ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
The California Supreme Court Will Rule On Elder Abuse Damages
Penalties For Nursing Home Abuses Of Patient’s Rights
The California Supreme Court is preparing to weigh in on the matter of damages awarded to the victims, or families of victims, of abuse and neglect by a nursing home. In particular, the Court will determine how to apply the penalties for violations of nursing home patients’ rights under State law. See Cal. Health & Safety Code § 1430(b)(fines against institutions for violations of patients’ rights). The elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. represent victims of any kind of elder abuse including abuse or neglect by nursing homes, assisted care facilities and in-home caregivers. If you or a loved one is a victim of elder abuse in San Francisco or elsewhere in California call us today at (415) 441-8669 and we will pursue all persons and entities responsible for the abuse.
The case before the California Supreme Court was brought by the daughter of a nursing home patient, now deceased. The complaint alleges that the nursing home failed to help her father with his daily activities, left him in soiled diapers, and frequently ignored his calls. California state codes allow for a penalty of up to $500 for a facility violating the state’s Patients Bill of Rights (22 C.C.R. § 72527) “or any other right provided for by federal or state law or regulation.” Cal. Health & Safety Code § 1430(b). The California Supreme Court will decide if that statute permits a $500 penalty per lawsuit, or per violation. For example, if a patient’s request to use a telephone was denied 20 different times, is the facility liable for a total of $500 for violating the patient’s rights, or for $10,000, $500 for each separate occurrence of the violation?
The California and San Francisco elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. hope that the Supreme Court will decide to favor the victims in their decision, because if the maximum damages for each patient’s rights lawsuit is limited to $500, then a nursing home can essentially violate all of a patient’s rights and only suffer a $500 ticket.
Contact Us
If you or someone you love is the victim of elder abuse, abandonment, or neglect by a nursing home, assisted care facility or in-home caregiver, call Ingrid M. Evans and the other San Francisco financial elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. at (415) 441-8669, or by email at info@evanslaw.com. Our attorneys have experience with financial and physical elder abuse cases, securities, annuity, and other investment fraud, and complex qui tam or whistleblower cases including offshore tax avoidance cases, complex financial contract cases and cases against large insurance companies. We can help guide your case through a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We also handle cases involving physical elder abuse, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
