Ventura County Sexual Abuse Lawyer

Ventura County nursing homes and assisted-living facilities are not always safe places for our elderly loved ones, even though they should be. Much too often, elderly residents at these facilities suffer harm due to abuse and neglect. In some cases, acts of nursing home abuse are intentional, such as physical or emotional abuse. Under other circumstances, injuries result from passive neglect, or negligence. In other words, the employees at a facility might not intend to cause any harm, but in failing to provide care, harm occurs. One type of intentional elder abuse that can be especially harmful and insidious is sexual abuse.

Although sexual abuse is not discussed nearly as often as some other types of nursing home abuse, it can cause devastating harm. An experienced Ventura County sexual abuse lawyer at our firm can tell you more about this form of elder abuse in Southern California.

Sexual abuse occurs in nursing homes and assisted living facilities whenever a resident does not consent to sexual contact of any kind. Similar to other settings, sexual abuse in nursing homes can involve any type of unwanted sexual touching, from groping or fondling to rape.

In nursing homes, residents may not have the capacity to consent to sexual contact due to dementia or other cognitive impairments. It is essential to understand that sexual abuse occurs whenever there is no consent — including when a person does not have the capacity to consent.

Individual perpetrators, such as nursing home staff members, may be liable for sexual abuse in a nursing home, but it is also essential to know that the facility itself can be liable, too.

To stop sexual abuse and to hold a facility accountable, it is essential to be able to recognize signs, which can include:

• Report of sexual abuse or sexual assault from a resident;
• Unexplained sexually transmitted infections, or infections in a genital area;
• Bruises around a resident’s breasts or genital area;
• Undergarments that have been torn or show signs of blood or staining;
• Unexplained bleeding.

The National Council on Aging (NCOA) underscores that about one in every 10 Americans aged 60 and older experiences some form of abuse, so it is critical to know how nursing home abuse and neglect occurs and to be able to recognize the signs.

Sexual abuse should never occur in nursing homes or assisted living facilities. You should never have to fear that a loved one in a Ventura County nursing home or assisted living facility has been injured as a result of sexual abuse. Yet this is a common form of elder abuse, and it is especially important for family members and friends of elderly residents of these facilities to know the signs and to take action when they see them.

We know how difficult it can be to think about an elderly loved one being sexually abused, but we also know how critical it is to ensure that the abuse stops and that the facility is held accountable. One of the experienced Ventura County sexual abuse lawyers at our firm can speak with you today. Contact the Southern California Nursing Home Law Group to find out more about how we can assist you with a sexual abuse claim in Ventura County.