ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Governor Signs New Law Into Effect
Abandonments During 2017 North Bay Wildfires Behind New Measure
Sadly, at least 20 frail, elderly residents of care facilities were abandoned during the North Bay fires in the Fall of 2017. Many may have died in one case had family members not arrived to rescue them before one facility burned to the ground. In response, State Senator Bill Dodd (D. Napa) introduced legislation that added “abandonment” to the list of those wrongs committed on seniors for which California will provide enhanced remedies against those responsible for the abandonment. The measure passed both the State House and Senate and Governor Newsom has signed the measure into law. The elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm represent seniors who have suffered any kind of abuse, including abandonment by a nursing home or other care facility. If you or someone you know is suffering from any form of elder abuse in Marin County or elsewhere in California, call our elder abuse attorneys today at 415-441-8669, and we can help.
About 400,000 Californians live in nursing homes and another 150,000 seniors live in assisted care facilities throughout the State. Many are not able to protect themselves due to dementia, physical disabilities, chronic illness and frail health. Their safety is in the hands of facility owners, administrators, staff and caregivers. This new law will hold owners, administrators and staff responsible when they abandon seniors during emergencies or at other times. Seniors with dementia who wander off or elope from facilities often due so because they have been abandoned by caregivers. The risks are very great and can be fatal.
“Abandonment” is defined under the California Elder And Dependent Adult Abuse Prevention Act as follows: “the desertion or willful forsaking of an elder [anyone 65 year of age or older] or dependent adult by anyone having care or custody of that person under circumstances in which a reasonable person would continue to provide care and custody.” Calif. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15610.05. Persons and entities responsible for the abandonment or other abuse of an elderly person may be subject to extra damages for injuries sustained and in certain circumstances for the attorneys’ fees and costs incurred by the senior in bringing an action against them. If you or a loved one has suffered injury as a result of abandonment or other form of elder abuse call the elder abuse lawyers at Evans Law Firm today.
Contact Us
If you or a loved one is or has been the victim of any form of elder abuse in Marin or elsewhere in California, contact Ingrid M. Evans and the other Marin elder 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.
