Quick Summary

What Is the Average Elder Abuse or Nursing Home Settlement in California?

When a loved one enters a nursing home, assisted living facility, or skilled nursing facility, families entrust that institution with their most vulnerable family member. When that trust is violated — through neglect, physical abuse, financial exploitation, or reckless disregard for the resident’s safety — California law provides far stronger remedies than standard negligence law.

California’s Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act (EADACPA), codified at Welfare and Institutions Code § 15600 et seq., was enacted specifically because the Legislature recognized that elderly and dependent adults are uniquely vulnerable and that standard negligence remedies were insufficient deterrents against institutional abuse. The Act creates a separate, enhanced civil cause of action with remedies that go well beyond what is available in a standard personal injury case.

This guide explains how EADACPA enhanced remedies work, what settlement values are realistic across different types of elder abuse and neglect cases, and what separates a standard negligence case from an enhanced remedies case. It draws on over 30 years of experience handling elder abuse and nursing home cases throughout Los Angeles and Southern California.

(For an overview of California nursing home abuse claims and legal framework, see: California Nursing Home Abuse Claims.)

The EADACPA Framework: Why California Elder Abuse Cases Are Worth More

The most important thing to understand about California elder abuse claims is that they are not ordinary negligence cases. When the statutory requirements are met, EADACPA transforms the claim — adding remedies that can more than double the value of an otherwise ordinary care failure case.

Standard Negligence vs. EADACPA Enhanced Remedies: The Critical Distinction

A nursing home that fails to turn a bedridden patient regularly, causing a preventable pressure wound, may face a negligence claim for the cost of treating the wound, lost wages, and pain and suffering. That is a standard of care violation — ordinary negligence.

But if that same nursing home was chronically understaffed to cut costs, had been cited by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) for the same deficiency on prior inspections, and management chose to continue the practice despite knowing it would cause serious harm — that is recklessness under EADACPA. The legal consequences are categorically different.

The Three Enhanced Remedies Under W&I Code § 15657

When a plaintiff proves by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant — a nursing home, assisted living facility, or individual caregiver — acted with recklessness, oppression, fraud, or malice, W&I Code § 15657 provides three enhanced remedies on top of all compensatory damages:

• Attorney’s fees and costs: The defendant pays the plaintiff’s attorney’s fees and litigation costs. In a serious elder abuse case, attorney’s fees alone can total $150,000 to $500,000 or more. This fee-shifting provision is one of the most powerful settlement levers in California elder abuse litigation — it turns a case the facility might otherwise fight into one they must seriously consider settling at full value.
• Survival of pain and suffering damages: Under standard California law, the decedent’s pain and suffering damages do not survive death and cannot be recovered by the estate (Code of Civil Procedure § 377.34). EADACPA overrides this limitation — when enhanced remedies are established, the estate can recover the victim’s pre-death pain and suffering even after the victim has died. For elderly nursing home residents who die before the case resolves, this is often the largest component of the recovery.
• Punitive damages: Civil Code § 3294 punitive damages are available when the defendant’s conduct constitutes malice, oppression, or fraud. In institutional elder abuse cases involving systemic understaffing, pattern violations, or deliberate cost-cutting that foreseeably causes harm, punitive damages arguments are often strong. California juries have awarded substantial punitive damages against nursing home chains in cases of egregious institutional neglect.

The Recklessness Standard — What It Takes to Trigger Enhanced Remedies

“Recklessness” under EADACPA is defined as conduct that involves a conscious choice of a course of action either with knowledge of the serious danger to others involved or with knowledge of facts that would disclose this danger to any reasonable person (W&I Code § 15610.57). This is a higher standard than ordinary negligence but substantially lower than intentional misconduct.

