Articles Tagged with California nursing home abuse lawyer

by

Serious and fatal injuries can happen at nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Los Angeles County for many different reasons. Some of those reasons involve intentionally bad acts, including physical, emotional, and sexual abuse toward elderly residents or willful deprivation of elderly residents. Under other circumstances, older adults can sustain serious harm as a result of negligence. A staff member or the facility itself may not intend any harm, but because of issues like understaffing or employee burnout, the elderly residents might not receive the oversight and care they need to stay safe and healthy. The latter is often how choking injuries and deaths occur in nursing homes and other residential care facilities for the elderly in Southern California.

When a choking injury or death occurs, who is liable? Our Los Angeles nursing home negligence lawyers can explain in more detail.

Nursing Home Duty to Understand Choking Risks and to Take Precautions

Continue reading

by

When a resident falls at a nursing home or assisted-living facility in Los Angeles County, who is accountable? And, perhaps more importantly, who is liable if the fallen resident does not receive quick and effective assistance, ultimately resulting in their injuries worsening? According to a recent report in The Washington Post, new data suggests that employees at nursing homes and assisted-living facilities across the country often refuse to lift residents who have fallen to avoid liability, instead calling emergency medical responders to lift the resident. By the time an emergency medical responder arrives, injuries from the fall may have worsened.

From liability to initial falls in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities to injuries worsened by a lack of quick response time, it is important to know that the facility itself could be accountable. Our Los Angeles County nursing home neglect lawyers can tell you more.

Fall Hazards in Nursing Homes and Assisted-Living Facilities

Continue reading

by

Anyone who has an elderly parent or relative who resides in a nursing home or assisted-living facility in San Bernardino County should know about the risks of nursing home abuse, neglect, and negligence. Generally speaking, older adults in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities can be at risk of injuries from various types of harm, both intentional and unintentional. Trying to understand the distinctions between abuse, neglect, and negligence in relation to seniors can be confusing, and our Southern California nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers can help to clarify the terms for you. If you have further questions or if you need assistance with a claim, do not hesitate to get in touch with us.

Intentional Elder Abuse

The term elder abuse often refers to acts of intentional abuse. The National Council on Aging (NCOA) underscores that there are many forms of intentional abuse that can result in severe harm to older adults in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, including physical abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, sexual abuse, and willful deprivation. 

Continue reading

by

Seniors in Orange County nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, as well as older adults throughout Southern California, are more vulnerable to forms of abuse than younger people. Indeed, elderly nursing home and assisted-living facility residents can be subject to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, as well as passive neglect — all of which can result in debilitating and even fatal injuries. Life in a nursing home or assisted-living facility should feel safe, and residents should be well cared for, yet many frequently are in precarious positions where their health and safety are at great risk. Why are older adults so susceptible to abuse? Our experienced Orange County nursing home neglect lawyers can explain in more detail, and we can speak with you today about any concerns you have that may warrant an investigation and a nursing home abuse claim.

Cognitive Impairment

Cognitive impairments, including those caused by Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, are one of the most common reasons that older adults are more susceptible to various forms of abuse and neglect in nursing homes or memory care facilities. Indeed, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, “people with dementia are especially vulnerable because the disease may prevent them from reporting the abuse or recognizing it,” which can also result in acts of abuse being perpetrated repeatedly and over time. Nursing home and assisted-living facility residents with certain types of mental health issues can also be vulnerable to abuse for similar reasons. 

Continue reading

by

Whether it is in Riverside County or elsewhere in Southern California, it is critical for friends and family members of older LGBTQ adults who reside in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities to be at severe risk of injuries from abuse and neglect than others. Indeed, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society, although there is insufficient research on elder abuse and neglect among members of the LGBTQ community in California and elsewhere, it is clear that “this population faces a greater risk of abuse and likely experiences abuse differently, and needs different resources.” 

If an elderly parent or loved one is a member of the LGBTQ community and is currently living in a nursing home or assisted living facility, what do you need to know? Our Riverside County nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys can tell you more.

LGBTQ Seniors Experience Abuse and Neglect in Nursing Homes and assisted living Facilities in Southern California

Continue reading

by

When an elderly loved one requires care outside their home, it is important to find a facility that can meet your loved one’s needs and ensure that they will receive proper care so that they do not sustain preventable injuries. Yet, risks of falls in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, as well as issues with understaffing, can result in different types of accidents that can cause traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in residents. While TBIs are most commonly associated with contact sports (like football and soccer) in the news or with motor vehicle crashes and certain high-risk recreational activities, they also occur more often than you might think in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. 

