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Santa Clara Elder Neglect Lawyers
Santa Clara elder neglect attorneys helping protect California seniors since 1993
Every type of caretaker, from individual at-home helpers to large nursing homes, needs to take strong protective measures to ensure the safety of each senior they’re helping. These measures begin with the requirement to follow federal and California long-term care and personal care laws that regulate who can be a caretaker, what daily needs must be met, and what safety policies should be implemented. Caretakers should also follow common safety practices for their type of caretaker service. At Garcia & Artigliere, our Santa Clara elder neglect lawyers hold caretakers to their duty to protect your loved one from falls, malnutrition, medication errors, and all other types of neglect. We represent seniors in Santa Clara, throughout California, and across the United States. We’ve obtained more than $3 billion in recoveries.
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What type of senior care is neglectful in Santa Clara?
At Garcia & Artigliere, our Santa Clara elder care neglect attorneys have more than 150 years of combined experience representing seniors who suffer physical or emotional harm due to the neglect of their caretakers. Many types of neglect can cause permanent injuries. Some acts of neglect may be fatal.
Senior care regulations and oversight
Generally, long-term care facilities that submit bills to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are required to comply with CMS’s requirements. The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 provides for the regulation of long-term care facilities. California also has its own laws that provide for county adult protective service agencies and that grant nursing home residents specific rights.
We understand how these laws affect the rights of seniors. We also work with long-term care experts and other types of caretaker experts who understand the “best practices” that each type of caretaker should follow to ensure the safety of their residents/patients.
Common types of elder care neglect
Caretakers can generally be held liable for failing to provide the following care to anyone 60 or older:
- Daily living needs. Your loved one deserves to have quality nutrition, a safe place to live, and comfortable surroundings. He/she should be engaged with other seniors, family, and friends. Proper grooming and clean clothes are essential. Caretakers should spend time with your loved ones continually throughout each day. Seniors should be moved if they are sitting or lying down too long.
- Fall prevention. Most Santa Clara seniors have mobility issues. Residential care centers, adult daycare centers, and private homes should be regularly inspected for any risks that could your loved one to fall. Caretakers should ensure that wheelchairs and walkers function properly, that railings are secure, and the floors are dry and free of obstructions. Caretakers should help seniors get into and out of chairs, beds, and bathrooms. Negligent fall oversight can cause broken bones, spinal cord damage, and head trauma.
- Quality medical care. Many seniors take multiple medications. Many seniors who live in residential facilities have physical or cognitive disorders. Santa Clara caretakers should ensure the people in their care take their medications at the correct times and in the correct dosages. Caretakers should have the experience and education to respond to any health danger signs such as infections, bladder or bowel problems stroke, scabies, or pressure ulcers. Caretakers should promptly notify the senior’s doctors and families if any healthcare problems require medical care.
At Garcia & Artigliere, our Santa Clara elder care neglect lawyers also hold caretakers liable if they fail to prevent and respond to the following types of abuse or neglect:
- Physical abuse. Nursing homes and other caretakers should never participate in or tolerate punching, slapping, or any use of force on any resident. Unless medically authorized, chemical and physical restraints should not be used. Residents and patients should never be denied their medications or nutrition.
- Sexual abuse. No senior should ever be forced to engage in or watch sexual acts without their consent. No senior should be promised better treatment in return for sexual factors. Assisted living facilities and other types of caretakers should take proactive steps to prevent sexual abuse, respond to complaints, and discipline and discharge abusers. They should also help ensure that residents with cognitive disorders aren’t targeted because they can’t resist and can’t remember.
- Emotional neglect. Caretakers should never allow any staff member to intimidate, isolate, or insult a resident or patient in order to control or punish that resident or patient.
Why are Santa Clara caretakers neglectful?
At Garcia & Artilleries, our Santa Clara elder neglect lawyers are skilled at showing how neglect occurred and why it occurred. There is no requirement to show caretaker neglect was intentional. Most types of caretaker neglect are due to a lack of training, putting profit before service, and treating residents as paychecks instead of people.