In nursing home cases, recklessness is established through:

• Chronic understaffing below regulatory minimums for the resident population’s acuity level
• Prior CDPH citations for the same deficiency that went uncorrected
• Management’s knowledge of the dangerous condition and deliberate failure to address it
• Policy decisions prioritizing financial returns over resident safety
• Failure to implement a known care plan for a high-risk resident
• Repeated failure to respond to family complaints about dangerous conditions

For more on the legal framework governing California nursing home abuse claims, see: Civil Claims for Elder Patient Rights Abuses in California.

Types of Elder Abuse and Neglect in California Facility Cases

Physical Neglect — Pressure Wounds, Falls, and Malnutrition

Physical neglect is the most common basis for California nursing home litigation. It encompasses the failure to provide basic care required by the resident’s condition: failure to turn and reposition bedridden residents (causing pressure injuries), failure to implement fall prevention protocols for high-risk residents, failure to provide adequate nutrition and hydration, failure to maintain hygiene, and failure to respond to medical symptoms.

Pressure injuries (also called pressure ulcers or bedsores) are a defining indicator of neglect. A stage 3 or stage 4 pressure wound — where the injury has penetrated through the skin into muscle or bone — in a nursing home resident who was admitted without such a wound is strong evidence of neglect. Pressure wounds of this severity are almost always preventable with proper repositioning and skin integrity monitoring.

Physical Abuse

Physical abuse includes hitting, slapping, pushing, inappropriate physical restraint, and any other use of physical force causing pain or injury. Physical abuse in nursing home settings is often perpetrated by overworked, undertrained, or improperly screened staff. Facility liability attaches both directly (negligent hiring, training, and supervision) and vicariously (respondeat superior for employee conduct within the scope of employment).

Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse of nursing home and care facility residents — who are often cognitively impaired, physically dependent, or unable to communicate or report abuse — is a serious and underreported category. California Welfare and Institutions Code § 15610.63 specifically defines sexual abuse of a dependent adult as an actionable form of elder abuse. These cases involve not only the individual perpetrator but the facility’s liability for negligent hiring, failure to perform background checks, failure to investigate complaints, and failure to implement safeguards.

For more on dependent adult abuse in California care facilities, see: Dependent Adult Abuse.

Financial Abuse and Exploitation

Financial abuse — theft, fraud, undue influence over financial decisions, and exploitation of a resident’s assets — is actionable under EADACPA and can trigger the full range of enhanced remedies. W&I Code § 15610.30 defines financial abuse broadly to include taking, secreting, appropriating, or retaining property of an elder for wrongful use or with intent to defraud. Financial abuse perpetrated by facility staff or by persons using a care relationship to gain access to the elder’s finances is directly covered.

Chemical Restraint and Medication Misuse

Chemical restraint — the use of sedating medications to manage residents’ behavior rather than for legitimate medical purposes — is a form of abuse under EADACPA. Over-sedation renders residents unable to call for help, eat, participate in therapy, or communicate with family, causing rapid physical and cognitive decline. CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) regulations restrict the use of antipsychotic medications in nursing home residents without specific medical justification, and violations create both regulatory liability and civil EADACPA claims.

Elopement and Supervision Failures

Elopement — when a cognitively impaired resident leaves the facility unsupervised and is injured or killed — is a serious and preventable category of nursing home harm. Facilities are required to have elopement prevention programs for residents identified as elopement risks. When a resident identified as a risk wanders off and sustains a fall, is struck by a vehicle, or dies from exposure, the facility faces strong EADACPA liability.

Wrongful Death from Neglect

When nursing home neglect proximately causes a resident’s death — from sepsis from an untreated pressure wound, from a fall caused by inadequate supervision, from aspiration pneumonia from improper feeding, or from dehydration and malnutrition — the family has both a wrongful death claim and, critically, an EADACPA survival action that allows recovery of the resident’s pre-death pain and suffering. The combination of these two claims makes California nursing home wrongful death cases among the highest-value elder abuse claims.

California Elder Abuse and Nursing Home Settlement Ranges (2026)

The ranges below reflect realistic California elder abuse settlements under EADACPA. The critical distinction is whether the case meets the recklessness/malice standard for enhanced remedies — cases that do are worth substantially more than those that only support standard negligence recovery.

