Azusa Malnutrition and Dehydration Lawyer

Azusa Malnutrition and Dehydration Attorney

Thousands of families in the Azusa, CA, area and throughout California rely on nursing homes, assisted living facilities, senior care homes, and many other service providers to care for their elderly loved ones. Families need to select senior care that can address their aging loved ones’ unique needs, and they need to be able to trust the parties they hire to provide these vital services. Unfortunately, many seniors throughout the country suffer ill effects from neglect, especially malnutrition and dehydration.

Legal Representation for Elders Harmed by Malnutrition and Dehydration in Azusa, CA

When one party owes a professional duty of care to another party, such as the duty a caregiver owes to the people in their care, ensuring basic living needs like food and water are the foundational elements of their responsibilities. When a nursing home or other senior care facility has harmed your loved one by causing malnutrition and/or dehydration, this is an egregious violation of their professional obligations. You have a right to seek accountability if your loved one has had such an experience in the Azusa, CA, area.

If a member of your family recently experienced elder abuse in the form of malnutrition and/or dehydration from neglect, you must speak with an Azusa malnutrition and dehydration attorney as soon as possible. Your legal team can assist you in compiling a strong case against the defendant to hold them accountable for the damages they caused. They can also uncover every channel of compensation available to you and your family. The attorneys at Belgum, Fry & Van Allen are a team of experienced attorneys ready to meet the unique challenges of your case. Our firm can provide comprehensive and compassionate legal counsel when your situation demands the attention of an Azusa malnutrition and dehydration attorney.

Benefits of Hiring an Azusa Malnutrition and Dehydration Attorney

Discovering your elderly loved one has been harmed by the people your family pays to keep them safe and healthy can be an infuriating and distressing experience. It’s easy to feel lost when it comes to how you can prove the truth behind your loved one’s experiences and the damage caused. One of the best things you can do for yourself and your family in this difficult situation is to reach out to an Azusa malnutrition and dehydration attorney you can trust.

Establishing liability for your loved one’s damages is just one component of your impending elder abuse case. It may take time for the full effects of the defendant’s actions to be visible and measurable. It’s also possible that you or other family members will need to participate in various other legal proceedings against the defendant, such as a criminal case prosecuted by the state of California. Additionally, you must be prepared to accurately calculate the full scope of damages your family intends to secure with your claim and prove the defendant’s actions directly caused those damages.

Meeting all these legal requirements to succeed with your case would be extremely difficult on your own. Facing your legal proceedings will be even more challenging due to the inherent emotional stress of the situation. Working with an Azusa malnutrition and dehydration attorney provides your family reassurance and peace of mind when facing a personal injury case of this nature. Legal representation you can also trust significantly improves your chances of success with your case, and your family will most likely maximize the compensation obtained from your case with an attorney’s assistance.

Potential Effects of Malnutrition and Dehydration

Malnutrition and dehydration are extreme medical emergencies that many assume are rare in the United States. But unfortunately, the reality is that elderly Americans across the country are victimized each year by abuse and neglect from the people paid to provide daily care, comfort, and medical treatment for them. Any elder abuse is not only a direct violation of the defendant’s professional duties to the victim but is also especially heinous, considering the highly vulnerable nature of most elderly residents in senior care.

When an elderly nursing home patient or a resident in a senior care facility suffers complications from malnutrition and/or dehydration, this is a clear sign their caregivers have failed in their most basic professional responsibilities. Unfortunately, these conditions can develop relatively quickly, and elderly individuals are less resilient to this type of stress and more likely to experience the worst possible effects compared to younger people:

• Dehydration is potentially fatal within a very short time if left unaddressed. Malnutrition can also prove fatal. In severe neglect cases, caregivers can face liability for elder abuse and wrongful death.
• Malnutrition and dehydration make it harder for the victim’s immune system to respond to disease. The effects of neglect can easily compound into multiple complex medical malpractice issues for the victim.
• Elders suffering from malnutrition and dehydration are likely to experience greater difficulty with mobility. This, in turn, can lead to additional medical problems and increased susceptibility to bedsore injury, slips, trips, and nursing home falls.
• An elderly loved one may have seen improvement from preexisting medical conditions, but malnutrition and dehydration can easily reverse such progress or even exacerbate existing medical conditions.