According to a new report in McKnights Long-Term Care News, sustaining multiple TBIs can have particularly harmful effects on older adults. In short, multiple TBIs can increase the risk for “worse cognitive decline” and, ultimately, a reduced life expectancy and reduced quality of life. Our San Diego County nursing home neglect lawyers can explain in more detail.

Traumatic Brain Injuries and Dementia in Older Adults

Continue reading

by

When you are searching in Orange County or elsewhere in Southern California for a nursing home where your elderly loved one can obtain the level of care they need, it is essential to do as much research as possible and to choose a facility that can provide what your family member needs. There are many different types of facilities in terms of quality and size, and there are also for-profit and non-profit facilities. According to a recent report from CBS News, many for-profit nursing homes in California are not serving residents well, and it is important for families to understand the distinctions between for-profit and non-profit facilities.

Nursing Home Abuse and Negligence Can Happen Anywhere

Before we discuss the important distinctions between for-profit and non-profit nursing homes, and the research surrounding those distinctions, we want to emphasize that nursing home abuse and negligence can happen anywhere. Even seemingly high quality facilities can have issues, and nursing homes with no past records of safety problems can be places where injuries occur. 

Continue reading

by

Does the language spoken by a caregiver at a nursing home or assisted-living facility in Riverside County have an effect on the quality of care a resident receives? Do nursing homes and assisted-living facilities need to have caregivers on staff who speak the same language as the residents and who are familiar with the linguistic and cultural contexts from which residents have come to the nursing home or assisted-living facility? A recent report from McKnights Senior Living discusses initiatives to overcome language barriers for certified nursing assistants (CNAs) in California and in several other states across the country. Our Riverside County nursing home negligence lawyers can tell you more.

Language Barriers for Caregivers and Residents in Southern California Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities

According to the article, there are currently significant language barriers impacting the ability of potential nursing home and assisted living facility employees to become CNAs due to language barriers. Indeed, “foreign-born workers account for 27% of the nation’s direct care workforce, but many states maintain strict, English-only testing and training requirements that can prevent some immigrants from entering the workforce.” Given that there is a significant need for more long-term care workers, efforts are underway in California and other states to make it possible for workers to pass CNA certification exams in foreign languages. In California, AB 2131 aims to allow workers to take the written and oral competency portions of the CNA exam in Spanish. 

Continue reading

by

Long before social media platforms entered into wide and nearly constant use by people of all age groups in the US, nursing home abuse and neglect were serious problems in San Bernardino nursing homes and in facilities across the state. In other words, social media has not caused a rise in nursing home abuse or neglect in Southern California, but it has made new forms of emotional abuse possible that can have serious psychological repercussions for nursing home residents. A recent report from Insider discusses the prevalence of “social media mistreatment” affecting nursing home residents throughout the country. 

What do you need to know about emotional abuse and its rise on social media? And what can you do for an elderly loved one who is being mistreated? Our San Bernardino nursing home abuse attorneys can tell you more. 

Understanding Elder Emotional and Psychological Abuse 

Continue reading

by

Older adults who reside in nursing homes or assisted-living facilities in Riverside County or elsewhere in Southern California should be able to expect that the facility where they live has taken sufficient safety precautions to prevent resident injuries. However, nursing homes throughout the state, and indeed across the country, often have safety issues that can result in resident injuries. Depending on the particular hazard, injuries can range from minor to severe. In many of these cases where an injury does occur, it may be possible to hold the nursing home accountable by filing a nursing home neglect claim. Our Riverside County nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys can assist you, and in the meantime, we can tell you more about common safety issues in Southern California nursing homes.

Fall Concerns

Nursing homes have a duty to ensure that their facilities are safe and do not prevent fall hazards, including those that could result in dangerous slips and falls or trips and falls. Common fall hazards, according to the AHRQ, include a lack of grip bars in bathrooms, slick flooring, torn or damaged carpeting, lack of handrails in stairwells, and liquid spills that go uncleaned.

Continue reading
Justia Lawyer Rating
Super Lawyers
BBB Rating A+
Avvo Rating 10.0
Elder Justice Advocates
Consumer Attorneys California
AV Preeminent badge
Contact Information
North County Office
950 Boardwalk
#304
San Marcos, CA 92078
Toll Free: 866.607.1325 Local: 760.571.5500 Fax: 760.571.5501
San Diego Office
2169 1st Ave
San Diego, CA 92101
Toll Free: 866.607.1325

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2024, Walton Law Firm
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design