Important: These ranges assume identified recklessness or malice for the higher-value cases. Cases that only support standard negligence — where the facility made an isolated care error rather than a conscious choice to cut costs or ignore known risks — will fall in the lower tier. The investigation required to establish recklessness is case-specific and fact-intensive.

How California Elder Abuse Cases Are Investigated

The evidence that separates a standard negligence case from an enhanced remedies EADACPA case is almost entirely within the facility’s records — records that are often not readily accessible without formal legal process. Early and aggressive investigation is essential.

CDPH Inspection Reports and Deficiency Citations

The California Department of Public Health inspects licensed nursing facilities and issues deficiency citations when regulatory standards are violated. These inspection reports — publicly available through the CDPH website and through litigation discovery — document exactly what violations were found, when they were found, whether they were corrected, and whether the same deficiency appeared on prior inspections. A facility with a history of citations for the same deficiency that injured your family member has near-perfect recklessness evidence built into its regulatory record.

Staffing Records and Payroll Data

Chronic understaffing is the most common driver of recklessness findings in California nursing home cases. Facilities are required to maintain minimum staffing levels based on resident count and acuity. Payroll records, scheduling records, and the facility’s own staffing matrices — obtained through litigation discovery — document whether the facility was operating below minimum staffing levels on the days and shifts when the harm occurred. Expert testimony from nursing home staffing experts translates this data into recklessness evidence.

Resident Care Plans and Nursing Notes

The resident’s care plan documents what the facility knew about the resident’s risk factors — fall risk, pressure injury risk, nutrition needs, cognitive status — and what interventions were required. Nursing notes document whether those interventions were actually performed. The gap between what the care plan required and what the notes document is often the core of the negligence case, and when that gap is systematic and long-standing, it supports recklessness.

Corporate Ownership and Management Records

Many California nursing homes are operated by large corporate chains. When systemic understaffing or cost-cutting policies are traceable to corporate management decisions — rather than isolated facility-level failures — the corporate parent faces direct liability in addition to the operating facility. Corporate financial records showing that cost-cutting targets were set and implemented at the expense of staffing levels are powerful evidence of institutional recklessness.

Insurance Coverage in California Elder Abuse Cases

California nursing homes and assisted living facilities are required to carry professional liability insurance (also called medical malpractice insurance in this context) and general liability insurance. Coverage amounts vary significantly by facility size and corporate structure:

• Independent nursing homes: Typically carry $1,000,000–$3,000,000 in professional liability coverage per occurrence.
• Large corporate nursing home chains: May carry $5,000,000–$25,000,000 in combined coverage, often structured through captive insurance arrangements or self-insurance programs.
• Assisted living facilities: Coverage varies more widely — some carry as little as $1,000,000; large corporate chains carry substantially more.
• Home care agencies: Typically carry $1,000,000–$3,000,000 in general liability coverage.

The attorney’s fees provision of EADACPA creates a specific coverage dynamic: when a plaintiff makes a well-documented demand that includes the potential attorney’s fee award, facilities and their insurers must account for the total exposure — compensatory damages plus attorney’s fees plus potential punitive damages — in their settlement analysis. This total exposure often substantially exceeds the compensatory damages alone and creates strong pressure to settle at or near policy limits in cases with strong recklessness evidence.

An important caveat: punitive damages are generally not covered by liability insurance policies under California law (Ins. Code § 533). When punitive damages are legitimately in play, the defendant faces out-of-pocket exposure that is separate from the insurer’s coverage — creating additional settlement pressure, particularly for corporate defendants with substantial assets.

Factors That Determine California Elder Abuse Settlement Value

1. Whether Enhanced Remedies Are Established

This is the single most important variable. A case that establishes recklessness under EADACPA is worth substantially more than a case that only supports standard negligence — because it adds attorney’s fees (removing the economic disincentive for full litigation), survival of pain and suffering (adding a major damages category in wrongful death cases), and potential punitive damages. The investigation required to establish recklessness — CDPH records, staffing data, corporate documents — is the foundation of maximum value recovery.

