The State of California has chronicled multiple breakdowns in the state’s handling of elder abuse cases. There are thousand  of elder residents at senior care centers, including Skilled Nursing and Assisted Living Facilities across California that are beaten, sexually assaulted,  and neglected resulting in infected stage four pressure ulcers, dehydration and malnourishment subjecting them to elder abuse.
The vast majority of these incidents are never resolved, and the perpetrators have gone unpunished, in part because the proper state health / licensing agencies lack the necessary resources to effectively investigate them. Even when cases are investigated, they often drag on for months, undermining criminal prosecutions and frustrating families of abuse victims from seeking justice.
The State of California, along with the rest of the United States, should institute tougher penalties against facilities where serious elder abuse and neglect occurs, including reducing the burdens imposed on civil litigators to prove elder abuse and neglect by clear and convincing evidence, along with the cap on non-economic damages for pain and suffering from $250,000.00 in California, one of the lowest in the United States, to an inflation adjusted figure.
There are also challenges that  exist in non-medical Assisted Living Facilities’ aka RCFEs, which care for hundreds of thousands elders and dependent adults in California, which should  be more highly regulated to insure they are providing adequate care.

Steven Peck, ESQ.

About the Author

Attorney Steven Peck has been practicing law since 1981. Within the first three years, after some colleagues and friend’s parents endured nursing home neglect and elder abuse, he continued his education to protect those involved in personal injuries. For over 43 years, his dedication has been unyielding. Steve's approach to client representation and care is deeply respected by his colleagues and clients alike. Steven Peck has extensive trial experience and has recovered tens of millions of dollars in damages for clients.