Elder/Nursing Home Sexual Abuse Attorneys

Were you or a loved one sexually assaulted in a nursing home?

Elder or nursing home sexual abuse is a serious and widespread issue impacting extended care facilities throughout California. Making the decision to move your elderly loved one into a nursing home once they require a standard of medical care that you cannot provide on your own can be very difficult. When you make the decision, you’re placing your trust in the facility’s staff to provide the absolute best care for your loved one.

When elder sexual abuse happens – whether at a nursing home, hospital, extended care facility, or private residence – justice needs to be secured and the responsible party (or parties) punished to the full extent of the law.

Filing an elder sexual abuse civil lawsuit is a means of recovering financial compensation when a nursing home or caregiver breaches your trust. It’s also a means of pursuing and punishing the sexual predator who committed the crime.

Below we’ll review what elder or nursing home sexual abuse entails and provide information on how to file a claim that will ensure your family recovers the justice deserved via a maximum financial damages award.

What is Elder or Nursing Home Sexual Abuse?

While elder neglect and abuse can manifest in various forms – sexual, physical, emotional/psychological, and financial – sex crimes impacting seniors and residents of nursing homes or extended care facilities can be extremely damaging to individuals and families alike.

While sexual abuse in nursing homes impacts seniors nationwide, California accounts for a significant portion of the overall cases. Accordingly, seniors and their loved ones are urged to remain vigilant at all times, as elder sexual abuse can happen to anyone at any time.

Elder or nursing home sexual abuse can come in many forms. Examples of such abuse may include:

• Rape
• Sexual assault
• Sexual battery
• Sexual harassment
• Sexual abuse
• Any type of miscellaneous sexual violence
• Sodomy
• Unwanted groping and touching of any area of the body and/or private parts
• Sexually suggestive or nude photographs taken of the senior or nursing home resident

Best Los Angeles Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers

Our Sexual Assault Justice Experts are here to help survivors secure justice. Contact our top-rated attorneys online or by phone for a free consultation today.

What is Nursing Home Elder Sexual Abuse?

Nursing home elder sexual abuse is simply any type of sexual assault or sex crime that occurs in a nursing home or extended care facility setting. Elder sexual abuse does occur in private residences, but the vast majority of cases take place in nursing homes or extended care facilities.

When this type of abuse occurs, you may be left wondering whether you have legal recourse. When you contact an experienced and dedicated elder sexual abuse attorney at Dordulian Law Group (DLG), we’ll listen to the facts of your case and then proceed with launching a thorough investigation led by a retired LAPD sex crimes detective – our in-house Chief Investigator, Moses Castillo.

Once an investigation is conducted, we’ll develop a precise legal strategy and work tirelessly to help you recover due financial compensation for such an unspeakable ordeal.

Who is Impacted by Elder or Nursing Home Sexual Abuse?

Elder or nursing home sexual abuse doesn’t just impact the victim – it can be devastating for the entire family. Making the decision to move your loved one into an extended care facility can be difficult enough. But when that loved one is then sexually assaulted, you, as the decision maker, can be left with overwhelming anger, guilt, and concern.

The fact is that the majority of elder or nursing home sexual abuse victims are often physically unable to fight back or defend themselves from a sexual predator. Additionally, many seniors are too afraid of retaliation to report the abuse.

Elder or nursing home sexual abuse can impact any senior, but in the majority of cases those who are most vulnerable end up being victims. The types of seniors most at-risk for sexual abuse include:

• Older nursing home or extended care facility residents
• Women
• Nursing home residents who are isolated from their family, friends, and other members of the staff
• Nursing home residents who have impaired cognitive skills (whether through Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and another type of mental illnesses)
• Nursing home residents who have physical disabilities (including problems communicating)
• Nursing home residents who suffer neglect by the staff or their family members

To discuss your legal options, schedule an appointment with our sexual harassment lawyers today. Call 866-GO-SEE-SAM.

What is an Elder or Nursing Home Sexual Abuse Predator?

Nursing home residents who suffer sexual abuse may have difficulties with communication, confusion, and/or fear of retaliation if they were to ever report the abuse. Nursing home residents can suffer sexual abuse at the hands of other residents, staff members, third parties, and even family members.

Let’s break down those specific categories further:

• Other Nursing Home Residents: Sexual abuse between residents in assisted living facilities commonly occurs. Other residents may commit sexual abuse against fellow residents for two main reasons: 1) The abuser suffers from mental confusion, or 2) The abuser takes advantage of a weaker resident who has trouble communicating with others. Nursing home staff members should be required to complete training that helps them identify this type of abuse. If a nursing home employee or staff member fails to identify and stop elder sexual abuse from occurring, the facility may be held liable.
• Nursing Home Staff Members: Studies indicate that the largest group of elder sexual abuse perpetrators is actually the nursing home staff. In fact, many sexual predators purposefully seek out such jobs in order to gain access to vulnerable seniors. Working in a nursing home is a low-paying job. As a result, these positions often attract people seeking to prey on weak residents living in the facility. Employees have ample opportunity to sexually abuse residents when helping them bathe, get dressed, or use the bathroom. Furthermore, the nursing home can be held liable for sexual abuse if management failed to properly screen employees before hiring (or failed to stop abuse when alerted).
• Third Parties with Access to Facilities: Nursing homes require day-to-day interactions with vendors, contractors, salespeople, and medical providers from outside the facility. If a resident is left unprotected and therefore open to abuse, the facility can be held liable for the actions of a third party.
• Family Members Can Also be Predators: In some unfortunate cases, a relative of an elder nursing home resident may commit sexual abuse in an assisted living facility during a visit.