2. Injury Severity and Duration of Suffering

The severity of the physical injuries and the duration of the resident’s suffering directly drive non-economic damages. A stage 4 pressure wound that went undetected for weeks — causing osteomyelitis, sepsis, and months of painful treatment — produces higher non-economic damages than a stage 2 wound caught early. When the EADACPA survival of pain and suffering provision applies, the resident’s documented suffering — even after death — becomes recoverable by the estate.

3. Wrongful Death Component

When neglect or abuse causes death, the family has two parallel claims: the wrongful death claim (CCP § 377.60) compensating the family’s own losses, and the survival action (CCP § 377.30) compensating the estate for the decedent’s pre-death losses. Under EADACPA, the survival action includes the decedent’s pain and suffering — normally excluded from post-death recovery under CCP § 377.34. The combination of both claims in an EADACPA wrongful death case produces the highest total recovery in this category.

4. Prior CDPH Violations and Pattern Evidence

Prior deficiency citations for the same issue that caused the current harm are the strongest available recklessness evidence. When a facility has been cited multiple times for inadequate pressure injury prevention, failed to correct the deficiency, and a resident develops a catastrophic pressure wound, the citation history converts an otherwise standard negligence case into a strong enhanced remedies case. Facilities with pattern violations face settlement pressure that facilities without such histories do not.

5. Corporate vs. Individual Facility Defendant

When systemic cost-cutting or understaffing policies are traceable to corporate management, the corporate parent is a defendant with substantially larger coverage and assets than the individual facility. Corporate chain defendants face higher reputational exposure, higher punitive damages exposure, and more sophisticated settlement analysis than independent facility operators. Cases against large nursing home chains regularly produce higher settlements than comparable cases against small independent operators.

What to Do If You Suspect Elder Abuse or Nursing Home Neglect in California

1. Document everything immediately. Photograph pressure wounds, bruises, injuries, and the resident’s condition. Note dates, times, and the names of staff present. Request copies of the resident’s care plan and recent nursing notes. This documentation should begin as soon as abuse or neglect is suspected — before the facility has an opportunity to remediate or modify records.
2. Report to regulatory authorities. File a complaint with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) at 1-800-236-9747 for nursing homes, and with the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) for residential care facilities for the elderly. An ombudsman complaint can also be filed through the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. These reports trigger investigations that produce official records usable in civil litigation.
3. Request all facility records. Under California law, a patient or their authorized representative has the right to access medical records within 5–15 days of request (Health & Safety Code § 123111). Request the complete medical record, incident reports, staffing records, and care plans. Facilities sometimes resist; an attorney can enforce these rights through formal legal process.
4. Check CDPH inspection history. The CDPH publishes inspection reports and deficiency citations for all licensed nursing facilities on its website. Reviewing the facility’s recent inspection history before or immediately after placing a complaint can reveal prior violations that establish the recklessness pattern needed for enhanced remedies.
5. Contact an elder abuse attorney immediately. Evidence in nursing home abuse cases — electronic medical records, surveillance footage, staffing records — can be altered or destroyed if not preserved promptly through a legal hold letter. The statute of limitations for EADACPA claims is two years from the date of the abuse or neglect (or within two years of the date the plaintiff discovered or should have discovered the abuse). For wrongful death, two years from the date of death.
6. Consider a facility transfer if the resident is still living. If the resident is still in the facility where abuse occurred, discuss a transfer to a different facility with the treating physician. Continuing to reside in the abusive facility is a safety risk, and transferring does not waive any legal claims.

