Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA NURSING HOME ABUSE AND NEGLECT ATTORNEYS

As our population ages, more and more seniors are unable to care for themselves. Because friends and family are not always able to care for the needs of seniors, for-profit nursing homes and assisted living centers have experienced a major surge in their number and in the number of seniors they care for.

Unfortunately, in some such facilities, elders are being abused, both physically and financially. Our attorneys have successfully represented many injured seniors, and recovered millions of dollars on their behalf, because of the wrongdoing they have experienced.

Nursing home neglect can manifest itself in many different conditions and it can result in a variety of injuries, including:

• Bed Sores
• Infections
• Falls
• Financial Abuse
• Fractures
• Malnutrition
• Dehydration
• Failure to Medicate & Monitor

The national statistics on nursing home and elder abuse are grim. Conservative estimates indicate that one of three homes in America will be affected in some way by abuse of an elder in a nursing home or assisted living facility. With the senior citizen population growing at a rapid pace, nursing homes and senior assisted care facilities nationwide now exceed 1.5 million. This number is expected to triple in the next three years. Oftentimes, nursing homes attempt to save money and maximize profit by using inadequately trained or unqualified help. This puts your loved one at risk.

Working with experienced nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers is critical in order to obtain proper compensation for your elderly relative and insure that your loved one will be treated with the proper dignity and respect. Our nursing home abuse attorneys have successfully obtained compensation and compelled changes in order to serve your loved one and to prevent further instances of abuse and neglect. Forcing nursing homes to meet their responsibilities to their residents is achieved by holding them financially accountable.

If your loved one has been the victim of abuse or neglect in a nursing home or an assisted living facility anywhere in California or Nevada, Contact Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger for a FREE CONSULTATION with an experienced nursing home abuse lawyer.

EXAMPLES OF OUR SUCCESS

Failure to Supervise Resident – $900,000 Settlement

Our abuse and neglect attorneys obtained a settlement in the amount of $900,000 on behalf of a 79-year-old woman who was burned by scalding coffee at a Bay Area senior assisted care living center. Our client, who was having dinner in the facility dining room, was injured when a deranged co-resident poured coffee over her head, resulting in second and third degree burns, skin grafting and inpatient hospitalization. Our attorneys brought suit under the provisions of California Welfare & Institutions Code §15610.35, California’s Elder Abuse statute. The claim, against the residential care facility, alleged that the owners and operators were negligent in their supervision of the residents, and had negligently failed to segregate dangerous residents, as well as those suffering from dementia, from the general population of the facility. The recovery included compensation for past medical expenses, pain and suffering, and the cost of future treatment for burn related cosmetic surgery.

Failure to Monitor Bed Sores – Confidential Wrongful Death Settlement

Our elder abuse team successfully settled a wrongful death claim, on behalf of the son and daughter of a 79-year-old woman who passed away as a result of septic infection caused by undiagnosed and untreated bedsores. The settlement, in a confidential amount, was brought under California’s Elder Abuse statutes. It included recovery for the pre-death pain and suffering of the decedent, attorney’s fees, and other damages in order to properly compensate the heirs for what their mother had endured. Our attorneys, working with specialists in the field of senior-nursing, demonstrated that proper and prudent observation of the decedent’s worsening condition would have resulted in a timely diagnosis, hospitalization at an inpatient facility, and a cure of her overwhelming infection before it became untreatable and fatal.

Failure to Diagnose Bedsores – Amputation

Our nursing abuse team represented a 69-year-old retired serviceman who experienced amputation of his right leg when his nursing home caregivers failed to notify his physicians of multiple, worsening bedsores. Our client complained to hospital and staff personnel of the problem, but the responsible manager of the facility failed to notify his primary care physician in a prompt manner of his worsening condition. Our attorneys demonstrated that the nursing home LVN staff was improperly trained, and ill-equipped, to deal with patients manifesting bedsores. The recovery included compensation for all elements of harm permitted by the California Elder Abuse statutory framework.