California Elder Abuse Attorney Talks about Who Is Caring for Our Elderly
California Elder Abuse Attorney Talks about Who Is Caring for Our Elderly
Tuesday, June 8, 2010 by Emery B. Ledger
The United States population is aging at a rapid pace. The government is worried about how they are going to provide Social Security to the millions of Americans that become eligible to receive it every year. Companies have cut back on pensions because people are living longer and they can’t afford to pay them. Census date tells us that the percentage of people living in the United States over the age of 65 is three times higher than it was a century ago. That should be good news for those of us that haven’t reached our twilight years yet. With advances in medicine and better quality of life, we should be able to look forward to living longer and better lived. Unfortunately, that may depend on who is taking care of us when we get there.
Estimates are that by the year 2020, there will be over 55 million people in the United States over the age of 65. Those same estimates tell us that over 13 million of those will be over the age of 85. Not surprisingly, with the “graying of America” comes the need for more long term care facilities and long term care workers. While only about 8 percent of those between the ages of 65 and 80 require long term care, that rate jumps to over one-third for those aged 85 and older. So who is caring for our elderly and can we trust them to offer them the care and respect that they deserve? If you feel that you loved one has been injured by negelect in an nursing home contact a lawyer as soon as possible.
Many long term care facilities do an excellent job of taking care of our elderly. They abide by state and federal regulations and hire only conscientious and caring employees. Sadly though, there are far too many facilities that do not follow regulations and do not screen their employees well. This then leads to a variety of forms of elder abuse. Elder abuse can be physical, emotional or financial. Neglect and mistreatment are also forms of abuse of the elderly. All too often, the employees working at a long term care facility have not had the proper training or have not been screened well enough to be given the enormous responsibility of caring for elderly patients. Many times, a staff member may simply be having a bad day and their anger or frustration gets taken out on an elderly patient. Occasionally, the situation is worse and a facility is blatantly ignoring the needs of its patients and appears to only be worried about cashing their checks each month.
While long term care facilities are generally required to have licensed physicians and nurses on staff, the people that are actually caring for your loved one may not even be certified, must less licensed. Whether they are certified or not, if they are employed by the facility then they are expected and required by law to abide by the rules governing long term care and are expected to treat our elderly with care, compassion and dignity. If they breach that duty, then they – and the facility for which they work – may be liable in a personal injury negligence lawsuit. A Personal injury lawyer will evaluate your claim. A negligence lawsuit brought by an elder abuse attorney may require the caregiver and/or facility to compensate your loved one for any injuries they have suffered as well as hold the facility accountable for their mistreatment of your loved one.
For more information about your legal options if you believe that a long term care facility has bee negligent in the care of a loved one, please contact California elder abuse attorney Emery Ledger. He can be reached at his firm, Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or online at www.ledgerlaw.com
Tuesday, June 8, 2010 by Emery B. Ledger
The United States population is aging at a rapid pace. The government is worried about how they are going to provide Social Security to the millions of Americans that become eligible to receive it every year. Companies have cut back on pensions because people are living longer and they can’t afford to pay them. Census date tells us that the percentage of people living in the United States over the age of 65 is three times higher than it was a century ago. That should be good news for those of us that haven’t reached our twilight years yet. With advances in medicine and better quality of life, we should be able to look forward to living longer and better lived. Unfortunately, that may depend on who is taking care of us when we get there.
Estimates are that by the year 2020, there will be over 55 million people in the United States over the age of 65. Those same estimates tell us that over 13 million of those will be over the age of 85. Not surprisingly, with the “graying of America” comes the need for more long term care facilities and long term care workers. While only about 8 percent of those between the ages of 65 and 80 require long term care, that rate jumps to over one-third for those aged 85 and older. So who is caring for our elderly and can we trust them to offer them the care and respect that they deserve? If you feel that you loved one has been injured by negelect in an nursing home contact a lawyer as soon as possible.
Many long term care facilities do an excellent job of taking care of our elderly. They abide by state and federal regulations and hire only conscientious and caring employees. Sadly though, there are far too many facilities that do not follow regulations and do not screen their employees well. This then leads to a variety of forms of elder abuse. Elder abuse can be physical, emotional or financial. Neglect and mistreatment are also forms of abuse of the elderly. All too often, the employees working at a long term care facility have not had the proper training or have not been screened well enough to be given the enormous responsibility of caring for elderly patients. Many times, a staff member may simply be having a bad day and their anger or frustration gets taken out on an elderly patient. Occasionally, the situation is worse and a facility is blatantly ignoring the needs of its patients and appears to only be worried about cashing their checks each month.
While long term care facilities are generally required to have licensed physicians and nurses on staff, the people that are actually caring for your loved one may not even be certified, must less licensed. Whether they are certified or not, if they are employed by the facility then they are expected and required by law to abide by the rules governing long term care and are expected to treat our elderly with care, compassion and dignity. If they breach that duty, then they – and the facility for which they work – may be liable in a personal injury negligence lawsuit. A Personal injury lawyer will evaluate your claim. A negligence lawsuit brought by an elder abuse attorney may require the caregiver and/or facility to compensate your loved one for any injuries they have suffered as well as hold the facility accountable for their mistreatment of your loved one.
For more information about your legal options if you believe that a long term care facility has bee negligent in the care of a loved one, please contact California elder abuse attorney Emery Ledger. He can be reached at his firm, Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or online at www.ledgerlaw.com
Never discovered such informatory contents.
a knockout post
Post a Comment