Once you have determined that an elderly family member has been subjected to dehydration and/or malnutrition due to negligent senior care, swift legal action is essential. Consulting an Azusa malnutrition and dehydration attorney is the best option in this situation.

First Steps in Responding to Elder Abuse in California

When you have discovered signs that your elderly loved one has been abused and/or neglected in their nursing home or another senior care facility in Azusa, you should immediately remove them from the dangerous situation and report the incident to the police. In addition, you should consult an attorney as soon as possible once you address your loved one’s immediate medical needs. The initial investigation may yield helpful information, and your attorney can coordinate with police efforts on your family’s behalf if necessary.

Once you have identified the party responsible for your loved one’s damages, your legal team can help you construct a civil case against the defendant. Success with subsequent legal actions requires proving the defendant owed your loved one a duty to handle their daily living needs in good faith and failed to do so. You could also face the challenge of proving your loved one was the victim of willful neglect or intentional abuse from a caregiver. Finally, your family must also prepare to show the full scope of economic damages resulting from the defendant’s actions.

California’s elder abuse laws place strict penalties on those convicted of willfully abusing elderly individuals or egregious negligence resulting in malnutrition, dehydration, or other serious harm. Therefore, the defendant you named in your suit may face criminal prosecution and liability for your family’s damages. An Azusa malnutrition and dehydration attorney can provide valuable insights into what you could expect as your case progresses.

FAQs About Azusa, CA Malnutrition and Dehydration Law

Are Malnutrition and Dehydration Caused by Neglect?

Neglect is the most commonly cited cause of injuries and illnesses caused by malnutrition and dehydration. When caregivers fail to keep track of their residents’ schedules, do not respond promptly to requests for help from residents, or when they otherwise fail to address their residents’ basic living needs, they face liability for elder abuse under California law.

How Are Malnutrition and Dehydration Prevented in Elder Care Facilities?

Any respectable senior care center should have firm policies to ensure their residents have all the daily support they need. The most basic of these needs are food and water. Therefore, every nursing home and senior care facility must have firm policies to ensure all residents’ daily needs are fully addressed. Also, nursing homes must verify that their employees possess adequate training and experience to safely handle their job duties.

How Do You Prove Elder Abuse?

It can be very difficult to prove a loved one has suffered elder abuse, but it is difficult for anyone to hide the signs of dehydration or malnutrition. Your loved one may be unable to convey their experiences to you, and their caregivers could have taken steps to conceal their harmful actions. Whatever your situation entails, an Azusa malnutrition and dehydration attorney can help you determine what you need to prove to succeed with your claim.

Is It Worth Hiring an Azusa Malnutrition and Dehydration Attorney?

Any case involving injuries and illnesses developed from malnutrition or dehydration demands the attention of an experienced attorney. Your legal team can help you establish the full range of damages you can seek from the defendant, potentially enhancing your family’s recovery beyond what you initially expected. Even when you account for the cost of attorneys’ fees, hiring legal counsel you can trust can significantly improve the outcome of your case in many ways.

Contact Our Lawyers in Azusa, CA

The attorneys at Belgum, Fry & Van Allen have years of experience helping clients navigate difficult elder abuse cases in the Azusa, CA, area. We know the challenges these cases often present, the strict procedural obligations injured victims and their families must meet, and the extensive damages that malnutrition and dehydration can cause to any elderly person. If you believe your family has grounds for legal recourse, an Azusa malnutrition and dehydration attorney can provide the answers you need to your most pressing legal questions. Contact Belgum, Fry & Van Allen today to schedule a consultation with our team and learn more about our legal services in Azusa, CA.