Elder Abuse & Nursing Home Negligence
When our most vulnerable citizens are mistreated, such as through elder abuse or nursing home negligence, Los Angeles attorney Steven Martin of the Law Offices of Steven L. Martin comes to their aid to hold abusers accountable for their conduct, put an end to abusive practices, and help victims of abuse and neglect in Southern California to regain their dignity and recover what was taken from them.
Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
Physical abuse, financial abuse, and neglect all amount to unlawful abuse under the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act, a California law providing for criminal sanctions and civil liability for individual abusers as well as nursing homes and other dependant care facilities. Nursing home negligence can include abandonment, isolation, depriving a person of necessary goods or services, and other treatment which causes physical harm, pain, or mental suffering. The law allows abuse victims to sue their abusers, including the nursing homes which allowed the abuse or neglect to occur through their failure to properly supervise employees or manage the facilities. Victims of abuse or neglect can recover for medical expenses and the pain and suffering and emotional distress which were caused, as well as punitive damages in certain cases.
Financial Elder Abuse
People may try to take advantage of senior citizens who are in a diminished physical or mental state and rely on others to help care for them or manage their affairs. Caregivers and even family members may abuse this position of power and trust, gaining access to the elder’s finances and misappropriating them for their own use.
Elders are also vulnerable to various types of consumer fraud, from telephone and email solicitations to door-to-door salesmen who ply innumerable varieties of simple and sophisticated con games to exploit the elderly. One scam in particular involves “home repair professionals” targeting seniors at home and convincing them to purchase home repairs and improvements and financing the transaction with a loan secured by the home. This particular type of consumer fraud is singled out and prohibited in California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act.
Compassionate, Caring, and Competent Representation
Standing up against instances of institutional abuse in the courts is an effective means of changing institutional practices, ensuring effective training and oversight so that people in nursing homes and dependant care facilities are more safe and secure and taken care of as they should be. Even where the abuser is a family member or private caregiver, it is important to speak up and end the abuse. Our firm helps people in vulnerable positions to find their voice and use it, to regain their rights and that which has been taken from them. If you have been subject to elder abuse or suspect abuse of a loved one in a nursing home or other setting, please contact the Law Offices of Steven L. Martin for a free consultation.