$1.3 Million Judgment Against Torrance Assisted Living Facility For Elder Abuse
Financial Content

In September 2011, the Greenpark Villa, Inc. assisted living facility in Torrance, California was ordered to pay over $1.3 million in a judgment of an elder abuse case. The plaintiff was a victim of elder abuse and a client of Garcia, Artigliere & Schadrack.  Among the allegations in the case were those of elder abuse and wrongful death.

Greenpark Villa is an assisted living facility for the elderly, and defined by California law as a voluntary housing arrangement for an individual 60 years or older. The living facility is expected and obligated by law to provide a certain amount of care and supervision to its patient.

Plaintiff Walters, an elderly woman suffering from Alzheimer’s, had fallen twice during her stay at Greenpark Villa, and was not sent to the hospital. After five months of severe pain and at her family’s insistence that she receive medical attention, it was found that she had fractured her hip in the second fall. Plaintiff also alleges that due to underfunding and understaffing, Walters’ Stage I pressure sore evolved into a stage IV pressure sore that became infected.

Elder care abuse and allegations of elder care abuse in assisted living facilities throughout California and the United States have grown alarmingly high. The country’s growing elderly population faces more risks today than ever before as elder abuse continues to be on the rise. Yet, support is available for those who have fallen prey to various forms of elder abuse. For a free and confidential consultation in California, contact the Evans Law Firm.

As the quality of healthcare and the average life expectancy in the United States has gone up, so too unfortunately has the incidence of elder abuse. The demographic of people 85 years and older is the fastest growing age group in the United States, and many of those people require various degrees and forms of elder care. To meet this demand, both honest and alleged elder care institutions have cropped up all across the country. As cases of fraud and abuse are on the rise because of these alleged elder care institutions, it is becoming more and more imperative for elders and their loved ones to learn how to prevent elder abuse and how to distinguish between legitimate and fraudulent elder care providers.  

 Some examples of elder abuse in recent news and local headlines include caregiver theft, exploitation, and substandard care that puts the elder in physical danger. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, reported instances of abuse towards elders have increased by 20% from 2000 to 2006. Yet an even bigger issue – according to the Dr. Mark Lachs of the New York-Presbyterian Healthcare system, is that most problems related to elder abuse are not even reported. An interview he conducted with 4,000 elders showed that only one out of thirteen incidences of elder abuse is detected and documented.

This is why, in today’s increasingly predatory climate, elder abuse prevention and awareness is as important as litigation and response. Not only elders, but their families, friends, and acquaintances should be on the lookout for signs of physical and financial abuse and neglect. These signs include but are not limited to: behavioral changes, unusual financial activity, or deteriorating healthcare with new caregivers or care providing institutions.

Elder Abuse Pair Prepare for Hearing, Jury Trial in Bakersfield
Kern Valley Sun

In Kern County, 30-year-old Joseph McCoy and his 54-year-old mother Darlene Green took part in a Readiness Hearing at which they faced charges of causing harm or death to an elderly person. The person in question was Margaret Gray, Green’s mother and McCoy’s grandmother, who died on April 1, 2011.

On February 11, 2011 paramedics found Gray in her home suffering from bed sores and grade four ulcers, lying in her own bodily fluids with areas of her skin stuck to her bed sheets. Gray was then taken to the Kern Valley Hospital and treated in the emergency room for what the director, Dr. Manual Sacapano, called “the worst case of elder abuse I have ever seen.” Two months later, Gray died from cardio respiratory arrest, sepsis, and Alzheimer’s disease.

McCoy had been Gray’s primary caregiver since 1999. He and his mother are being held at the Lerdo pre-trial facility.

Deceptively passive in nature, neglect is one of the most harmful forms of elder abuse. To be designated a primary caregiver is to take on moral and legal responsibility for the healthcare and wellbeing of the elderly citizen. This and other tragic cases highlight the urgent necessity for legal recourse against caregiver abuse. With legal action, we can prevent further abuses and promote proper methods to ensure safety and comfort of the elderly. The Evans Law Firm in San Francisco, California represents elder victims of neglect and other physical and financial abuse.

Stronger Measures Needed to Curb Fraud by Medical Device Suppliers

Fraud and abuse from Medicare suppliers remains a problem for Medicare and Medicaid, says the Office of Inspector General (OIG) in Washington. In an examination that divided the suppliers into high, medium and low-risk categories, OIG found that 26% of the high and medium-risk suppliers and 2% of the low-risk suppliers had been placed on prepayment claims review or had their billing privileges revoked. Other suppliers had failed to provide necessary management information. Particularly egregious were the enrolled suppliers who had left out information about criminal histories or adverse legal action.

To combat and prevent the risk from dishonest and harmful suppliers, OIG recommends earlier and more frequent post-enrollment site visits to the suppliers, as well as appropriate follow-up regarding missing information on applications. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) say they have heeded this advice and have begun to implement measures that will lead to increased overall security.

Hopefully, increased action on the part of CMS will both rid the system of fraudulent suppliers and deter potential suppliers from following in the footsteps of unchecked wrongdoers. Ethical practices from medical suppliers should not only be hoped for, but expected. Resources are available in California to locate and combat fraudulent healthcare services.