Consumer Attorney Blog

May 25, 2022

Loved One with Dementia: Does their Facility Offer the Correct Services they need?

In a previous post, we suggested tips for confirming that a potential skilled nursing facility or residential nursing home has the appropriate staff to address the needs of elders with dementia. To recap, dementia is a syndrome with deterioration in memory, behavior, and thinking. This causes many who suffer from dementia to lose the ability to perform their regular activities. The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, though there are multiple types of dementia.

Elders suffering from dementia need special care when they move into a long-term care facility such as a California nursing home. If you are considering helping to move a loved one with dementia into a nursing home, there are specific questions you will want to ask about the services provided for your loved one.

Questions should include:

May 18, 2022

What Is Elder Abuse?

By Walton Law, A.P.C.

Elder abuse typically refers to the knowing, intentional, or negligent act by a custodial care provider, caregiver, or any other person that causes harm to a vulnerable adult. In California, anyone aged 65 and older is protected by the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act. The laws are designed to help prevent neglect and abuse to California seniors. Neglect falls within the definition of elder abuse, and unfortunately may have dire consequences to the victim.

In broadest terms, neglect is a type of elder abuse wherein a caregiver fails to provide the elder with basic needs including water, food, shelter, heat/air-conditioning, personal hygiene products and medical assistance. Failure to adequately move or reposition a bedridden elder, for example constitutes neglect, just as failing to keep elders properly nourished and hydrated constitutes neglect.

Neglect is particularly dangerous for elders, as it can lead to life-threatening consequences. Such consequences of neglect include:

May 11, 2022

How Medication Errors Turn into Nursing Home Abuse

By Walton Law, A.P.C.

Unfortunately, nursing home abuse occurs more often than you might think. While many forms of abuse leave physical marks (like a scratch or bruise), some forms of abuse leave invisible scars, which are no less harmful than physical abuse. Besides financial and emotional abuse, this is also the case of medication errors, which occur when someone makes a mistake in prescribing, dispensing, and giving medications.

Examples of Medication Errors in Nursing Homes

While medication errors exist in many settings, our concern here is for the instances in nursing homes. Here are just a few specific ways that medication errors occur in these facilities:

May 4, 2022

What Are the Financial Options of Passengers in Car Accidents?

By Walton Law, A.P.C.

There’s so much discussion around the dangers of driving, but the dangers are equally real for passengers. Whether in the front or the back, you have legal options for recovering financially when you are a passenger in a car accident. Fortunately, in most cases, you would likely be able to recover damages for your injuries as a passenger. However, passenger injury claims stemming from car accidents can get more complicated. Whether a driver or a passenger, insurance companies will always try to avoid paying at all and then seek to pay as little as possible which is one of the many reasons why working with an experienced car accident lawyer is essential no matter what seat in the car you were riding in!

What Do You Need to Prove the Cause of the Accident?

To start, who caused the accident? The answer to this question is not always just one person but can be many, which can be helpful because it means there are potentially more available insurance funds. Ultimately the how and why of the accident needs to be proved to establish the negligence of various parties. California is a comparative negligence state which means that while you can still file a winning lawsuit if you played a role in your accident, your compensation will be reduced accordingly. For instance, if you weren’t wearing your seatbelt at the time of the crash, the other party will argue that you contributed to making your injuries worse and seek to reduce your payout accordingly.

April 27, 2022

Were You Wrongfully Terminated or Fired? 4 Questions to Ask:

By Walton Law, A.P.C.

Losing your job never feels good. When you do leave your post, you want to leave on your turns, but that’s not always possible. Whether it’s personality clashes or miscommunications about performance expectations, there are numerous reasons for your boss to let you go. However, because California is an at-will employment state, you don’t have much recourse unless your termination was based on an illegal reason. Then you may be able to sue your employer for damages; this is the difference between a regular firing and a wrongful termination.

Here are 4 questions to ask that can help determine whether you might be a victim of wrongful termination.

