ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Residents at Risk
Cases of Sexual Assaults and Rape Increase
Dementia Patients Particularly at Risk
Dangerous conditions in nursing homes are coming to light more and more as investigations follow the terrible toll of the coronavirus in elder care facilities throughout the State. In one case, investigations led authorities to suspect further harm to residents beyond the coronavirus alone.* A local District Attorney’s office alleges that in one area home residents suffered as the result of chronic staffing shortages, locked up protective equipment and lack of supervision that may be responsible for the sexual assault of a dementia patient. The Alameda County elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. represent senior victims of nursing home abuse, neglect, sexual assault or rape, overmedication, abandonment, or injuries from wandering off/elopement. If you or someone you know is suffering elder abuse in San Francisco, Alameda County or elsewhere in California, call the elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm today at 415-441-8669, and we can help.
Deaths at nursing homes and assisted-living facilities account for nearly half of all COVID-19 deaths in the State, public health data show. Since March, 2,588 residents and workers have died at nursing homes and 422 have died at assisted-living facilities. State agencies and local DA offices are investigating many of the homes where these deaths have occurred. Some of the homes under investigation have prior health and safety violations on records, according to official reports. Many of the facilities are privately owned, for-profit businesses, leading one local nursing professor to observe in a news story, “These are private companies. They’re trying to make money, so they are cutting corners as much as they can.”
Spotting Abuse
During the pandemic, it may not be safe for you to visit your loved one in a home. News stories indicate that many people are removing their loved ones from homes during the pandemic. This may not be an option in all cases. Nevertheless, through safe visits or talking to a caregiver you can trust for updates, try and monitor your loved one’s condition as best as you can. Signs of abuse or neglect include:
• Bedsores/pressure ulcers or other poor skin conditions;
• Indication of rape, sexual assault, or battery;
• Bruises and scratch marks;
• Poor physical appearance or lack of cleanliness;
• Frequent infections;
• Falls;
• Injuries from wandering off unsupervised (known as elopement);
• Lack of equipment and supplies;
• Overmedication;
• Rapid weight loss;
• Dehydration;
• Abnormal or withdrawn behavior and unusual silence;
• Prolonged sleep or drowsiness;
• Agitation especially when certain caregivers are present or caregivers who do not want the patient to be alone with others;
• Reluctance to speak when staff is nearby;
• Unsanitary and unclean conditions, soiled bed linens and clothes;
• Fear of being touched.
Always report suspected abuse to the authorities but also call qualified counsel like the California nursing home abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm to help you and the victim obtain all available remedies under California law from those responsible, including awards of attorneys’ fees and costs for bringing your elder abuse action.
Contact Us
If you or a loved one is or has been the victim of abuse or neglect from a caregiver or while residing in a nursing home or other care facility in San Francisco or Alameda County or elsewhere in California, contact Ingrid M. Evans and the other nursing home abuse attorneys at the Evans Law Firm at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. We can help guide your case through a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, qui tam and whistleblower law, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
*Evans Law Firm, Inc. is not involved in the case in any way.