Some of the common causes of caretaker neglect include:
- Failing to have an individual care plan. Long-term care facilities, adult care centers, and private home-care agencies should have specific plans of care for each person in their care. These plans should identify your loved one’s current physical, cognitive, and emotional condition. Caretakers should know what medications your loved one needs. The plan should have your contact information and the contact information for your loved one’s physicians.
- Failing to have broad best practice plans. In addition to individualized care plans, caretakers in Santa Clara should have policies and procedures in place to address the common types of problems seniors are likely to develop. In addition to fall prevention strategies, these police should identify, monitor, and treat the overall medical needs of all the patients such as drug inventory, nutrition and hydration, bedsores, bowel and bladder problems, wandering, and abandonment. These plans should also respect the rights of seniors by everyone on the caretaker’s staff.
- Not having enough staff members. Every type of caretaker of every size – overnight and day – must have enough qualified staff members for every elderly person in their care. Your loved one deserves and needs group attention but also individual attention. Attention includes a senior’s healthcare, social care, and general happiness. There should be enough staff members so that your loved one sees multiple staff members – so that he/she doesn’t rely totally on one person.
- Failing to conduct background checks. Caretakers should ensure that the people they hire have the proper credentials, licenses, education, and experience. Regular background checks are also necessary to discover whether a staff member has any prior criminal record or current red flags that suggest he/she might be a danger to your loved one.
- A lack of quality education or training. A main factor that causes Santa Clara elder car neglect is a lack of training. Caretakers should understand the signs and symptoms of abuse, how to identify the possible sources of neglect, and how to respond to common senior difficulties. They should understand the unique challenges of working with residents and patients who have dementia or Alzheimer’s and who have specific types of physical and emotional disorders.
Santa Clara caretakers should also have policies and procedures to identify complaints about abuse or neglect and respond to them promptly.
How do your attorneys hold Santa Clara caretakers who neglect your loved one accountable?
Garcia & Artigliere recommends that you speak with our Santa Clara elder neglect lawyers promptly. We need to notify the caretaker that your loved one is being harmed and how they’re being harmed. The odds are that if your loved one is being neglected, other seniors in their care are also being neglected.
Our attorneys fight for seniors who are neglected by working with:
- The Santa Clara Long-Term Care Ombudsman and the Santa Clara Department of Aging and Adult Services, if your loved one lives in a long-term care facility.
- The local police, if criminal charges are filed due to abuse
- Investigators who examine the facility or home where your loved one is staying
- Professionals who understand what competent care the caretaker should have provided
- Your loved one’s doctors and our network of elder care doctors, to understand the harm that was caused, how that harm is affecting your loved one’s ability to function and enjoy life, and the type of medical help your loved one will need.
We file personal injury claims to hold the caretaker accountable for the cost of medical care, your loved one’s pain and suffering, and your loved one’s loss of quality of life.
We also file wrongful death actions if Santa Clara caretaker neglect tragically caused the death of your loved one.
Do you have a Santa Clara elder neglect lawyer near me?
Garcia & Artigliere represents seniors throughout California, including Santa Clara seniors. We also make arrangements to see seniors who are too ill to come to our office at their homes, their residential facilities, by phone, and through video conferences.
We’ll answer all your questions and fight for the full compensation your loved one deserves.
The Santa Clara elder neglect lawyers at Garcia & Artigliere have the experience and resources your loved one needs
At Garcia & Artigliere, our Santa Clara elder neglect lawyers understand the unique challenges involved in representing the elderly. Most seniors already had physical problems before they were neglected. Many have cognitive challenges. Many are hesitant to assert their rights. We’re skilled at encouraging seniors to fight for their rights. We’re skilled at negotiating settlements – and also trying cases in court. We file individual actions and class actions.
To help restore your loved one’s health and hope, call or complete our contact form today to schedule a free, confidential consultation. We represent seniors in Santa Clara, Los Angeles, Long Beach, and all across California. We also fight for seniors in Arizona, Kentucky, and Louisiana. We handle elder neglect claims for seniors on a contingency fee basis.
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