ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Authorities Arrest Aide After Viewing Tape
After Patient Complained of Mistreatment Granddaughter Installed Camera
Victim’s Distress Also Recorded on Audiotapes
Reported incidents of sexual abuse, assault and rape in care facilities have increased significantly over the past few years according to statistics maintained by elder advocacy groups. Since much elder abuse, including sexual elder abuse, goes unreported, incidents of sexual assault and rape are probably far greater than we know. Nursing home residents, particularly those with dementia, are at the highest risk of sexual assault, rape, or molestation. The San Diego elder and nursing home abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm. Inc. represent victims of sexual assault or other abuse in nursing homes, and pursue all persons responsible, including owners, administrators and managers. Call us today at (415)441-8669 if any senior loved one has suffered any kind of elder abuse in San Diego or elsewhere in California.
Recent Arrest
In one recently reported case[1], a nursing home aide was arrested after police reviewed video and audio tapes of alleged abuse of a 101-year-old man confined to a nursing home. Police report that after the victim had complained to his granddaughter about events that happened at the nursing home, she hired a private investigator, who took the initiative to have a hidden camera installed in the victim’s room. According to the police, video showed a nursing home employee taunting the man, hitting him, and kissing him. The victim’s attorney reported that the elderly man is seen on film trying to defend himself by grabbing objects like razors from the nightstand and throwing water on him. In addition to the videotape, the victim’s granddaughter says she has an audiotape off her grandfather telling her that he was being sexually abused by the employee. The man’s granddaughter held a press conference along with her attorney recently and she released the recording where her grandfather describes the abuse.
“What did you say?” one person asks in the recording.
“I said, ‘You’re killing me. It’s hurting so bad,'” a man responds.
Protecting Nursing Home Residents From Abuse
It is simply horrendous to read these kinds of stories but sadly this kind of abuse can happen to vulnerable seniors in nursing homes or even in their own homes under the care of in-home caregivers. In many cases the victim is a dementia sufferer unable to comprehend what is happening or maybe even to talk. Fortunately, this 101-year-old victim was still coherent and able to describe for his granddaughter what was happening to him. Communications and monitoring by families is really the strongest way to protect seniors from abuse, whether they are still at home or in a care facility. In-person visits to an institutionalized loved one may still be off limits during the pandemic. Increasingly, families are considering other ways to protect their loved ones from potential abuse. Some families have elected to bring their older loved ones home to live with them but of course that option is not always possible if the senior needs professional care round the clock. In-room cameras have become one way of monitoring the care a loved one receives in a nursing home and cameras in a senior’s room are permitted under California law. If suspect any kind of elder abuse of a loved one, including sexual abuse, call the elder abuse litigators at Evans Law Firm immediately.
Contact Us
Ingrid M. Evans and the other Contra Costa elder abuse and nursing home abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm represent California seniors who have been victims of elder abuse including abuse and neglect or sexual abuse in nursing homes. Call Ingrid and our other elder abuse attorneys at once if you suspect something is wrong. You can reach us at (415) 441-8669, or email us at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>.
[1] Evans Law Firm, Inc. was not involved in the case in any way.
