ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Granddaughter Reports Alleged Abuse To Police
Aide Arrested For Allegedly Striking Patient
Protecting Your Senior Loved Ones In Nursing Homes
Nursing home residents, particularly those with dementia are at risk of abuse, neglect or sexual assault and rape. It is a sad reality that seniors can be so victimized in the very places where they should be protected and benefit from professional care. But stories of abuse and neglect in care facilities have been increasing, and the pandemic has made in difficult for families to monitor the well-being of their institutionalized older loved ones. The Santa Cruz County elder and nursing home abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm. Inc. have handled cases of abuse, neglect, abandonment, and sexual assault of nursing home residents. Our litigators pursue all persons responsible for any such abuse or neglect, including not only the staff member who may have committed the acts or alleged negligence but also owners, administrators and managers responsible for the conduct of the facility’s employees. Call us today at (415)441-8669 if any senior loved one has suffered any kind of elder abuse in Santa Cruz County or elsewhere in California.
Recent Arrest Symptomatic of Rise in Nursing Home Abuse Cases
In one recently reported case[1], a nursing home aide was arrested for allegedly striking a 96-year-old woman suffering from dementia and confined to a nursing home. The victim’s granddaughter alerted police after noticing that her grandmother had a black eye. Following the report, police investigators determined that an aide had struck the patient and hit her with a cup. The criminal proceeding is still pending.
This single reported case is just one example of an increasing problem:
- According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in 6 adults aged 60 or older suffered some type of abuse in a community setting between 2017 and 2018, and more recent data suggest further increases in these figures.
- Nearly 1 out of 3 nursing homes in the U.S. has been issued citations for abuse.
- Nursing home abuse (along with elder abuse in general) often goes unreported, according to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG).
- As of 2015, 1.3 million people lived in nursing homes throughout the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC believes that 27 million people will need care from nursing homes, in-home aides, or another long-term care program by 2050.
- As 1 in 5 people in the U.S. is expected to be 65 or older by 2030, these problems may increase and do not seem to be going away any time soon.
Protecting Nursing Home Residents From Abuse
The kind of physical attack in the reported case 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 senior’s granddaughter was able to observe what may have happened to her grandmother. 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, Inc. immediately.
Contact Us
Ingrid M. Evans and the other Santa Cruz County elder abuse and nursing home abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. 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.
