ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Fatal Caregiver Abuse
Decedent Lived in Residential Care Facility
Caregiver abuse of the elderly and other dependent adults can be deadly. A criminal prosecution is proceeding right now in Southern California[1] against a caregiver charged with the alleged torture and murder of an 87-year-old man living in a residential care facility. The elder’s body was discovered in a trash bin outside the facility. The purported motive is still under investigation. The Marin County and California elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. represent seniors and their loved ones victimized by physical and financial elder abuse by caregivers and others. The allegations in this murder case reflect just as horrific physical elder abuse can be. Newspaper reports indicate that the facility had been the subject of several evaluation and complaint reports since 2015. If you or someone you know is a victim of elder abuse at home or in any kind of facility in Marin County or elsewhere in California, call us today at 415-441-8669, and we can help.
Physical elder abuse of elders in nursing homes and other care facilities may also include sexual assault or rape, overmedication, physical or chemical restraints, neglect, abandonment or injuries sustained from unsupervised wandering/elopement. Before admitting any loved one to any facility make sure it is qualified and licensed to provide the care your loved one needs and review any history of complaints against it. The California Department of Public health maintains a database on the more than 10,000 registered healthcare facilities in California at: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHCQ/LCP/CalHealthFind/pages/home.aspx. There, you can look up the license of any registered healthcare facility, the identity of the facility’s owner and the history of complaints and state enforcement actions against the facility for improper care or other misconduct or statutory violations.
Spotting Abuse
If your loved one has already been admitted to a nursing home or assisted care facility, visit as often as you can and monitor the care your loved one receives. Do the same if your loved home is still at home under the care of an in-home caregiver. Watch 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 been the victim of elder abuse in Marin County or elsewhere in California, contact Ingrid M. Evans and the other Evans Law Firm elder abuse attorneys 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 investigation, discovery, 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.
