When Nursing Homes Fail: Passive Neglect in Los Angeles County

For more than 30 years, Nursing Home Law Group, including attorneys Randy Walton and Lukas Pick, has represented families across Southern California against nursing homes and assisted living facilities, and Los Angeles County has been a central part of that work. If your parent or spouse developed a preventable infection, fell, lost dangerous weight, or wandered away from a facility, a Los Angeles elder neglect lawyer from our firm can explain your options in plain terms and fight to hold the facility accountable.

Passive neglect means a facility fails to give a resident the care they need, usually without anyone intending harm. The causes are typically understaffing, thin training, high turnover, and burnout. A caregiver who is responsible for too many residents may not reposition a bedridden patient, which leads to pressure sores. Staff may miss early signs of dehydration, skip a medication, or fail to notice a resident who is prone to wandering.

According to the National Council on Aging, neglect occurs far more often than most families expect. Because passive neglect is usually a pattern of missed care rather than one dramatic event, families often don't see it until a loved one is seriously hurt or has died.

Does the nursing home have to have meant to hurt my loved one? No. In plain English, a facility can be responsible when it fails to provide the care a reasonable nursing home would have provided, whether or not anyone intended harm.

• Unexplained weight loss or dehydration
• Bedsores or pressure ulcers
• Poor hygiene or unclean living conditions
• Repeated infections, including urinary tract and respiratory infections
• Unexplained falls, bruising, or fractures
• Medication errors or missed doses
• A resident leaving the building unsupervised

Our work starts with the records that show what actually happened: staffing schedules, medical charts, call-light logs, and the facility's own care plans. Many neglect cases are won or lost on whether those documents are secured early. We have also handled many resident transfer injury cases, in which a resident is hurt during a move between bed, chair, or lift because of inadequate staffing or training. Those cases follow the same logic as passive neglect: a failure to follow basic safety practices.

Randy Walton has been recognized as a Super Lawyer for 14 consective years and most recently was included in the Best Lawyers in America magazine.

Cases that cannot be resolved through settlement are filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court and are governed by its local rules as well as California's civil procedure statutes. California law also allows a plaintiff who is 70 or older, and whose health makes a delay a real risk, to ask the court for trial preference under Code of Civil Procedure section 36. A Los Angeles nursing home neglect lawyer familiar with this procedure can ask for an earlier trial date when a living resident's health is at stake.

Consider a resident of a Los Angeles County facility who is bedridden and rarely repositioned. A Stage 1 pressure sore goes unreported and becomes a deep infected wound, and the family is told only after the resident is hospitalized. We would request the chart and staffing records, retain a wound-care expert, and, where appropriate, file in Los Angeles County Superior Court, using trial preference if the resident is living.

How soon should I call? As soon as you suspect neglect. Deadlines for nursing home claims can be short, and evidence can disappear. A Los Angeles elder neglect lawyer can tell you which deadline applies to your situation.

If you believe a loved one was neglected in a Los Angeles County nursing home or assisted living facility, we are ready to listen. Contact the Southern California Nursing Home Law Group for a free, confidential consultation.