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Los Angeles Lawyers Handling Claims of Physical Abuse of the Elderly
Strong representation when the elderly are physically abused in California
It can be hard to imagine that a caretaker in a nursing home, an assisted living facility, a senior’s private home, or any other office or facility, would deliberately strike your parent or any other senior in your family. Sadly, physical abuse happens all too often. Many seniors with cognitive impairments often don’t even understand that they have been violated. The elderly who are otherwise healthy may be afraid to report the abuse due to the fear of further abuse. Seniors who are physically abused need medical attention and skilled representation to stop the abuse. They deserve compensation for their physical and emotional harm.
At Garcia & Artigliere, our California elder abuse lawyers represent seniors who suffer injuries that require hospitalization, ER care, or any other type of medical care. We’ve been fighting for physically abused seniors and their families since 1993. Our record of success in physical abuse and other elder care cases across the nation includes recoveries for more than $3 billion. We’re skilled at all phases of elder care representation from the initial investigation and evidence-gathering to understanding which laws protect you and explaining to adjusters and juries why you deserve full compensation.
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How can we help?
- What is physical abuse?
- What factors indicate physical abuse of the elderly in Los Angeles?
- Why does physical abuse of the elderly happen in Los Angeles?
- What types of injuries do physically abused seniors suffer in Los Angeles?
- Who is accountable for the physical abuse of the elderly?
- How much is my California senior physical abuse claim worth?
- Are there time limits for filing my elder abuse claim in California?
- Do you have an elder abuse lawyer near me?
What is physical abuse?
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines physical abuse as happening when a senior (generally, any person 60 or older) “experiences illness, pain, injury, functional impairment, distress, or death as a result of the intentional use of physical force and includes acts such as hitting, kicking, pushing, slapping, and burning.”
Physical abuse is against the law. Anyone who strikes a senior could be charged with a crime. Physical abuse can include direct physical force, sexual contact or abuse, or more passive force such as the use of physical restraints or chemical restraints.
What factors indicate physical abuse of the elderly?
Seniors need your help. Children, other close relatives, friends, other caretakers, and anyone who cares for the elderly should be concerned if a senior:
- Is bleeding
- Has a bruise, scar, or cut that cannot be explained
- Is anxious, irritable, or upset
- Has a mood change
- Stays away from people he/she normally trusts
- Loses or gains weight
- Has insomnia
- Is unusually quiet
- Continues to have injuries after the current one heals
- Needs emergency room or other immediate medical care
- Give vague or unclear answers to questions
- Dies unexpectedly
Why does physical abuse of the elderly happen in Los Angeles?
While many of the people who physically abuse a senior are caretakers; family members, nursing home visitors, third-party contractors, and many other people may physically abuse a senior. Even other residents may be physically abusive.
Some of the common reasons caretakers may abuse a senior are:
- A lack of experience working with seniors who have cognitive, physical, or emotional difficulties
- Overwork
- Substance abuse due to alcohol or drugs
- Antisocial behavior
Nursing homes in Los Angeles may be liable for physical abuse of the elderly due to:
- A lack of qualified staff
- Worker burnout
- The failure to check a staff worker’s prior criminal record or complaints from other nursing homes
- The failure to employ and train physicians and medical professionals and use other means to ensure the nursing home employees have the learning to handle dementia and Alzheimer’s patients
- Failure to monitor the staff
- Failure to have supervisors or independent caretakers speak with the senior or to rotate the caretakers
- Not having policies and procedures to anticipate and respond to physical abuse of the elderly
Visitors and other non-caretakers may physically abuse a senior for many reasons. The reason isn’t critical. What is critical is that nursing homes and others have policies and procedures in place to minimize outside unsupervised contact with seniors and to hold the abusers accountable immediately.
What types of injuries do physically abused seniors suffer in Los Angeles?
The elderly are especially prone to more severe injuries and need more time to heal. Physical abuse may cause head injuries, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, traumatic amputation, broken bones, burns, hearing or vision loss, nerve damage, and many other types of severe harm.
