ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
A California Court of Appeal has held that a plaintiff can recover only a maximum of $500 against a skilled nursing facility in an elder abuse case with Health and Safety Code Section 1430(b) violations. The number of rights violated and the number of times the violation occurred does not matter – a plaintiff can only recover $500 max.
This $500 cap is outlined in Section 1430(b) of the Health and Safety Code. Basically, Section 1430(b) provides a resident or former resident of a skilled nursing facility to bring a civil action against the skilled nursing facility for any violation of a patient’s rights. The skilled nursing facility will be liable for up to $500, costs and attorney fees, and must cease committing whatever violation they were accused of. Whether there were one or fifteen rights violated once or fifteen times, an elder can only recover $500 max in elder abuse cases with Health and Safety Code Section 1430(b) violations.
What does this mean for elders and their families? Even more care and caution must be exercised before deciding on a skilled nursing facility. Higher awareness of a loved one’s living situation in a skilled nursing facility must be kept. Because regardless the amount of rights violated, and the number of times those rights were violated, recovery is capped at $500.
Caps on damages are unfair and hurt victims, including senior citizens like the one involved in this lawsuit. For this reason, it is important to VOTE YES ON PROP 46. Prop 46 saves lives and will allow for a cost of living increase in medical malpractice cases that have caps on damages for pain and suffering for the elderly and senior citizens, among others. For more information, go to www.yeson46.org.
If you or a loved one has been a victim of a skilled nursing facility or caregiver, contact the Evans Law Firm, Inc. for a free and confidential consultation at 415-441-8669 or via email at info@evanslaw.com. The Evans Law Firm handles physical and financial elder abuse, insurance and banking fraud, consumer class action fraud, annuity fraud claims, personal injury, whistleblower award claims, and whistleblower/false claims litigation.
