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San Bernardino Elder Neglect Lawyers
Strong advocacy from San Bernardino elder neglect attorneys for seniors who are harmed due to neglect by their caretakers
Every type of caretaker must follow basic standards of care to protect seniors from harm. These standards are established by federal laws, California laws, and caretaker best practices. Most injuries to seniors are preventable. Your loved one is likely already in a nursing home, in a long-term care facility, or receiving at-home care because their body has started to wear down. Caretakers must take every reasonable precaution to ensure that your loved one’s condition doesn’t worsen. At Garcia & Artigliere, our San Bernardino elder neglect lawyers have 150 combined years of experience. We represent the elderly in San Bernardino, across California, and nationwide. In 2022 alone, we obtained more than $50 million in recoveries.
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How are San Bernardino caretakers neglectful?
At Garcia & Artigliere, our San Bernardino elder neglect lawyers understand how even minor neglect can cause significant harm and how major neglect may cause permanent injuries or deaths. Since 1993, we’ve been fighting to ensure that nursing homes, at-home senior health agencies, and other caretakers pay compensation when their irresponsible conduct causes harm. We hold caretakers to their duty to follow federal and California laws. We’re skilled at showing that the caretaker for your loved one failed to take common-sense fair reasonable steps to ensure the safety of your loved one.
Caretaker neglect includes:
- Not providing a senior’s daily living requirements. Caretakers of the elderly need to provide quality nutrition, clothing, shelter, and medical care. Seniors should be socially engaged. Your loved one should be properly groomed and should wear clean clothes. Caretakers should regularly ensure that your loved one is healthy and as comfortable as possible.
- Not taking steps to prevent falls. Many seniors have difficulty with their balance. Caretakers in San Bernardino need to ensure that the facilities of the senior’s home have floors that are cleared, that there are railings to grab onto, and that any risk of a fall is removed. Seniors with wheelchairs, walkers, and canes should be helped into and out of chairs, beds, and sofas. Falls can cause head trauma, spinal cord damage, broken bones, and other serious injuries. Some falls may be deadly.
- Failing to provide proper medical care. The caretaker should have procedures in place to ensure each senior receives their proper medications, in the proper amounts, at the proper times. The caretaker should record when each medication is given and look for any adverse reactions, such as allergic reactions. Caretakers in San Bernardino should be trained to respond immediately if a senior shows signs of infection, stroke, pressure ulcers, or scabies. Physicians and family should be contacted immediately in the event of an emergency.
San Bernardino elder care neglect also includes failing to prevent the following types of harm:
- Physical abuse. Physical and chemical restraints should never be used unless medically authorized. Bedsores, fractures, and any type of physical harm can normally be prevented if the caretaker anticipates these medical problems in advance.
- Sexual abuse. Long-term care facilities and other caretakers need to understand who might sexually abuse a senior, have policies in place to prevent sexual abuse, respond immediately to sexual abuse when it occurs, and know the signs of sexual abuse.
- Emotional neglect. Assisted living facilities and other caretakers need to ensure that the seniors they care for are in communication with loved ones, participate in social activities, and never feel afraid or guilty.
Why does neglect of the elderly occur in San Bernardino?
At Garcia & Artigliere, our San Bernardino elder neglect attorneys work with elder care doctors, nursing home professionals, and others to show that preventable caretaker neglect harmed your loved one. Neglect means that the caretaker owed your loved one a duty of care, that the caretaker breached that duty, and that your loved one suffered harm due to the breach. Showing that the harm was intentional is not required in claims for elder care neglect.
A caretaker who fails to implement any of the following may be liable for neglect:
- Having an individual care plan. Caretakers need to review every physical, emotional, and cognitive challenge each person in their case has. Then, specific courses of action or treatment should be determined to best manage these challenges. The courses of action should include preventive steps, medical treatments, when and how to contact family members, the contact information for the physician of the person being cared for, and other details.
- Having an overall best practices care plan. Long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, and other caretaker providers need to have policies and procedures in place to anticipate, monitor, and respond to the common problems that seniors have. Common problems include preventing falls, administering medications properly, pressure ulcers, nutrition, and ensuring that the rights of seniors are understood and respected.
- Proper staffing levels. Nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other San Bernardino caretakers should have enough qualified staff members for each senior – so each elderly person receives the care, warmth, and attention they deserve – throughout the entire day.
- Conducting background checks.Caretakers need to ensure that the people they hire to care for your loved ones have the proper credentials, licenses, training, and experience. Caretakers also need to know if any red flags might cause problems, such as a prior criminal record or prior disciplinary actions.
- Educating caretaker staff members. Whether a staff member is working at a nursing home, a senior’s home, or some other location; staff members should be trained to help seniors with their physical, cognitive, and emotional challenges. Helping seniors with dementia or Alzheimer’s requires extensive education and training.
- Having systems in place to monitor and report abuse. No senior should ever suffer physical, sexual, or emotional abuse.
How do your lawyers fight for seniors who are being neglected in San Bernardino?
Garcia & Artigliere strongly encourages you to talk with our respected San Bernardino elder care neglect lawyers quickly. The neglect will likely continue until a complaint is filed. Other seniors are likely being neglected too. Our San Bernardino elder neglect attorneys will explain your loved one’s options and help you choose the best response.
We fight for your loved one in the following ways:
- We coordinate your loved one’s case with any criminal charges.
- We work with the local adult protective service agency and the San Bernardino Long-Term Care Ombudsman if the senior lives in a long-term care facility.
- We review what medical care your loved one needs and all the ways the neglect has made your loved one’s life much more difficult – physically and emotionally.
- Our legal team files personal injury claims to hold the caretaker liable for your loved one’s medical expenses, pain and suffering, loss of bodily function, and loss of quality of life.
- Our legal team files wrongful death actions for the burial and funeral costs, any financial losses such as the loss of inheritance, and the loss of personal guidance and love your parent or other relative would have provided each family member.
Your loved one’s claim helps ensure that all seniors under the care of the assisted living facility or other caretaker are protected.
Do you have a San Bernardino elder neglect lawyer near me?
Garcia & Artigliere fights for seniors who suffer due to the neglect of their caretakers. We’ll explain how the claims process works, work with the senior’s doctors and our network of doctors to show just how harmful the neglect is, and fight for full compensation for your loved one. We handle elder neglect claims across California.
The San Bernardino elder neglect lawyers at Garcia & Artigliere are ready to help your loved one now
At Garcia & Artigliere, our San Bernardino elder neglect lawyers are respected by former clients, insurance companies, and the legal community for our compassion for our clients, our thorough preparation, our strong advocacy, and our network of experienced medical care and caretaker professionals. We’re ready to help show the harm your loved one is suffering due to caretaker neglect.
To schedule a free, confidential consultation with one of our experienced San Bernadino elder neglect lawyers, call or contact our offices. Garcia & Artigliere has offices in Long Beach and Los Angeles and serve clients throughout California.
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