ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Group Home Owner Indicted On Elder Abuse Charges
Residents Left Without Food For Days
Patient Found In Garage Lying In His Own Feces
Evans Law Firm, Inc. represent victims of dependent adult abuse in hospitals, nursing homes or other care facilities throughout the State of California, including small care or group homes all of whom are at risk of neglect and abuse in those settings as well. Often the residents of unlicensed facilities are victims of particularly gruesome abuse and neglect as a recent arrest, discussed below, illustrates. Neglect and physical abuse may be criminal and also grounds for civil liability for elder or dependent adult abuse. Penal Code § 368 and Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15610.63 (definition of elder and dependent adult physical abuse). Under California law, physical abuse of an elder or dependent adult means any of the following:
(a) Assault, as defined in Section 240 of the Penal Code.
(b) Battery, as defined in Section 242 of the Penal Code.
(c) Assault with a deadly weapon or force likely to produce great bodily injury, as defined in Section 245 of the Penal Code.
(d) Unreasonable physical constraint, or prolonged or continual deprivation of food or water.
(e) Sexual assault, that means any of the following:
(1) Sexual battery, as defined in Section 243.4 of the Penal Code.
(2) Rape, as defined in Section 261 of the Penal Code.
(3) Rape in concert, as described in Section 264.1 of the Penal Code.
(4) Spousal rape, as defined in Section 262 of the Penal Code.
(5) Incest, as defined in Section 285 of the Penal Code.
(6) Sodomy, as defined in Section 286 of the Penal Code.
(7) Oral copulation, as defined in Section 287 or former Section 288a of the Penal Code.
(8) Sexual penetration, as defined in Section 289 of the Penal Code.
(9) Lewd or lascivious acts as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 288 of the Penal Code.
(f) Use of a physical or chemical restraint or psychotropic medication under any of the following conditions:
(1) For punishment.
(2) For a period beyond that for which the medication was ordered pursuant to the instructions of a physician and surgeon licensed in the State of California, who is providing medical care to the elder or dependent adult at the time the instructions are given.
(3) For any purpose not authorized by the physician and surgeon.
Neglect is defined as follows:
(a) “Neglect” means either of the following:
(1) The negligent failure of any person having the care or custody
of an elder or a dependent adult to exercise that degree of care
that a reasonable person in a like position would exercise.
(2) The negligent failure of an elder or dependent adult to
exercise that degree of self care that a reasonable person in a like
position would exercise.
(b) Neglect includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Failure to assist in personal hygiene, or in the provision of
food, clothing, or shelter.
(2) Failure to provide medical care for physical and mental health
needs. No person shall be deemed neglected or abused for the sole
reason that he or she voluntarily relies on treatment by spiritual
means through prayer alone in lieu of medical treatment.
(3) Failure to protect from health and safety hazards.
(4) Failure to prevent malnutrition or dehydration.
Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15610.57.
Our lawyers believe owners, management, administrators and staff should be held accountable for any physical abuse or nelgect of an elder or dependent adult. We know how to investigate these cases and sue the responsible parties for all remedies available to victims and their families. If you are a loved one has been the victim of elder or dependent adult abuse, call us at (415)441-8669. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
Recently Reported Case Of Alleged Abuse Of Dependent Adults[1]
The owner of two group homes for elders and dependent adults was recently arrested and charged with multiple counts of fraud and elder abuse. The fraud charges related to billing Medicaid for patient board and services despite the facilities being unlicensed. The abuse charges included numerous counts of abuse and neglect of several residents of the homes. According to police one of the homes lacked air conditioning and had overcrowded rooms. Power at another home was shut off for nonpayment according to police, leaving it in the dark with overnight temperatures reaching 43 degrees, which is considered unsafe according to city code. One resident was found lying in the garage of the home in a pool of feces. One of the homes contained a single restroom without a working toilet. Mentally or physically ill tenants were left to care for themselves, according to an arrest report, and were left for several days without food. Officers found one tenant had his diaper changed once a day, and multiple residents had gone without food and medication. Paramedics found a 75-year-old man “lying in a bed in a pool of urine,” according to the arrest report.
Evans Law Firm Represents Victims of Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse
If you have any suspicions whatsoever that your loved one is suffering any kind of abuse, call us. Always act on your instincts. We will pursue any individual responsibility for the abuse as well as their supervising employers, agencies, and owners of the facility in which your loved one resides. Relief includes damages for pain and suffering, punitive damages where available and an award of the attorneys’ fees and expenses you’ve incurred in bringing your case.
Contact Us
Ingrid M. Evans can be reached at (415) 441-8669, or by email at info@evanslaw.com. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
[1] Evans Law Firm, Inc. is not involved in the case in any way.
