ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Residents at Risk of Negligence, Neglect and Intentional Abuse
Cases of Sexual Assaults and Rape Increase
Nursing home abuse includes negligent abuse and neglect, and intentional abuse such as sexual assault and rape or intentional overmedication of residents. Incidents of sexual assault and rape are particularly horrific but sadly a grim reality. One national study indicates 83 percent of elder sexual abuse victims reside in institutional care centers like nursing homes. The Alameda County elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. know how horrible abuse of nursing home and assisted care facility residents can be, whether sexual assault or rape or overmedication, neglect, abandonment or injuries sustained from unsupervised wandering/elopement. If you or someone you know is suffering elder abuse in Alameda County or elsewhere in California, call the elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm today at 415-441-8669, and we can help.
Before admitting any loved one to a nursing home make sure the facility is qualified and licensed to provide the care your loved one needs. The California Department of Public health maintains a database on the more than 10,000 registered healthcare facilities in California which you can access at: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHCQ/LCP/CalHealthFind/pages/home.aspx. There, you can look up the license of any registered healthcare facility, the identity of the facility’s owner and the history of complaints and state enforcement actions against the facility for improper care or other misconduct or statutory violations.
Spotting Abuse
If your loved one has already been admitted to a nursing home or assisted care facility, visit as often as you can and monitor the care your loved one receives. Do the same if your loved home is still at home under the care of an in-home caregiver. Watch for signs of possible abuse or neglect:
- Bedsores/pressure ulcers or other poor skin conditions;
- Indication of sexual assault, rape, 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- Abnormal or withdrawn behavior and unusual silence;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.
You know your loved one best and other observations may concern you. Always report suspected abuse to the authorities but also call qualified counsel like the 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 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.