What are the Warning Signs of Elder/Nursing Home Sexual Abuse?

Victims of elder and nursing home sexual abuse are often too scared to report the abuse (or simply do not have the wherewithal to do so). Accordingly, when visiting their loved one in a nursing home, family members and caregivers need to be cognizant of potential warning signs that may indicate sexual abuse.

As with other types of sexual assault, symptoms of elder and nursing home sexual abuse may include the following:

• Bleeding in the area of the vagina
• Development of unexplained STDs
• Showing signs of fear when certain staff members enter a resident’s room
• Bruises present on the breasts, thighs, or genital area
• Challenges with walking and sitting
• Having unexplained mood swings
• Becoming withdrawn or depressed
• Wearing torn clothing that has unexplained stains or blood on them

Statistics on Elder and Nursing Home Sexual Abuse

Although sexual abuse of elders in nursing homes is a serious issue, it is not the most common type of abuse these residents face. The World Health Organization (WHO) released a 2017 study confirming:

• 0.7% of nursing home staff reported sexually abusing nursing home residents
• 1.9% of nursing home residents, or their loved ones/guardians, reported sexual abuse
• Sexual abuse was the least reported type of abuse in nursing homes out of all the other types

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirm that one out of every five women has been raped or experienced an attempted rape in their lifetime. In men, that figure changes to one out of every 38. Nursing home residents with a mental illness (such as Alzheimer’s or schizophrenia) are more likely to suffer from sexual abuse than residents without mental illness. The CDC also reports that, as of 2016, an estimated 47.8% of nursing home residents had Alzheimer’s, making them extremely vulnerable to sexual abuse.

Additionally, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) reports that more than 20,000 complaints of sexual abuse in nursing homes have been reported in the past 20 years. However, that figure could be a substantial underestimate, as these reports fail to include possible sexual abuse committed by other residents.

Contact our top-rated team of expert sexual abuse attorneys online or by phone today to pursue justice and secure a financial award for damages.

Filing a Report After Elder or Nursing Home Sexual Abuse

Taking the following steps are recommended after discovering a case of nursing home sexual abuse, according to the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA):

• Filing a report with a local law enforcement agency
• If you witness the sexual abuse firsthand, call 911 immediately
• Call the local long-term care ombudsman
• Call the state’s licensing and certification agency to report the facility
• Report the abuse to the nursing home’s management team

Any individual or organization may file a complaint against a California nursing home on behalf of a victim resident. The complainant does not have to be a resident of California, and complaints are filed with and handled by the Licensing and Certification Division of the California Department of Public Health (DPH).

If you suspect sexual abuse of your elder loved one (in a nursing home or by a caregiver in a private residence), you should keep a confidential journal to record any evidence or information related to the incident. This can later serve as important evidence when speaking with an elder or nursing home sexual abuse lawyer.

When filing a complaint with the DPH, the following information should be included:

• Name and address of the facility
• Your name, address, phone number, and relation to the resident
• The name of the resident on whose behalf the complaint is made
• The date(s) and time(s) of all known incidents
• Specific complaints of sexual abuse or neglect
• Names of witnesses (including other health care providers, such as hospital personnel or paramedics)
• Names of any staff who are relevant to the complaint
• Any records that may need to be reviewed

If you’ve experienced workplace sexual harassment, our expert attorneys can help you recover financial damages you deserve. Contact us online or by phone for a free consultation today.

Finding the Best Elder and Nursing Home Sexual Abuse Lawyer to Win Your Case

If your loved one has been sexually assaulted, being selective and choosing an experienced, proven, and dedicated elder or nursing home abuse attorney can be a very important decision. At DLG, we’re led by a former sex crimes prosecutor and Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles County.

Our experienced attorneys can help you pursue a financial award for your sexual assault case. Contact us online or by phone for a free consultation today.

Sam Dordulian founded DLG to be the premier sex crimes firm in California after a decorated career as Deputy District Attorney – where he accumulated over 100 jury trial victories. In that role, Dordulian successfully obtained life sentences against some of the state’s most loathsome sexual predators.

Today, Dordulian fights for sexual assault survivors in civil cases, helping them obtain justice and recover the maximum financial compensation they deserve after such an unfortunate incident.

With a 98% success record and history of recovering more than $200,000,000 in settlements and verdicts for our clients, DLG is the absolute best choice available in the Los Angeles, California-area when searching for a proven and dedicated elder/nursing home sexual abuse lawyer.

We’ll fight aggressively to ensure you and your family receive the justice you deserve. Contact us today online or by phone at 866-GO-SEE-SAM to learn more about how we can help you obtain justice and recover maximum financial compensation after a devastating elder/nursing home sexual abuse crime.

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