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Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
Nursing home and long-term care facility residents are abused and neglected, in California and across the United States, at astonishing rates. According to the National Association of Nursing Home Attorneys, approximately five million elderly long-term care facility residents suffer abuse every year. The National Center on Elder Abuse has identified five primary categories of mistreatment of residents that rises to the level of “abuse”:
- Psychological Abuse
- Financial Exploitation
- Neglect
- Physical Abuse
- Sexual Abuse
Not all forms of illegal mistreatment of residents are easy to identify. In fact, psychological abuse is the most common form of illegal mistreatment of residents and this kind of harm is often most difficult to spot. As a result, loved ones of nursing home and other long-term care facility residents are too often left wondering, “Is my loved one being mistreated or am I imagining things?” To make matters worse, some signs of abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation – including mood swings, withdrawal, and an unwillingness to communicate in routine ways – can also be symptoms of various medical conditions and advanced age.
What should you do if you suspect that your loved one is being mistreated but you’re not sure if your suspicions are grounded in fact? Know that you may be the only influence standing between your loved one and additional mistreatment. Even if your loved one is ordinarily capable of self-advocacy, they may be too fearful or ashamed to speak up on their own behalf. Whether you know for sure that something is wrong or you “only suspect” that your loved one is being mistreated, schedule a free consultation today to explore your legal options. Meeting with our reputable legal team doesn’t obligate you to take action against your loved one’s long-term care facility or any of its staff. Attending a free consultation will simply allow you to have your loved one’s circumstances – and your concerns about them – evaluated by experienced legal professionals knowledgeable about how to go about identifying illegal mistreatment, protecting residents’ rights, and navigating the legal process in the wake of abuse.
Passionate Legal Advocacy for Victims of Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
As your loved one’s advocate, it is critically important that you treat your suspicions about potential mistreatment seriously. If we believe that your loved one is not in danger, we will tell you so. If we believe that intervention is warranted, we will tell you so. It is our job to give you an objective assessment of your situation and to assist you in the event that you are in need of legal guidance. We will never try to “sell you” our services.
Our team considers it to be our great privilege to assist families who are concerned about their loved ones’ wellbeing and to advocate on behalf of long-term care facility residents who are suffering as a result of abuse, neglect, and/or exploitation. Please schedule a consultation today to learn more about our approach to representation and to explore your legal options. If your loved one has suffered harm, we will do everything we can to help your family seek justice and to help prevent others in your loved one’s care facility from being mistreated as well.
Residents’ Rights – An Introduction
Residents of long-term care facilities have rights under both federal and state law. Most facility residents are protected by federal Medicare laws, even if they themselves are not recipients of Medicare benefits. This is because any nursing home or long-term care facility that accepts Medicare patients and receives Medicare funds as a program participant is bound by laws that govern the Medicare program. Few facilities refuse to participate in the Medicare program, resulting in a system that is largely governed by Medicare laws.
Under Medicare laws, residents have the right to remain free from physical, sexual, psychological, and verbal abuse. They are also granted the following rights, which are a sampling of their broader rights as residents under federal statutes:
- The right to remain free from any physical or chemical restraints, imposed for purposes of discipline or staff convenience, which are not required to treat the resident's medical symptoms (42 CFR §483.12(a)(2))
- The right to remain free from verbal, sexual, physical, and mental abuse, corporal punishment, involuntary seclusion, neglect, misappropriation of resident property and exploitation (42 CFR §483.12))
- The right to exercise all enumerated rights and voice grievances both to facility staff and outside representatives, free from restraint, interference, coercion, discrimination, and reprisal (42 CFR §483.10(j))
Note that even those residents who reside in facilities that don’t participate in the Medicare program are protected by California state laws that guarantee residents many of the same rights that federal Medicare law does.
What Is Abuse?
As noted above, both financial exploitation and neglect are broadly classified as kinds of abuse. However, when neglect and exploitation are treated as “separate categories” of mistreatment – legally and practically – abuse is defined more narrowly. In this sense of the word, abuse is an intentional action meant to harm the recipient of the conduct in question. Long-term care residents often face physical abuse, which is meant to cause injury; sexual abuse, which is defined as non-consensual sexual contact initiated by one person and inflicted on another; and psychological abuse, which may involve threats, intimidation, humiliation, and other tactics that could potentially cause mental and/or emotional trauma.
