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.