Physical abuse may cause a resident to suffer illness and medical disorders due to medical neglect or medication mistakes. Medical neglect may include failing to ensure that the resident receives prompt medical care and receives the correct medications in the correct dosages at the correct time. Medications should never be used to restrain a resident or given with the knowledge the resident will suffer.
Many residents who are physically abused live the rest of their lives in agony. Some physical assaults are deadly.
Who is accountable for the physical abuse of the elderly?
The physical abuser should be held liable through criminal complaints when necessary and disciplinary actions, including employment termination by any agencies, nursing homes, or facilities that employ the abuse. The abuser should also be subject to civil lawsuits to send a financial message to the abuser and to help compensate the senior victim.
Entities like nursing homes and the management of a nursing home or agency may be accountable if the abuser was an employee or the conduct of the abuser was in the control of the nursing home. For example, there should be a system in place to ensure all visitors sign in and that a responsible person personally views the visitor before admitting the visitor.
Our Los Angeles physical abuse lawyers are skilled at showing which people and businesses in addition to the abuser are civilly responsible for any physical abuse of a senior.
How much is my California senior physical abuse claim worth?
At Garcia & Artigliere, our Los Angeles elder abuse lawyers have helped 3,500 people obtain strong recoveries for elder abuse and neglect. We demand full compensation for the harm any senior suffers due to abuse. Compensation includes:
- All current and future medical expenses of any nature
- All lost wages and lost income
- The senior’s daily physical pain and emotional suffering
- Loss of quality of life
- Loss of function of any body part
Physical abuse is unconscionable. It’s not just a negligent act. It’s an intentional act. For this reason, we usually seek punitive damages against the wrongdoers to compensate the victim and send a message that physical abuse of a senior must never occur again.
If a loved one died due to physical abuse, our Los Angeles physical abuse lawyers file a wrongful death claim on behalf of the family of the senior.
Are there time limits for filing my elder abuse claim in California?
Don’t wait. Physical abuse needs to stop now. Today. The abuse needs to be reported – to the police, to the state ombudsman if the abuse occurred at a nursing home, to the Adult Protective Services for Los Angeles, and to our experienced Los Angeles physical abuse lawyers.
The timelines for filing a physical abuse complaint are short. There are civil time limits and criminal time limits. The time limits may vary depending on who the defendant is and whether the claim is an elder abuse claim, a wrongful death claim, or some other type of claim. The sooner you contact us, the better.
At Garcia & Artigliere, we will:
- Answer your questions
- Review what medical care is required
- Explain who needs to be notified – we’ll do the notifying for you
- Investigate how and why physical abuse occurred
- Review what notice an agency, nursing home, or other responsible entity had about the abuse, the abuser, and any complaints of physical abuse by the senior or any other seniors
- Encourage your loved one to come forward
Do you have an elder abuse lawyer near me?
Everyone responsible for physical abuse needs to be held accountable. Often, more than one senior is being abused. At Garcia & Artigliere, our Los Angeles elder abuse attorneys are relentless advocates for the elderly who suffer abuse and the families of seniors if their loved one died from the physical abuse. We’ll guide you through this difficult upsetting time.
Stop physical abuse today. Talk with our California elder abuse lawyers at Garcia & Artigliere now
Seniors have the right to love their remaining years. Physical abuse causes more than injuries and physical pain. Physical abuse by a caretaker or anyone the caretaker manages robs seniors of their trust and their spirit. The emotional suffering is often just as traumatic as the physical pain.
At Garcia & Artigliere, our Los Angeles senior physical abuse lawyers have been fighting for the abused since 1993. Our team is skilled at showing what abuse occurred, why it occurred, and how it should have been stopped. We work with doctors who can verify the full scope and damage of your injuries.
To assert your rights, call or contact our offices today to schedule a free case evaluation. We maintain additional offices in Long Beach, Louisville, New Orleans and Phoenix, and represent seniors across the United States. We will only receive compensation if you do.
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