It is important to understand that many forms of abuse are “invisible.” This means that you won’t necessarily see marks on your loved one’s body as evidence of abuse. If your loved one is becoming suddenly and/or significantly withdrawn, is not communicating in their usual ways, is suffering significant mood alterations, or is exhibiting dramatic changes in behavior, these shifts may be the only evidence of abuse that you’ll be able to identify in the wake of genuine mistreatment. Just because your loved one isn’t bruised doesn’t mean that they aren’t suffering as a result of abuse.
What Is Neglect?
Whereas abuse is an intentional action initiated to harm the victim, neglect is a passive form of abuse. When caregivers and/or a residential facility fail to tend to a patient’s basic needs, this constitutes neglect. Common forms of neglect include failures to attend to a resident’s medical needs, hygiene, hydration and nutritional requirements, and need for emotional connection. If your loved one is frequently dirty or wet, is dropping weight or is dehydrated, is missing medical appointments or is being denied medication, has developed bed sores, or is being unreasonably isolated from facility activities, family, or contact with the outside world, your loved one may be suffering as a result of neglect.
Exploitation
If your loved one’s identity or resources are being wrongfully used by an individual or the facility where your loved one resides, you may have grounds for an exploitation case. Generally, exploitation occurs when an individual’s identity or resources are misused after being obtained through deception, false pretenses, undue influence, or under duress. Oftentimes, however, these resources are taken without any consent whatsoever from the targeted individual. If your loved one’s property has gone missing, there is unusual activity on their financial accounts and/or facility bill, or you have received fraud alerts connected to your loved one’s identity and personal information, your loved one may be a target of unlawful exploitation.
Exploring Your Legal Options if Your Loved One Is Being Harmed
Your loved one’s residential care facility and the facility’s staff owe your loved one a so-called “duty of care” under the law. As a result, if your loved one is being harmed because one or more parties is acting negligently, recklessly, or with intentional disregard for your loved one’s safety and wellbeing, you likely have strong grounds for legal action. Remember that you don’t need to know for sure that your loved one is being harmed before you schedule a risk-free, confidential, no-cost consultation with our experienced legal team.
Settlement Considerations
If you have already voiced your concerns to the facility where your loved one resides and the facility has offered you a settlement, tread very carefully. If you sign settlement paperwork, you will likely surrender your right to sue at least one of the parties involved in abusing your loved one. You want to ensure that if you choose to accept a settlement offer, that it is fairly valued and that it doesn’t unduly restrict your rights or the rights of your loved one. Do not sign settlement paperwork until our legal team has been granted the opportunity to review it and to evaluate its merits objectively. Once presented with settlement paperwork, you’ll likely be given very little time to accept or refuse the terms offered. Call our team as soon as you can in order to schedule a contract review appointment.
Reporting Mistreatment to Authorities
Depending on the circumstances surrounding your loved one’s mistreatment, it may benefit you, your loved one, your case, and everyone else at the facility where your loved one is residing if you report your situation to the authorities. California has a distinct system designed to investigate reports of abuse of long-term care patients and residents. Depending on the findings of the investigation in question, individuals and/or the facility may be cited with legal violations. Individuals may even be charged criminally as a result of their conduct. Just as California’s Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act governs state law concerning civil liability for abuse of this kind, state criminal statutes govern criminal law for this form of abuse.
If this information makes you anxious, please remember that speaking with our legal team does not obligate you to report your situation nor does it obligate you to take legal action. The purpose of a free consultation is to ensure that you have a confidential space in which to voice your concerns, receive legal guidance, and become empowered to make informed decisions about your situation.
If you either know or suspect that your loved one is being abused, neglected, and/or financially exploited, please connect with our experienced, compassionate legal team today. By sitting down to discuss your concerns with an attorney experienced in nursing home abuse matters, you can better ensure that any abuse that may be occurring is properly identified and addressed. As many residents of long-term care facilities cannot advocate for themselves in abusive situations, it is imperative that their loved ones seek legal guidance in the event that they suspect that something is wrong.
Nursing home and long-term care facility abuse, neglect, and exploitation rates are staggering. If you suspect that your loved one is being mistreated, you are – very unfortunately – probably not wrong. Schedule a free, risk-free, confidential consultation with our firm today to receive an objective case evaluation and to explore your legal options. We look forward to speaking with you.