Protecting elderly victims of neglect, abuse, and financial exploitation across California.
Practice Area
Elder Abuse in California
Elder abuse commonly begins with neglect and poor care and can escalate into serious medical harm, financial exploitation, and even premature death. It often occurs where trust is placed in paid aides, especially licensed facilities such as assisted living, skilled nursing, and retirement homes, which promise to provide a certain level of care but gradually reduce services or cut corners.
Facilities may promise staffing levels, therapies, social programs, and supervision, then gradually reduce staffing, training, or services, creating unsafe conditions that lead to neglect and abuse.
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Types of Elder Abuse
Physical Abuse
Hitting, rough handling, restraints, or other physical harm inflicted on an elderly person.
Emotional Abuse
Threats, humiliation, isolation, or manipulation that harms well-being, often leaving victims afraid to report it for fear of retaliation.
Financial Exploitation
Theft, coercion to change wills or conservatorships, misuse of checks or cards, unauthorized transfers, or deceptive inducement to sign documents.
Neglect
Missed medications, poor hygiene, inadequate nutrition or hydration, and failure to reposition immobile residents, leading to pressure sores, infections, dehydration, and decline.
Common Civil Claims in California
Depending on the facts, an elder abuse case may give rise to several civil causes of action:
- Negligence: failure to meet the standard of care owed to the resident or patient by family members, paid caregivers, and facilities.
- Negligence per se: violation of a statute or regulation (e.g., staffing, licensing, or mandatory reporting) that causes harm.
- Breach of contract and consumer protection claims: when a facility fails to deliver promised services.
- Unfair Competition Law (Bus. & Prof. Code §17200): may apply when a facility has a systemic problem of promising services it cannot or does not provide.
- Battery and intentional torts: when there is nonconsensual physical contact or force.
- Elder financial abuse: for the unlawful taking or use of money or property.
- Breach of fiduciary duty: guardians, conservators, trustees, or agents under a power of attorney who misuse control for their own benefit.
- Wrongful death: where abuse or neglect causes the death of an elder, surviving family may pursue a wrongful death action.
- Claims under the Elder Abuse statute: California’s Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act (Welfare & Institutions Code §15600 et seq.) provides specific civil remedies for physical abuse, neglect, financial abuse, abandonment, isolation, and other listed conduct.
Worried About a Loved One's Care?
If you suspect a loved one is being neglected, abused, or financially exploited, a free case review with Semnar Law Firm can help you understand the options for protecting them.
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Statutory Remedies and Damages
- Double damages under Probate Code §859: a prevailing petitioner may recover twice the value of property that was wrongfully taken, concealed, or disposed of, a significant remedy for certain wrongful disposals or conversions of estate or conservatorship property.
- Elder Abuse statute (Welf. & Inst. Code §15600 et seq.): permits recovery of actual damages, consequential damages, and, in many cases, punitive damages for malice, oppression, or fraud. It also allows injunctive relief and other equitable remedies, and authorizes recovery of attorney’s fees and costs for a prevailing plaintiff under W&I §15657.
- Wrongful death and survival actions: allow recovery of the economic and non-economic losses attendant to the elder’s death.
- Consumer and regulatory remedies: consumer protection laws (e.g., Bus. & Prof. Code §17200) and licensing or regulatory statutes may provide additional monetary or injunctive relief, and may permit recovery of attorney’s fees in some circumstances.
Attorney’s Fees
Welfare & Institutions Code §15657 authorizes recovery of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to a prevailing party in an elder or dependent adult abuse civil action. Probate Code §859 and related probate statutes focus on the double recovery of wrongfully taken property.
Evidence and Investigation
Elder abuse cases often hinge on medical records, staffing logs, witness testimony from staff, family, and other residents, financial records, surveillance footage, and expert medical testimony about the standard of care and causation. Preservation of records and timely reporting are critical.
Facilities may attempt to minimize admissions, alter records, or shift blame to comorbidities, so careful investigation and counsel experienced in elder-abuse, probate, and healthcare law is important. Claims and evidence can become harder to obtain with the passage of time, which is why it is important to act as soon as any potential abuse is noticed.
Suspect Elder Abuse or Neglect?
If you believe a loved one is being harmed, we offer a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss the specifics of your situation and the steps that can be taken to protect them.
Contact Us TodayCall (858) 688-6598
