If you have to place your loved one in a memory care facility, you understand that their health condition makes them vulnerable as it is. So it is traumatizing to hear that this new environment has made them even more vulnerable to abusive activities. Continue reading to learn why such abuse commonly occurs and how an experienced California memory care facility abuse lawyer at Cowdrey & Jenkins LLP can help you take matters into your own hands.
Why does memory care facility abuse commonly occur in the state of California?
First of all, your loved one may be in a memory care facility because they suffer from a mental impairment, such as Alzheimer’s, dementia, or otherwise. The facility nurses and staff are supposed to aid in the health, social, and safety concerns that you may have surrounding your loved one’s memory disorder and how it affects their day-to-day activities.
However, sometimes facility nurses and staff take advantage of your loved one’s defenselessness. They may do so by functioning below the acceptable standard of care or even overtly mistreating your loved one. And they may do this to make their jobs easier, with no concern that your loved one is going to remember the incident or otherwise have the capacity to report it.
With that being said, facility nurses and staff may mistreat your loved one in any of the following ways:
- Physical abuse: for example, they may rough handle your loved one while providing care.
- Emotional abuse: for example, they may yell at your loved one in front of other residents.
- Sexual abuse: for example, they may constrain your loved one and take advantage of them.
- Financial abuse: for example, they may take your loved one’s possessions while they are asleep.
- Neglect: for example, they may forget to deliver meals to your loved one.
What should I do if my loved one is abused in this facility?
If you are under the strong suspicion that your loved one is being abused in their memory care facility, then you must rise as their protector. That is, you must immediately report the incident to your local law enforcement, the facility’s management, and the California Department of Social Services.
Once these official reports are recorded and you transfer your loved one to a safe environment, you must consider filing an elder abuse claim on their behalf. Such legal action may just be the only way that these abusive, negligent facility nurses and staff are held accountable. What’s more, it may just be the only way to stop other facility residents from being made victims of abuse.
It should go without saying that you must consult with a skilled California elder abuse lawyer immediately. Give us a call when you can.