We have noticed the trend in this area is an increasing number of claims by natural parents and Court Appointed Special Advocates for children and adults placed within the social services system.
This includes wards of the court, those with mental and physical handicaps, and children removed from their natural parents by the court for their protection.
Children and adults with cognitive disabilities, epilepsy, cerebral palsy and autism are vulnerable to injury if they are not placed in a group home that provides appropriate care and protection.
Our elderly in facilities are often treated worse than a neglected child, because some of the caregivers get more impatient with them than they would a child. Make no mistake, a child and a debilitated elderly patient can be on the same cognitive playing fields, the main difference being their size and age.
This can lead many caregivers to frustration because they believe the elderly patient should “know better” long after their understanding has decreased to levels below that of a child. As a result of their frustration and the neglect they suffer in a nursing home, a variety of painful, debilitating and life-threatening injuries can be suffered.
P.K. Schrieffer LLP’s attorneys specialize in Title 17 and 22 of the Code of California Regulations directly applicable to this area of the law and the recent application of the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act to enhance remedies to circumvent MICRA involving physically or mentally handicapped adults.