Frequently Asked Questions: Elder Abuse and Nursing Home Settlements in California

Related Guides on victimslawyer.com

• Elder Abuse and Neglect Attorney Los Angeles
• California Nursing Home Abuse Claims
• Civil Claims for Elder Patient Rights Abuses in California
• Dependent Adult Abuse
• Understanding Nursing Home Abuse in Los Angeles: Legal Protections and Remedies for Victims
• Average Hip Fracture Settlement in California (2026 Guide)
• Average Personal Injury Settlement in California (2026): Real Data by Injury Type, Severity, and Insurer
• Average Wrongful Death Settlement Values in California
• Recent Case Results

Disclaimer: This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Settlement ranges discussed are illustrative composites drawn from firm experience and publicly available California verdict and settlement data. They are not promises or guarantees of any specific result. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Individual case values depend on the specific facts, injuries, insurance coverage, and applicable law. If you believe a loved one has been the victim of elder abuse or nursing home neglect, consult a licensed California personal injury attorney regarding your specific situation.

QUICK ANSWER

California has more than 1,200 licensed skilled nursing facilities caring for over 100,000 residents, plus thousands of assisted living and residential care facilities for the elderly. To protect those residents, California and the federal government have built one of the most comprehensive bodies of elder-protection law in the country. Understanding that legal framework matters, because the law a claim is brought under — ordinary negligence, EADACPA elder abuse, or a residents’-rights violation — directly determines what a victim and their family can recover.

This guide explains the key California statutes and regulations, the federal laws that apply to any facility accepting Medicare or Medicaid, the agencies that enforce them, and how these layers work together in a real claim. For the practical claims process, see our overview of California nursing home abuse claims, and for what specifically counts as a violation, see what constitutes nursing home negligence in California.

California Nursing Home Abuse Laws

1. The Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act (EADACPA)

EADACPA, codified at Welfare & Institutions Code §§ 15600–15675, is the cornerstone of California elder-protection law. The Legislature enacted it specifically because ordinary negligence remedies were too weak to deter institutional abuse of vulnerable adults. The Act protects two groups: elders (anyone 65 or older, § 15610.27) and dependent adults (adults 18–64 whose physical or mental limitations restrict their ability to protect their own rights, § 15610.23). It defines abuse broadly to include physical abuse, neglect, financial abuse, abandonment, isolation, and any treatment causing physical harm, pain, or mental suffering.

What makes EADACPA powerful is Welfare & Institutions Code § 15657. When a plaintiff proves by clear and convincing evidence that a facility acted with recklessness, oppression, fraud, or malice — not just carelessness — three enhanced remedies become available that do not exist in a standard personal injury case:

• Attorney’s fees and costs — the facility pays the victim’s legal fees on top of all damages.
• Survival of pre-death pain and suffering — an exception to the general rule (Code of Civil Procedure § 377.34) that otherwise bars recovery of a decedent’s pain and suffering, allowing the estate to recover for what the resident endured before death.
• Punitive damages — against the facility and, in appropriate cases, the corporate owners who set the policies that caused the harm.

This recklessness-versus-negligence distinction is the single most important factor in the value of a nursing home case. We break it down in detail in what constitutes nursing home negligence in California, and the dollar impact is illustrated in our California elder abuse and nursing home settlement guide.

2. The Long-Term Care, Health, Safety, and Security Act of 1973

Codified at Health & Safety Code § 1417 et seq., this Act governs the licensing, inspection, and citation of long-term care facilities in California. It empowers the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to investigate complaints and issue graduated citations — “AA” and “A” citations for the most serious violations (those that cause or are likely to cause serious injury or death) and “B” citations for less severe deficiencies — along with escalating civil penalties. CDPH citation history is frequently the documentary backbone of an EADACPA case, because a pattern of prior citations for the same deficiency helps establish the conscious disregard required to prove recklessness.

3. Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations

Title 22 sets the detailed operational standards every California nursing home must meet — staffing ratios, nursing services, dietary and food-service requirements, medication management, infection control, supervision, and residents’ rights. When a facility falls below a Title 22 standard and a resident is harmed, that regulatory violation can serve as evidence of negligence. Title 22 also codifies the California Patients’ Bill of Rights for long-term care residents.

