Legally speaking, nursing home residents in California enter into a contract with the nursing home itself once they are admitted to the facility. This contract is usually written, and represented as an agreement between the nursing home and your elderly loved one. However, it can also be an implied (unwritten) contract based on the actions and interactions between the nursing home and the resident.
Once a contract is established, both sides have to abide by the terms of the agreement. For the resident, this means following any rules the facility has and making payments. For the nursing home, this means providing adequate care and maintaining a safe environment free of abuse or neglect. Failure to do this–on either end of the agreement–can result in a breach of contract.
To prove a breach of contract, your loved one must show that the nursing home’s breach of contract was a direct cause of the harm they suffered. This burden requires numerous steps and sufficient evidence to convince a California court that the nursing home breached its contract in its mistreatment of your loved one.
Guidance and Support From California Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers
At Maison Law, we have the skills and experience necessary to help you or any other nursing home resident in California hold a nursing home accountable. We can provide you with legal guidance and support that fits your loved one’s particular case, including a breach of contract claim against their nursing home. No nursing home resident in California should have to suffer abuse. Contact us today to find out more about how we can help.
California Nursing Home Residents and Contracts
The first step in any breach of contract claim is establishing that a contract exists. There are a number of ways to do this, but in the context of nursing home abuse, California law makes it clear that every nursing home has to provide certain terms and conditions to its residents upon admission into the facility.
Section 1599.1 of the California Health and Safety Code, otherwise known as the “Patients’ Bill of Rights”, lays out exactly what a nursing home has to provide to each resident:
- The services that the nursing home will provide
- The resident’s rights and responsibilities
- The nursing home’s policies regarding payment, discharge, and transfers
- Description of the nursing home’s grievance procedure and the resident’s right to file complaints.
- A notice of the resident’s rights and a copy of the California Department of Aging’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program’s phone number to each resident. This notice must be provided at the time of admission and whenever the resident’s rights are violated.
Like any contract, it’s important to review the terms and conditions that the nursing home has before signing on. At the same time, as a resident, your elderly loved one has to also make sure that they don’t violate the terms and conditions of their stay in the facility. Ultimately, any form of nursing home abuse or neglect is going to qualify as a breach of contract by the nursing home facility, so it’s helpful to understand how abuse or neglect is defined in California.
California Nursing Home Abuse Law and Breach of Contract
Under California’s Elder Abuse And Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act (EADACPA), nursing home abuse is defined as any form of:
- Physical abuse, such as hitting, slapping, pushing, or restraining a resident without justification.
- Emotional abuse, including verbal abuse, harassment, intimidation, or isolation of a resident.
- Neglect, which can occur when a nursing home fails to provide adequate care and attention to a resident, resulting in harm or injury.
- Abandonment, which occurs when a nursing home resident is left without adequate care or support, resulting in harm or injury.
- Financial abuse, which is the misuse or misappropriation of a resident’s funds or property.
With a legal definition of nursing home abuse in place, a nursing home can breach its contract with your loved one or any other resident in a number of ways:
- Failure to provide appropriate medical care – Nursing homes have a legal duty to provide adequate medical care to their residents. If a nursing home fails to provide appropriate medical care, such as administering medication or treating a medical condition, it may be considered a breach of contract.
- Subjecting residents to neglect or abuse – Nursing homes are required to provide a safe and comfortable living environment for their residents. If a nursing home fails to provide basic necessities such as food, water, or shelter, or if it engages in abusive behavior towards residents, it may be considered a breach of contract.
- Violation of privacy or personal rights – Nursing homes are required to respect the privacy and personal rights of their residents. If a nursing home fails to protect the privacy of its residents or violates their personal rights in some other way, it may be considered a breach of contract.
- Failure to provide agreed-upon services – Nursing home contracts typically outline the services that will be provided to residents, such as meals, housekeeping, and recreational activities. If a nursing home fails to provide these services as promised in the contract, it may be considered a breach of contract.
- Financial abuse – Nursing homes have a legal duty to manage residents’ finances responsibly and in accordance with the law. If a nursing home engages in financial abuse, such as misappropriating a resident’s funds or charging unreasonable fees, it may be considered a breach of contract.
Obviously, nursing homes not only have an ethical duty to provide a reasonable standard of care to their residents, but when a contract is in place, they have a legal duty to do so, as well. Thus, when they breach their contract, you can hold the nursing home accountable by filing a claim against them.
Proving a Breach of Contract Claim Against a California Nursing Home
Once you have a contract in place, it’s legally binding. This includes California nursing homes. Whether the contract is written or simply implied, when your elderly loved one enters a nursing home, an agreement will be in place. The other part of the equation is proving that the nursing home breached the contract. In order to show this, it’s helpful to take the following steps:
- Review the contract – The first step in proving a breach of contract claim is to carefully review the nursing home contract. The contract should outline the services that the nursing home is obligated to provide and the terms and conditions of the agreement.
- Document the breach – If you believe that the nursing home has breached the contract, you should document the breach in writing. This may include taking notes of specific incidents or conversations, taking photographs or videos of the living conditions, and gathering any other relevant evidence.
- Notify the nursing home – You should notify the nursing home of the breach in writing and provide them with a copy of the evidence that you have gathered. Be sure to keep a copy of the notification and any responses from the nursing home.
- Seek medical attention – If the breach has caused harm to your loved one, it is important to seek medical attention and document any injuries or medical conditions.
- Prove causation – To establish a breach of contract claim, you must prove that the nursing home’s breach caused harm to your loved one. This may require expert testimony or other evidence to show the causal link between the breach and the harm suffered.
- Show damages – Finally, you must prove the damages suffered as a result of the breach of contract, which are also available in any claim you file. This may include medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other economic and non-economic losses.
As with any claim, breach of contract claims may be subject to a statute of limitations, which is a deadline for filing a lawsuit. In California, the statute of limitations for breach of contract claims is typically four years from the date of the breach. However, the specific time limit may depend on the particular circumstances of your case. To make sure you meet this deadline, our team can assist you with any of your legal needs.
Our Client-Specific Approach Gets Results in California
At Maison Law, we believe that our approach sets us apart. We take a client-specific approach to every case, working closely with our clients to understand their unique needs and goals. With years of experience handling nursing home abuse cases in California, we have the knowledge, skills, and resources necessary to pursue justice on behalf of our clients.
Contact us today to schedule a free consultation and learn more about how we can help you seek compensation for your losses and hold the responsible parties accountable for their actions.
