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Garcia & Artigliere is committed to protecting nursing home, assisted living, and other long-term care residents from abuse. If you have any reason to believe your loved one is unsafe, please reach out to us immediately.
Elder Abuse Lawyers
Handling elder abuse claims in nursing homes, assisted living, and other residential care facilities
Seniors, anyone 60 or older, have the right to live their remaining years in the best health possible – enjoying family and friends and participating in the activities they enjoy. Sadly, many seniors do not get to fully enjoy this right. The elderly may be abused at their home, the home of a family member, a nursing home, or any other type of assisted or long-term facility. The abuser may be nursing home staff, caregivers, family members, friends, or strangers. Due to neglect, seniors may not get the care they need. Some seniors are abandoned, forgotten, and ignored.
At Garcia & Artigliere, our elder abuse lawyers understand how traumatic and dangerous elder abuse is. We’ve been fighting for seniors who suffer abuse or neglect for more than 150 combined years. During our decades of representation, we’ve served as legal counsel for aggrieved consumers in lawsuits leading to more than $3 billion in recovery for afflicted consumers throughout the United States. We are trial lawyers; we prepare every case for a jury trial. We have sought justice for victims of abuse, carelessness, and everything in between. When it comes time to get justice for your loved ones, we help seniors and families hold the perpetrators of abuse and neglect, and everyone who should have stopped the abuse and neglect, accountable.
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Who can I sue for elder abuse?
Garcia & Artigliere helps individuals and families file elder abuse lawsuits and class action claims against:
- Nursing Homes
- Residential Care for the Elderly (RCFE) Facilities
- Skilled Nursing Facilities
- Adult Day Services Programs
- Continuing Care Retirement Communities
- Assisted Living Facilities
- Intermediate Care Facilities
- Memory Care Facilities
If your loved one was living in a long-term senior care facility and sustained injuries from elder abuse at that facility, call today.
What is elder abuse?
Garcia & Artigliere handles all types of elder abuse including the following types defined by the National Institute on Aging (NIA):
- Physical abuse. This type of unconscionable treatment includes punching, striking, slapping, pushing, or causing bodily harm to a senior in any way. Physical abuse may also include the use of physical or chemical restraints
- Emotional abuse. Many abusers try to control seniors through the use of psychological or behavioral abuse. Emotional abuse includes isolating a senior, preventing the senior from seeing family and friends, and stopping the senior from engaging in social activities. Emotional abuse also includes threatening a senior yelling, saying hurtful things, refusing to respond to the senior, and many other demeaning actions.
- Sexual abuse. This abuse involves any type of nonconsensual sexual contact with a senior including sexual contact with someone who has dementia. Rape, sexual assault, and promises of better treatment in return for sexual contact are all considered sexual abuse.
- Neglect. Elder abuse in nursing homes and outside of nursing homes includes dehydration, malnutrition, bedsores, failure to create and implement care plans for seniors with dementia or other health disorders, medication errors, and many other types of neglectful conduct.
According to the NIA, about 10 percent of all seniors suffer some type of abuse during their lifetime.
What are the signs of elder abuse?
The physical and psychological effects of senior abuse will vary. Family members and friends should be on the lookout for unexplained injuries or conditions that linger for an extended period.
Physical signs of elder abuse may include:
- Welts, bruises, and cuts
- Dental issues
- Head injuries
- Bedsores
- Consistent physical pain and discomfort
- Nutrition and hydration concerns
- Sleep disruptions
- Worsening of preexisting health conditions
- Unexplained weight loss
- Any signs of being restrained
- Broken bones
Some of the signs of emotional or sexual abuse of the elderly include:
- High levels of distress and anxiety
- Withdrawal or increasing depression
- A dramatic change in sleeping or eating habits
- Confusion or contradictory statements
- A feeling of helplessness or hopelessness
- Signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Rocking back and forth
Sexual abuse may also include bruises, cuts, scars, and other physical harm especially in the sexual parts of the body.
Signs of neglect may include falls, unsanitary living conditions, medication errors, bladder and bowel injuries, wandering and elopement, not asserting any rights that a senior would normally assert, and many other conditions.
What should seniors or families do when mistreatment of the elderly occurs?
Signs of elder abuse can be challenging to recognize or may be confused for symptoms of dementia or a senior’s frailty. Many of the signs and symptoms of elder neglect and abuse do overlap with symptoms of mental stress. It is important to be aware and involved, so you can prevent elder neglect and abuse from occurring in the first place. As a loved one, the following actions can help prevent elder neglect and abuse at a residential or long-term care facility:
- Visit as often as you can, at random times. Communicate by phone or email when you can’t be there in person.
- Monitor the staff to ensure they are competent and attentive.
- Monitor the elder’s medications to make sure they are being taken according to the prescription from the doctor.
- Ask the elder if you can monitor their checking account and credit card statements for financial abuse and unauthorized transactions.
- Report any signs of nursing home abuse to the state ombudsman.
- Help the senior assert his/her federal and Medicare/Medicaid rights
If you suspect harm to a senior, you should call an attorney who specializes in nursing home abuse immediately to get help with the reporting and the claims process. Our highly respected elder abuse lawyer will help you navigate the bureaucracy of filing a complaint with the local police department, with protective services, and with the state ombudsman - as well as provide support for you during the investigation.
We’ll also explain the right of the senior or anyone acting on their behalf to file a personal injury claim. If a loved one died, we’ll file a wrongful death claim on behalf of the family members.
How do your elder abuse lawyers fight for abused or neglected seniors?
At Garcia & Artigliere, we understand that elder abuse is a traumatic experience for the elderly loved one and caregiver. It is our mission to put an end to elder abuse and recoup all damages associated with such treatment. If you strongly suspect that a loved one is being abused at a long-term care facility, or if you have already discovered evidence of abuse, taking a proactive approach will help ensure the best outcome.
We have handled more than 3,500 elder and dependent adult neglect and abuse cases around the country. Among our achievements, Garcia & Artigliere has:
- Acted as counsel in the largest Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act settlement in California history, totaling more $38,600,00;
- Secured a more than $19,000,000.00 arbitration award as to medical devices;
- Handled numerous class action claims including obtaining over $100,000,000.00 in awards for afflicted elder and dependent adults in those actions; and
- Obtained over 50 seven-figure awards and verdicts, many for more than $1 million dollars.
Do you have an elder abuse lawyer near me?
Garcia & Artigliere represents seniors and the families of seniors whenever abuse occurs. We’ll answer all your questions, calmly and clearly guide you through the claims process, fight to hold the wrongdoers accountable, and fight to restore your dignity.
Get help now. Call the elder abuse lawyers at Garcia & Artigliere today
At Garcia & Artigliere, we demand that the people and businesses who break the trust of your parent, grandparent, or another beloved senior be held accountable. We seek the maximum compensation the law permits to compensate the elderly, their families and to protect other seniors who may be subject to similar acts of abuse. To assert your rights, call or contact our offices today to schedule a free, confidential consultation. We represent nursing home residents and families in California, Louisiana, Arizona, and across the United States. There are no upfront costs. We don’t recover unless you recover.
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Garcia & Artigliere is committed to protecting nursing home, assisted living, and other long-term care residents from abuse. If you have any reason to believe your loved one is unsafe, please reach out to us immediately.