ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Abuse Of Resident Caught On Tape
Aide Pleads Guilty To Intentional Abuse
Sentenced To One Year In Prison
Sadly, dementia patients in nursing homes and assisted care facilities are at risk of intentional physical abuse by aides and staff in the very facilities where families expect their afflicted loved ones to be safe and cared for. The stories of this kind of intentional abuse are difficult to read. Physical elder and dependent adult abuse in California is defined as follows:
“Physical abuse” 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 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.
Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15610.63
When patients are abused, the San Francisco elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. believe that nursing homes, owners, administrators and staff should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. If you or someone you know is suffering elder abuse in a nursing home, assisted care facility or at home by a caregiver 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. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
Aide Sentenced For Intentional Abuse
In one recent case,[1] an aide was arrested for allegedly slapping, kicking, spitting on, and pulling the hair of an 89-year-old dementia patient at an assisted care facility. The alleged assault was caught on a surveillance camera. Authorities arrested the aide who subsequently plead guilty to a charge of intentionally abusing an elder causing bodily harm last summer. The aide was sentenced recently to one year in prison on the offense.
Protecting Loved Ones
How can you do to protect a senior loved one who may be vulnerable to these kind of attacks? You might want to start by checking out the history of the facility on Medicare’s Nursing Home Compare website. There, you will find any record of citations of abuse against the facility. Visit your loved one as frequently as you can and note any bruises or change in behavior that may signal a problem. If you suspect any form of abuse, including sexual abuse, call elder law counsel such as the elder abuse litigators at Evans Law Firm right away.
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 San Francisco 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>. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
[1] Evans Law Firm, Inc. was not involved in the case in any way.
