Nursing Home & Elder Abuse

• Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against California Nursing Homes

  Randy Walton | November 07, 2007 2:41 PM | 0 CommentsSan Diego County, CA

  A class action lawsuit for substandard nursing home care was filed in Orange County Superior Court against S&F Management Company, Inc.; S&F Management Company, LLC; Windsor Healthcare Management, Inc.; and its 15 skilled nursing care facilities around the state of California.Stephen Garcia, attorney for the plaintiff, alleges in the complaint that Windsor promotes itself in a misleading way,...

• Elder Abuse: Woman Dies After Leaving Palomar Heights Care Center

  Scott Barber | November 27, 2007 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsSan Diego County, CA

  A 94 year-old resident of Palomar Heights Care Center in Escondido died early Thanksgiving morning after wandering out of the facility and being struck by a car. To compound matters the resident, Maria Cobian, was wearing a bracelet intended to alert staff if she attempted to leave the facility. According to Escondido Police, the only door the bracelet doesn't trigger an alarm. "Either she...

• Nearly Half of California Nursing Homes Do Not Meet Federal Standards

  Randy Walton | February 11, 2008 2:46 PM | 0 CommentsSan Diego County, CA

  Medicare and Medicaid released a report this week listing nursing homes and hospitals from around the country that have fallen below benchmarks set for patient restraints, bedsores, and surgical infections. Of the 1400 California nursing homes, 674 made the list.The purpose in releasing the specific nursing homes was to hold accountable the private contractors hired by Medicare and Medicaid to...

• California Budget Cuts May Endanger Elderly

  Randy Walton | January 25, 2008 3:53 PM | 0 CommentsSan Diego County, CA

  Governor Schwarzenegger's proposed cuts of the California budget may increase the risk of elder neglect and abuse to the nearly 150,000 elderly residents of nursing and residential care facilities.According to the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR), the proposed cuts will reduce inspections and will further cripple an already struggling program. Moreover, a reduction in the...

• Fancy Nursing Home, Shocking Death

  Randy Walton | December 20, 2007 3:32 PM | 0 CommentsSan Diego County, CA

  Because part of my law practice involves representing seniors in nursing homes who have been subjected to abuse or neglect, I am frequently asked for recommendations for a "good" nursing home. I respond that I don't know any. But on the other hand, I tell the person asking, I don't necessarily know the "bad" ones either. One thing I have learned, in cases against fancy chain homes or the...

• Riverside County Nursing Home Fined After Death of Resident

  Walton Barber, LLP | December 03, 2007 10:58 AM | 0 CommentsSan Diego County, CA

  Our firm represents individuals and families all over Southern California in cases involving nursing home neglect and abuse, and has seen first hand just how bad care can be in certain nursing homes. But I still get shocked at some of the carelessness that occurs by those taking care of some of our most fragile citizens. Take this story elder neglect just up the freeway in Fontana.Regulators...

• Nursing Home Advocates Rip Governor's Veto

  Randy Walton | November 01, 2007 10:11 AM | 0 CommentsSan Diego County, CA

  Advocates for nursing home residents were stunned by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's veto of a bill that would have required state nursing home inspectors to complete complaint investigations of abuse and neglect in a timely manner. The bill, which required that investigations be completed in 40 days, had broad support in Sacramento. "I think its garbage," said Pat McGinnis, executive director...

• A Ghoulish Story of Dependent Adult Abuse

  Randy Walton | October 31, 2007 11:21 AM | 0 CommentsSan Diego County, CA

  This Halloween a San Luis Obispo transplant surgeon is accused of dependent adult abuse after allegedly prescribing excessive painkillers and sedatives to expedite the death of a 25-year-old patient with the hope of harvesting his organs.Prosecutors say Dr. Hootan Roozrokh ordered massive doses of drugs to speed the death of 25-year-old Ruben Navarro last year. Navarro was taken to Sierra Vista...

• Bill to Protect Nursing Home Abuse Victims Vetoed

  Randy Walton | October 19, 2007 8:22 PM | 0 CommentsSan Diego County, CA

  Only hours before it would become law, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed AB 399, a popular assembly bill that would have required the California Department of Public Health to complete investigations of nursing home neglect and abuse complaints within reasonable time limits and to notify complainants of findings. According to the California Advocates of Nursing Home Reform (CANHR), abuse...

• Nursing Home Neglect: Medicare Patients Not Receiving Quality Care

  Randy Walton | October 17, 2007 10:39 AM | 0 CommentsSan Diego County, CA

  A UCLA study has revealed that vulnerable elderly patients receive only 65 percent of the tests and other diagnostic evaluations and treatments for a number of conditions, including heart disease and diabetes.The research was gathered from 100,258 community-dwelling geriatric residents in 19 California counties. All the patients studied were enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid, and all a mean...