Nursing Home Abuse Claims

Elder Abuse Attorney

Helping clients in Northern California win legal victories for over 25 years.
“Nursing Homes and assisted living facilities are required to follow numerous federal and state laws to protect the residence from abuse and neglect. The law provides patients with a Bill of Rights which serve the residents to be safe. If a nursing home is participating in Medicare and Medicaid they must comply with these rules. This law, known as the Nursing Home Reform Act, says that nursing homes “must provide services and activities to attain or maintain the highest practicable physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being of each resident in accordance with a written plan of care.” 
Under federal nursing home regulations, nursing homes must:
  • Have sufficient nursing staff. (42 CFR §483.30)
  • Conduct initially a comprehensive and accurate assessment of each resident’s functional capacity. (42 CFR §483.20)
  • Develop a comprehensive care plan for each resident. (42 CFR §483.20)
  • Prevent the deterioration of a resident’s ability to bathe, dress, groom, transfer and ambulate, toilet, eat, and to communicate. (42 CFR §483.25)
  • Provide, if a resident is unable to carry out activities of daily living, the necessary services to maintain good nutrition, grooming, and personal oral hygiene. (42 CFR §483.25)
  • Provide appropriate treatment and services to incontinent residents to restore as much normal bladder functioning as possible. (42 CFR §483.25)
  • Maintain acceptable parameters of nutritional status. (42 CFR §483.25)
  • Promote each resident’s quality of life. (42 CFR §483.15)
  • Maintain dignity and respect of each resident. (42 CFR §483.15)
  • Ensure that the resident has the right to choose activities, schedules, and health care. (42 CFR §483.40)
  • Provide pharmaceutical services to meet the needs of each resident. (42 CFR §483.60)
  • Be administered in a manner that enables it [the nursing home] to use its resources effectively and efficiently. (42 CFR §483.75)
  • Maintain accurate, complete, and easily accessible clinical records on each resident. (42 CFR §483.75)

To report abuse from a long term care facility call the Sacramento County Long Term Ombudsman at (916) 375 8910 or the crisis line at (800) 231 4024. Abuse to an elder at home requires if necessary a call to Sacramento County Adult Protective Services at (916) 874 9377. For other areas the Department of Justice pamphlet “Citizen’s Guide to Elder Abuse” link is htttp://ag.ca.gov//bmfea/pdrs/citizens guide.pdf
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