Did your employer breach a contract?

April 20, 2022

Making the Transition from Home to Nursing Home

By Walton Law, A.P.C.

Deciding to place your parent or loved one into a nursing home requires a lot of thought and preparation. After that decision, one major area of concern is adjusting from living at home to living in a nursing home. Make sure that the nursing home staff is not only aware of these transitions but that they are well-equipped to help residents manage these changes.

Higher than Expected Expenses

In preparing to make a transition to nursing home life, you have to anticipate the difference in the cost of living. Generally, it’s less expensive to live at home than at the facility. This is something that must be taken into consideration. Although some expenses are covered by private insurance providers, such as Medicare, the monthly charges can add up quickly.

April 13, 2022

What can a San Diego Elder Abuse Attorney do for you?

By Walton Law, A.P.C.

Elder abuse typically refers to the knowing, intentional, or negligent act by a custodial care provider, caregiver, or any other person that causes harm to a vulnerable adult. In California, anyone aged 65 and older is protected by the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act. The laws are designed to help prevent neglect and abuse of California seniors. Unfortunately, these laws alone are not always enough to protect our elders while they are in a long-term care facility such as a California nursing home.

Elder abuse in California can take many forms including physical abuse, sexual abuse, financial abuse, neglect, and a form of abuse known as chemical restraint (over-drugging). These forms of abuse may result in pain, suffering, and even the death of elders. That’s why it is so important to talk with a nursing home abuse attorney if you believe that an elder is being abused or neglected while in a California nursing home.

Nursing home abuse cases in California may be very complex. However, this should not deter you from speaking with a California elder abuse attorney who specializes in nursing home abuse cases. All consultations at Walton Law, APC are free of charge. During that time, we will sit down with you and discuss your concerns, your suspicions, and your fears regarding filing a lawsuit against a California nursing home. We will answer any and all of your questions in regards to nursing home abuse in California.

April 6, 2022

How Can Social Media Can Get You Fired?

By Walton Law, A.P.C.

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No matter how you feel about social media it is here to stay. Many people turn to social media to communicate with others and to express their thoughts on every facet of their existence, including their professional lives.

For those who wonder whether you can get fired for your social media posts, this issue doesn’t just concern celebrities or those in the news; it has happened to many different people in various industries. The following are some examples of content that has resulted in the poster being fired:

Bankers used social media to pretend to be members of a terrorist group.

March 30, 2022

Does Lane-Splitting Affect Recovery for My Motorcycle Accident?

By Walton Law, A.P.C.

Sitting in gridlocked or being stop-and-go on freeways for hours is never a Southern Californian’s idea of fun; people try to avoid it whenever possible. For motorcyclists, that often includes moving between vehicles and splitting lanes. However, the practice often results in accidents, leading to injuries and/or fatalities. In fact, more than 400 motorcyclists lost their lives on California streets in the span of just a year according to the Governors Highway Safety Program. Motorists who strike a lane-splitting rider often argue the motorcyclist’s behavior was negligent and they, in fact, caused the collision; however, it’s not always the motorcyclist’s fault. A skilled Southern California personal injury attorney can often make the case the rider was not the cause of the collision.

Lane-Splitting Defined

Lane-splitting involves a motorcyclist riding between vehicles in different rows of traffic using their same lane. No state besides California specifically allows it. Proponents argue lane-splitting benefits riders in many ways, such as:

March 16, 2022

Out of Luck Because I Signed a Waiver?

By Walton Law, A.P.C.

Out of Luck Because I Signed a Waiver?

You signed a waiver for your child to participate in an activity, but your youngster suffered an injury while participating. Are you out of luck when it comes to seeking compensation from the organization that put on the event? Maybe, but maybe not.

A waiver is required to be signed nowadays as a condition to participating in just about every organized activity. The purpose of the waiver is to protect an entity from liability for injuries that may occur during the activity, instead, forcing participants to assume the risk.