Oakland Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer
Many families trust nursing homes to provide a safe and nurturing environment for their elderly loved ones. Unfortunately, staff members and administrators abuse this trust all too frequently.
If your family member has sustained mistreatment or neglect at their care facility, you have legal rights you can pursue on behalf of your loved one. Our experienced personal injury attorneys can evaluate your case and provide you with legal advice on how to proceed. While a monetary award cannot undo the mistreatment your loved one experienced, it could provide the funds needed to help you and your family move forward from this tragic situation. Our Oakland nursing home abuse lawyers can provide critical guidance when it comes to pursuing financial compensation from a facility or its staff members.
Types of Nursing Home Mistreatment
There are many forms of abuse or neglect a resident may endure at his/her nursing home. Depending on the circumstances of a resident’s abuse, our Oakland nursing home mistreatment attorneys can help build a case against the responsible parties.
Financial Abuse
Financial abuse occurs any time a caretaker takes advantage of a nursing home resident financially. This form of mistreatment may involve stealing cash or items. Other forms of abuse may involve a caretakertricking or threatening a resident into signing over property, or adding the caretaker to their will as a beneficiary.
Physical Abuse
Physical abuse involves any bodily harm done to a nursing home resident. Some common examples of physically abusive behavior may involve punching, choking, or slapping a resident. In addition to physical assaults, this form of abuse could also include the unnecessary use of restraints on a resident.
Sexual Assault
Any unwanted, nonconsensual sexual contact is abuse. Sexual abuse routinely goes unreported in a nursing home due to many residents’ medical conditions preventing them from being able to adequately communicate the inappropriate conduct to their loved ones.
Neglect
Neglect can prove to be devastating for a nursing home resident. Neglect involves the intentional or willful failure to provide a resident with the care they need. This could involve failing to bathe, feed, or provide necessary medicine to a resident. Instances of neglect typically occur when a facility is understaffed or does not properly train its employees.
Emotional Mistreatment
Harming the mental state of a nursing home resident can be just as harmful as physically injuring the resident. Emotional abuse may occur through any verbal or nonverbal communication, including threats, shouting, or even ignoring a resident. Any behavior that causes unnecessary stress, anguish, or fear in a resident may qualify as emotional abuse.
What is the Elder Abuse Act?
In 1983, California adopted the Elder Abuse Act, which provides seniors with a civil remedy for any mistreatment they may suffer. Under California Civil Code §15630, the Elder Abuse Act applies to instances of abuse in state nursing homes.
The Elder Abuse Act is a powerful tool that our attorneys in Oakland may use when preparing a nursing home abuse case. In addition to covering various forms of abusive behavior, the Act also provides nursing home residents with powerful legal remedies. In addition to compensation for his/her injuries, a successful claim under this state law could require the defendant to cover the plaintiff’s legal fees.
Reach out to Our Oakland Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys
The physical and psychological effects of enduring abuse in their care facility could impact a resident’s life for years to come. As a result, the responsible party should be held accountable for their abusive actions.
If your elderly loved one suffered physical or emotional harm in his/her nursing home, the right legal counsel can help. To discuss your loved one’s legal options, contact our caring Oakland nursing home abuse lawyers at Mary Alexander & Associates today.
