New York Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

A staff member at Idylwood Care Center in Sunnyvale, CA has been charged with elder abuse and battery after allegedly grabbing the genitalia of a male resident in January. Two additional staff members have been charged as well with failing to report the abuse. The staff members were arrested after another worker relayed the reported abuse to authorities.

In addition to the criminal charges that the three men face, if these allegations are true, then they clearly violated numerous sections of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations. To name several:

• 483.13(b): The resident has the right to be free from verbal, sexual, physical, and mental abuse

• 483.13(c)(1)(i): The facility must [n]ot use verbal, mental, sexual, or physical abuse, corporal punishment, or involuntary seclusion

• 483.15(a) The facility must promote care for residents in a manner and in an environment that maintains or enhances each resident's dignity and respect in full recognition of his or her individuality.

Here at the New York Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog, we more commonly discuss injuries that are relatively easy to recognize, such as pressure sores or bruises. Unfortunately, sexual abuse is a prevalent and underreported event in nursing homes, and what is even more concerning, is that indications of mental and sexual abuse are often very subtle. Through the diligence of workers such as the whistle blower in Idylwood, as well as family members monitoring their elder loved ones' well-being, elder abuse of all types can be exposed and stopped.

If you feel that a loved one has been a victim of abuse in any form, please contact Gallivan and Gallivan today to discuss your legal remedies.

Mickey Rooney appeared before the Senate Special Committee on Aging this past Wednesday to discuss his personal experience dealing with elder abuse. Rooney, who has appeared in such films as National Velvet and The Black Stallion, pleaded for the committee to enact stricter legislation to protect victims of elder abuse.

Rooney detailed his horrors of emotional, psychological, and financial abuse at the hands of his stepchildren for the committee. He also described the difficulty that he and many other seniors face coming forward to seek help and protection from abuse. With stricter legislation, perhaps seniors would feel more inclined to speak despite the fear of reprisal from their abusers.

Putting a recognizable face to the isse of elder abuse may also help seniors who fear the repurcussions of confronting abusers. Hopefully Rooney's impassioned address will lead to increased coverage of these disturbing situations. Perhaps Congress has taken Rooney's words to heart--after the committee session, Senator Herb Kohl, Democrat from Wisconsin and committee chairman, introduced a bill that would create a subdivision within the Department of Justice specifically targeted to deal with elder abuse. This is a good first step by the Legislature, one that hopefully will lead to more coverage and recognition of the widespread social consequences of elder abuse.

Website Resource: Mickey Rooney tells Senate panel he was a victim of elder abuse CNN, Tom Cohen, March 2, 2011