4. Residents’ Right to Sue — Health & Safety Code § 1430(b)

Separate from a negligence or EADACPA claim, Health & Safety Code § 1430(b) gives a current or former skilled nursing facility resident a private right of action to sue the facility for violating any right guaranteed by state or federal law — including the rights set out in the federal regulations and the Patients’ Bill of Rights. The statute authorizes statutory damages and attorney’s fees, and it allows a resident to hold a facility accountable for rights violations even where physical injury is difficult to quantify.

5. The Skilled Nursing Facility Ownership and Management Reform Act of 2022

Enacted as AB 1502, this reform tightened control over who may operate a California nursing home. It requires prospective operators to obtain CDPH license approval before taking over a facility, mandates that a complete application be submitted well in advance of a change of ownership (generally at least 120 days), and authorizes sanctions against parties that acquire or operate a facility before approval. The goal is to keep operators with poor track records from quietly buying up facilities — a recurring driver of systemic neglect.

6. Mandatory Reporting — Welfare & Institutions Code § 15630

California law designates a broad class of “mandated reporters” — facility staff, health practitioners, and others — who must report known or suspected abuse of an elder or dependent adult to the appropriate agency, typically within hours. A facility’s failure to report, or its efforts to conceal abuse, can itself be powerful evidence of the conscious disregard at the heart of an EADACPA claim.

Federal Nursing Home Abuse Laws

Any nursing home that accepts Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement — which is the vast majority of California facilities — must also comply with a layer of federal law. These standards often run parallel to California’s and can be invoked alongside state claims.

Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 (OBRA ’87)

Part of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 and codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1395i-3 (Medicare) and § 1396r (Medicaid), the Nursing Home Reform Act created the modern national standard of care for nursing homes. Its implementing regulations, at 42 C.F.R. Part 483, guarantee each resident the right to be free from abuse, neglect, and inappropriate physical or chemical restraints; require an individualized comprehensive care plan; and obligate every facility to help each resident attain or maintain their highest practicable physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being. A violation of these federal standards frequently anchors both a negligence theory and a residents’-rights claim under California law.

Elder Justice Act of 2010

Enacted as part of the Affordable Care Act, the Elder Justice Act is the first comprehensive federal legislation aimed at preventing and prosecuting elder abuse. Among its provisions, the Act requires covered individuals at long-term care facilities to report any reasonable suspicion of a crime against a resident to law enforcement and the state survey agency. Facilities that fail to report — and whose failure permits further harm — face federal civil penalties of up to $300,000.

Older Americans Act

Originally passed in 1965 and most recently reauthorized through the Supporting Older Americans Act of 2020, this law funds a network of programs that protect older adults — most importantly the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, which provides independent advocates who investigate and resolve complaints on behalf of residents in nursing homes and assisted living facilities throughout California.

How State and Federal Law Work Together

In a real California nursing home case, these laws are not used in isolation — they reinforce one another. A typical claim arising from a preventable pressure wound or fall might combine: a negligence theory built on violations of Title 22 and the federal 42 C.F.R. Part 483 standards; an EADACPA cause of action seeking enhanced remedies where the facility’s conduct was reckless; and a § 1430(b) residents’-rights claim. CDPH citation history under the Long-Term Care Act supplies the documentary proof, and the Elder Justice Act’s reporting failures can demonstrate the facility’s state of mind. The interplay is exactly why these cases are best handled by attorneys who work in this area regularly.

Who Enforces These Laws in California

• California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Licensing & Certification Division — the primary regulator of skilled nursing facilities; investigates complaints and issues citations. CDPH Licensing & Certification.
• California Department of Social Services (CDSS), Community Care Licensing — licenses and oversees Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (assisted living).
• California Department of Aging — administers the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program created under the Older Americans Act.
• County Adult Protective Services (APS) — receives and investigates reports of abuse of elders and dependent adults living in the community.
• California Department of Justice — Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse — investigates and prosecutes criminal abuse and neglect in facilities.
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) — the federal agency enforcing the Nursing Home Reform Act for participating facilities.

