California upholds strict laws pertaining to nursing home neglect and other forms of elder abuse, and it is possible for the at-fault party in your case to face civil liability for all of the damages they have caused, as well as criminal penalties. Liability for nursing home neglect could fall to a single nursing home staff member, but there is a high chance for their employer to bear vicarious liability as well. While nursing home staff are required to fulfill their duties in good faith and do their best to ensure the safety and health of their residents, their employers must ensure they follow regulatory guidelines and adhere to workplace safety protocols at all times.

Your Sacramento elder abuse attorney can review the details of the situation and determine whether liability falls to a specific staff member, their employer, or both. Once you have proven the truth of the situation and identified the party or parties responsible for harming your elderly family member, the next step of your case will be proving the full scope of the damages they caused.

Like most other personal injury claims, a nursing home neglect case has the potential to involve economic, non-economic, and punitive damages. Economic damages are the simplest and easiest to prove with the appropriate documentation. Your Sacramento elder abuse attorney can potentially help your family recover compensation for economic damages such as:

• Medical expenses. You have the right to seek compensation for increased medical bills if the defendant inflicted injuries, caused illness, or exacerbated your loved one’s preexisting conditions in any way that resulted in increased healthcare costs. If they required emergency transportation and hospital treatment for an acute injury, these expenses can also be included in your civil suit as economic damages. You also have the right to claim compensation for mental health counseling and therapy they may need after their experience.
• Replacement nursing home care. If you must transfer your loved one to a new facility and incur additional elder care expenses, you can hold the defendant in your case liable for these additional expenses as economic damages.
• Lost income. If you had to take time away from work to address your loved one’s nursing home neglect, it’s possible to hold the defendant accountable for the income you were unable to earn during this time.
• Attorneys’ fees. California law allows you to seek compensation for the cost of bringing your nursing home neglect suit against the defendant.

Once you accurately calculate the full scope of your claimable economic damages with the help of a Sacramento elder abuse attorney, the next aspect of your case award is non-economic damages. Any type of nursing home neglect can not only be physically painful but also psychologically traumatic for both the victim and their family. The law allows a personal injury plaintiff to seek compensation for pain and suffering, and there is no limit to the amount they are allowed to claim.

Your Sacramento elder abuse attorney can help you determine a reasonable amount of pain and suffering compensation to include in your civil suit. They may base their calculation on the severity of the harm your loved one experienced and the time it takes for them to fully recover. For many personal injury plaintiffs, pain and suffering compensation overshadows the compensation they receive for their economic damages.

Finally, it is possible to receive punitive damages at the discretion of the judge handling your case. A plaintiff may not seek punitive damages directly like their other claimed losses. Instead, the judge overseeing the case may award punitive damages if the defendant’s actions were egregiously negligent and/or illegal, and the amount paid is meant to punish the defendant for their actions. In the event that your loved one was harmed by any type of criminal act, punitive damages have a high chance of coming into play in your elder abuse case.