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If your loved one was neglected in a Los Angeles nursing home, you have the right to hold the facility accountable. Neglect in a skilled nursing facility is rarely an accident. It is the predictable result of a facility’s choices about staffing, training, and supervision.
At The Elder Justice Firm, our Los Angeles nursing home neglect lawyers represent residents and families throughout Los Angeles County. We investigate how the harm occurred, prove what the facility failed to do, and handle every case on a contingency-fee basis, with no fees unless we recover for you. Call (855) 880-4500 today for a free, confidential case evaluation.
California law treats nursing home neglect as a distinct legal wrong, separate from intentional abuse. Under Welfare and Institutions Code Section 15610.57, neglect is the negligent failure of a caregiver to provide the care that a reasonable person would provide. That includes the failure to assist with hygiene, to provide food, water, and medical care, and to protect a resident from health and safety hazards.
The broader definition of abuse under Welfare and Institutions Code Section 15610.07 covers physical abuse, neglect, financial exploitation, and isolation. Neglect is the most common form of harm in skilled nursing facilities, and it usually looks like inaction rather than a single violent act.
A resident develops a pressure ulcer because no one repositioned him. Another falls because no one answered the call light. A third becomes dehydrated because no one tracked her fluid intake.
When a facility admits a resident, it accepts a legal duty to provide for that resident’s basic needs. California holds the facility to that duty, and it does not excuse a breach because the facility was short-staffed. Our team builds cases around that duty and the specific ways a facility fell short of it.
Nursing home neglect takes several forms, and most of our Los Angeles cases involve one or more of the following failures of basic care.
Pressure ulcers develop when sustained pressure cuts off blood flow to the skin, usually because staff failed to reposition an immobile resident. Advanced bedsores expose muscle and bone, invite infection, and are almost always preventable. We treat a late-stage pressure ulcer as a warning sign of neglect.
Falls happen when a facility ignores a resident’s known fall risk. Missing bed alarms, unanswered call lights, wet floors, and thin supervision all contribute. For an older adult, a hip fracture or head injury from a preventable fall can begin a rapid and irreversible decline.
Residents who cannot feed themselves depend on staff for every meal and every glass of water. When a facility is understaffed, feeding and hydration are among the first tasks to slip. Unexplained weight loss, sunken features, and repeated urinary tract infections often signal malnutrition or dehydration.
Medication neglect includes missed doses, incorrect doses, and dangerous drug combinations. It also includes chemical restraint, the practice of sedating residents with antipsychotic drugs for staff convenience rather than a genuine medical need. California treats improper chemical restraint as physical abuse under Welfare and Institutions Code Section 15610.63.
Untreated bedsores, unclean catheters, and poor hygiene allow infections to take hold and spread. When staff fails to recognize and treat an infection early, it can progress to sepsis, a life-threatening emergency. Preventable sepsis is one of the most serious outcomes of nursing home neglect.
Residents with dementia can wander from a facility that fails to supervise them or secure its exits. Elopement exposes vulnerable residents to traffic, weather, and falls, sometimes with fatal results. A facility that admits memory-care residents must plan for their safety.
Behind almost every neglect case is a facility that did not put enough staff on the floor. California sets a minimum standard for direct care, and many facilities fall short of it while admitting more residents than they can safely serve.
Under Health and Safety Code Section 1276.65, skilled nursing facilities must provide at least 3.5 direct care service hours per patient day, including 2.4 hours from certified nurse assistants. When a facility staffs below that level, residents wait longer for repositioning, toileting, and feeding. Those delays are where pressure ulcers, falls, and dehydration begin.
The scale of the problem is documented. According to the HHS Office of Inspector General, 22% of Medicare beneficiaries experienced adverse events during skilled nursing facility stays, and 59% of those events were clearly or likely preventable. Reviewers tied most of the preventable harm to substandard treatment, inadequate monitoring, and delayed care.
We request a facility’s staffing records and compare them against the legal minimum. Payroll-based staffing data often reveal a pattern of understaffing that lines up with the dates our client was harmed.
Our investigation is systematic and begins the moment a family calls us. We move quickly because records can disappear and conditions can change. Our process generally includes the following steps:
By the time we file, we can show not only that your loved one was harmed, but exactly how the facility’s choices caused that harm.
California gives families powerful tools to hold negligent facilities accountable. The Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act, which begins at Welfare and Institutions Code Section 15600, provides remedies that go beyond those available in an ordinary negligence claim.
When neglect rises to the level of recklessness, Welfare and Institutions Code Section 15657 makes the facility responsible for the resident’s reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs. It also removes the usual bar on recovering a deceased resident’s pre-death pain and suffering through a survival action. Conduct that is reckless, oppressive, or malicious can also support an award of punitive damages.
Timing matters. Under Code of Civil Procedure Section 335.1, most neglect and personal injury claims carry a 2-year statute of limitations, although the deadline can run from the date the harm was discovered.
When neglect causes death, the family gains additional claims. Surviving relatives can bring a wrongful death claim under Code of Civil Procedure Section 377.60. The estate can also pursue a survival action under Code of Civil Procedure Section 377.30 for what the resident endured before death.
Because many residents are already frail, these deadlines can arrive sooner than families expect. We encourage you to speak with our team as early as possible.
If you suspect neglect, a few early steps can protect both your loved one and any future claim.
We focus our practice on one thing: Holding care facilities accountable for the harm they cause elders and dependent adults. That focus shapes how we build every nursing home neglect case, from the first records request through trial.
Our results reflect that commitment. The firm has recovered more than $200 million in verdicts and settlements for injured clients and grieving families, including a $5.7 million verdict that was featured on Good Morning America. Those outcomes come from treating complex cases against large institutions as our core work, not a side practice.
We serve families throughout Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego, and we bring the same standard to every case. There is no cost to speak with us and no fee unless we recover for you. When you hire our team, you get attorneys who understand nursing home records, staffing data, and the medical evidence that wins these cases.
Neglect is the failure to provide adequate care, such as skipping repositioning, meals, or medical attention. Abuse is intentional harm, such as striking, over-sedating, or financially exploiting a resident. California’s Elder Abuse Act covers both, and a single case can involve neglect and abuse at the same time.
Most neglect and personal injury claims must be filed within 2 years under California’s statute of limitations. Some deadlines run from the date the harm was discovered rather than the date it occurred. Because the exact deadline depends on the facts, it is best to have a lawyer review your situation early.
Your family can still pursue justice. Surviving relatives may bring a wrongful death claim, and the estate may bring a survival action for what the resident suffered before death. When the neglect was reckless, California law allows recovery of the resident’s pre-death pain and suffering, which is not available in ordinary cases.
Nothing upfront. We handle nursing home neglect cases on a contingency fee basis, which means we are paid only if we recover money for you. Your first case evaluation is free and confidential.
Often, yes. Nursing home admission packets frequently include arbitration agreements, but these agreements are not always enforceable, and signing one is usually not required for admission. We review the paperwork your family signed and challenge arbitration clauses when permitted by law.
If your loved one was harmed in a Los Angeles nursing home, our team is ready to help you find answers and hold the facility accountable. The Elder Justice Firm handles every nursing home neglect case on a contingency fee basis, with no fees unless we recover for you. Call our Los Angeles nursing home neglect lawyers today at (855) 880-4500, or contact us for a free, confidential case evaluation.
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