Deadlines to File a Claim

Statutory protections mean nothing if the filing deadline passes. In general, ordinary negligence and EADACPA elder abuse claims must be filed within two years (Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1), and wrongful death claims within two years of the date of death — though the discovery rule can affect when the clock starts when abuse was concealed. Because these deadlines are unforgiving and the procedural pleading requirements for EADACPA are strict, families who suspect abuse should consult an attorney promptly. A fuller discussion of deadlines appears in what constitutes nursing home negligence in California.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nursing home abuse in California is still a huge problem. By way of example: The case of an 88-year-old Sacramento, California woman found dead in 2013 after living in a residential nursing home was unbelievably tragic. According to press reports, the elderly woman had developed severe bedsores, triggering sepsis–a life-threatening bacterial infection–and ultimately her death.

Who was to blame for this terrible neglect of an elderly Californian?

To the Department of Justice, it was the owner of the elder-care facility in which she had lived for many years. The federal government lodged felony charges, including manslaughter, against the operator. Local media called it one of the first prosecutions of its kind.

The ultimate resolution of this nursing home neglect case wasn’t immediately available, but the attention paid to such a high-profile case serves to highlight that elder abuse and elder neglect are serious crimes and severely punishable by law. In California, the state’s Welfare and Institutions Code Section 15610.57 requires that anyone caring for an adult exercise a “degree of care” that a reasonable person “in a like position” would exercise.

The statute defines neglect by the following (but is not limited to):

• Lack of medical care for physical or medical needs.
• Failure to protect from “health and safety hazards” and to “prevent malnutrition or dehydration.”
• Not assisting in personal hygiene or the “provision of food, clothing or shelter” and more.

Advocates with the Elder Justice Now initiative say the elderly deserve to be free from “abuse, neglect and exploitation.”

According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, as many as 10 percent of respondents in one major study said they experienced elder abuse within the previous year. Another study highlighted by the organization says “only one in 14 cases of elder abuse ever comes to the attention of authorities.”

Who abuses elders?

While the vast majority of abusers are family members according to the NCEA, many U.S. elderly have their care coordinated by supposedly trusted and regulated caregivers.

The federal Centers for Disease Control estimates that in 2012 approximately 8 million U.S. residents were under the care of about 58,500 “paid, regulated long-term care services providers.”

So how can you tell if something is going wrong with the care you’ve coordinated? Advocates with Elder Justice Now say the signs and symptoms of abuse can come in many forms and are not limited to the following:

• Bruising or other obvious signs of physical abuse
• Signs of poor attention or hygiene, including bedsores and sudden weight loss
• Issues with caregivers, such as belittling behavior or anger
• Sudden changes in finances

For bedsores, it’s important to be armed with information about how they form and the different stages.

• Bedsores form from prolonged pressure on the skin, according to the Mayo Clinic.
• They can be “very difficult” to treat.
• The four stages outlined by Mayo Clinic experts can run from simply: “tender” skin to “exposed muscle, bone or tendons” and even dead tissue.
• The sores can form in different areas depending on mobility. For people in wheelchairs, bedsores may appear on the tailbone or backs of arms. Individuals who are confined to their beds may develop sores on their hips, backs of shoulders, the tailbone and other areas.

How can I learn more?

Government experts with the Administration on Aging have described bedsores as “indicators of possible neglect” and urge those who suspect abuse to seek out resources, which they list by state. If someone’s life is in danger, call 9-1-1.

For a free consultation with California nursing home abuse and neglect attorney or on any accident or injury claim call Steven M. Sweat, Personal Injury Lawyers, APC, APC toll free at 866-966-5240.

Additional Resources

Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect – Laws of California