ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Neglect or Intentional Abuse Can Be Fatal
Bed Sores/Pressure Ulcers and Sepsis Can Kill
Bed sores (also known as pressure ulcers) and infections can kill older persons quickly. About 60,000 patients die every year as the direct result of a bed sore/pressure ulcer; the majority of these patients are elderly. Neglect or abandonment of older patients by caregivers explains many of these fatalities. In one recently reported case,[1] an elderly woman died from infected open wounds, sepsis, hypothermia, bed sores and other ailments shortly after she arrived at a hospital. Authorities investigating her death later arrested her caregiver on charges of second-degree manslaughter and first degree endangering the welfare of a dependent person. The San Francisco elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. know how horrible elder abuse can be, whether physical, emotional, 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 San Francisco or elsewhere in California, call the elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm today at 415-441-8669, and we can help.
Spotting Abuse
If your loved one is in a nursing home or assisted care facility or under the care of an in-home caregiver, visit as often as you can and monitor the care your loved one receives. Speak with your loved one alone and ask how they’re doing; they may be intimidated about talking in front of any caregiver abusing them. Look 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- Abnormal or withdrawn behavior and unusual silence;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.
[1] Evans Law Firm, Inc. was not involved in the case in any way.
