse. What can you do if you are a senior and are being repeatedly victimized by an individual at your nursing home or assisted-living facility, or if you have an elderly loved one who is in this situation? In such cases, an elder or dependent adult abuse restraining order may be able to help.
What is Required for an Elder or Dependent Adult Abuse Restraining Order in California?
According to a fact sheet from the California Courts, an elder or dependent adult abuse restraining order may be able to provide some protection to seniors who are suffering from nursing home abuse or neglect. In order to be eligible for one of these types of restraining orders, the elderly adult who is seeking the order must be at least 65 years of age, and must be a victim of one of the following:
- Physical abuse or financial abuse;
- Neglect or abandonment;
- Physical or mental treatment that has resulted in physical or mental harm; or
- Deprivation of basic things, by a caregiver, that you need in order to avoid suffering physical, mental, or emotional harm.
In some cases, individuals who are eligible for an elder or dependent adult abuse restraining order might also be eligible for another kind of order, such as:
- Domestic violence restraining order (if you are being harmed by someone with whom you were formerly in a relationship or by someone who is a close family member); or
- Civil harassment restraining order (if you are being harmed by someone who is a neighbor, roommate, or a more distant family member).
Many of us assume that nurses or other staff members at nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, and residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs) in Southern California are always the perpetrators of nursing home abuse. However, as an article in Reuters Health clarifies, at least one out of every five—or 20%—of nursing home abuse cases that we know about are cases in which the perpetrator is another nursing home resident.
What can an Elder or Dependent Adult Abuse Restraining Order do to Protect Residents of San Marcos Nursing Homes?
Restraining orders are orders from the court, and they can require that another person:
- Not go anywhere near you or your family members;
- Not contact you or your family members;
- Stay away from your residence and other places that you commonly frequent;
- Move out of a shared residence; and/or
- Not own a gun.
Even if you move from a San Marcos facility to another residence elsewhere in Southern California, the California Courts fact sheet emphasizes that restraining orders get entered into a statewide computer system to help ensure that the restraining order is enforced anywhere in the state.
Discuss Your Options with a San Marcos Nursing Home Abuse Attorney
If you have questions about obtaining an elder or dependent adult abuse restraining order, an experienced San Marcos nursing home abuse attorney can assist you. Contact the Walton Law Firm today for more information.
See Related Blog Posts:
Animal Therapy and Healthier Residents in Oceanside Nursing Homes
Trumpcare Could Cause a San Clemente Nursing Home Abuse Epidemic
(image courtesy of Jean Gerber)
