COVID-19

June 12, 2020

FAQs: The Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Protection Act in Los Angeles County

When you have an elderly parent in a Los Angeles County nursing home or another loved one receives daily care in a skilled nursing facility in Southern California, it is essential to understand the rights that an older adult has under California law, and how a dangerous facility can be held accountable for resident injuries. Given that so many nursing home residents are contracting COVID-19 as a result of poor infection-control measures and policies in nursing homes across the country, and many seniors are dying from COVID-19 infections in California skilled nursing facilities, it is important for all Los Angeles County residents to know more about protections under state law.

The primary law that protects nursing home residents and provides a remedy for safety violations is the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act (EADACPA). We want to provide you with some frequently asked questions and answers about this law.

What is the EADACPA Designed to Do?

May 29, 2020

Histories of Problems and Safety Violations in Nursing Homes with COVID Deaths

by Walton Law Firm

Whether you have an elderly loved one at a nursing home or assisted-living facility in San Bernardino County or somewhere nearby in Southern California, we know that you are likely watching the news about the spread of the coronavirus carefully. Given that nursing homes are filled with older adults who suffer from a variety of health conditions, including many with compromised immune systems, residents of these facilities are at a particularly high risk of a severe case of COVID-19 and at a significantly higher risk of death than the rest of the population. News reports indicating that dozens, and sometimes more, residents of nursing homes across the country are dying of COVID-19 have served as a call to action when it comes to making nursing homes safer.

A recent article from Kaiser Health News reports that many of the “COVID-plagued” facilities in California have histories of safety problems and violations. In other words, these facilities should have been targeted much sooner, in which case some coronavirus deaths may have been prevented.

California Nursing Homes with Past Problems

May 15, 2020

What You Should Know About Orange County Nursing Home Abuse Claims During the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Walton Law Firm

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in thousands of deaths in nursing homes across the country. By mid-April, an article in The New York Times reported that more than 7,000 COVID-19 deaths had occurred in nursing homes, and one commentator referred to the facilities as “death pits.” In addition to the sheer risks of coronavirus exposure and COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes, filing a claim during the pandemic can also be a bit more complicated. However, you should know that an experienced Orange County nursing home neglect attorney can help you with your case. In the meantime, the following is a list of things you should know about filing a claim during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nursing Homes May be Liable for COVID-19 Deaths

Nursing homes in California and throughout the country are required to have infection-control procedures in place to prevent the spread of disease throughout the facility. Yet many nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in Southern California have not been able to contain the spread of the coronavirus, and thousands of patients in the country have now died from COVID-19. Recognizing the severe threat of COVID-19 to elderly populations in nursing homes, Governor Gavin Newsom recently announced that non-COVID patients in certain facilities would be moved to the Navy hospital ship, the Mercy, to prevent exposure. According to the Los Angeles Times, the state has also dispatched “600 nurses trained in infection disease control to assist nursing homes.”

May 1, 2020

California Nursing Homes Have Infection-Control Violations

by Walton Law Firm

It is more important than ever to know if you have an elderly loved one in a facility with a history of infection-control violations, whether he or she is in a nursing home in Riverside County or any other across the state of California. Given the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, nursing homes need to plan and provide effective infection-control strategies to prevent nursing home patients and assisted-living facility residents from contracting this deadly illness. In recent weeks, COVID-19 has spread through many skilled nursing facilities in California and throughout the country quickly, leaving many older adults with severe and fatal COVID-19 infections.

According to a recent report in the Sacramento Bee, some nursing homes in the state have a history of infection-control violations. While the lack of a history of violations does not necessarily mean that a facility could not make mistakes or poor decisions in the future that might lead to patient harm, facilities that already have a history of violations may put patients at particular risk of COVID-19 infections.

Nursing Homes in California Have Violated Infection-Control Requirements

April 17, 2020

What San Diego County Residents Should Know About Nursing Home Oversight During the Coronavirus Pandemic

by Walton Law Firm

Nursing home patients in San Diego County and throughout the U.S. are particularly vulnerable to infections and illness as a result of age and underlying conditions, even when the world is not experiencing a coronavirus pandemic. However, in this moment of the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus, news reports across the country are reflecting the ways in which nursing home residents are uniquely vulnerable to the virus and, in particular, to death as a result of contracting it. As such, many nursing homes have limited how visitors can see their loved ones at nursing homes and assisted-living facilities in order to prevent the spread of the virus among the elderly. At a moment when residents of California’s nursing homes are especially vulnerable to illness, the Trump Administration announced plans to relax federal oversight of nursing homes.

According to a recent article in The New York Times, the Trump Administration’s proposal “would loosen federal rules meant to control infections, just as the coronavirus rips through nursing homes.” The following is some information you should know about plans to relax federal oversight of nursing homes and what that could mean for elderly residents.

Rule Changes Were Proposed Last Summer