Experienced Elder Abuse and Negligence Attorney in Los Angeles and Orange County.

Elder abuse and negligence can happen to anyone at their home, hospital, or care facility. We can assist with elder abuse and negligence at Nursing Homes, Crisis Management, Ombudsman Referrals, Injuries, Physical Injuries, Emotional or Behavioral Changes, End of Life Decisions, Life Care Planning, and Mental Health Incompetencies. We focus our practice on the victims of abuse, neglect, injury, and medical malpractice.

Abuse and Negligence can occur at home, home health agencies, assisted living facilities, residential care facilities, skilled nursing facilities, hospitals, during transportation, treatment, or examination at the doctor's office.

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What Is Elder or Dependent Adult Abuse?

Abuse of an elder or a dependent adult is an abuse of:

The law says elder or dependent adult abuse is:

Read about the law in Welfare and Institutions Code section 15610.07.

If you are an elderly person or a dependent adult being abused in any of these ways or you feel afraid or controlled by a family member, a spouse/partner or former spouse/partner, or a caregiver, it may help you to talk to a counselor, even if you do not want (or are not sure if you want) to ask for legal protection. Find counselors and resources in your county.

Amended Code of Civil Procedure § 377.34 now permits damages to be recovered for a decedent’s pain, suffering, or disfigurement, in an action brought by the decedent’s personal representative or successor in interest, if the action or proceeding was granted a specified preference under Code of Civil Procedure section 36 before January 1, 2022, or was filed on or after January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2026. The amendment requires plaintiffs recovering under this statute to report their awards to the Judicial Council, and the Judicial Council will provide this information to the Legislature.

Nursing Home Abuse or Caregiver Neglect can manifest itself by:


Ms. Jasinska is a licensed Registered Nurse and an Attorney.

She has worked at a number of hospitals, nursing homes, care homes, boarding care, and home health agencies.

She understands the challenges and the issues faced by each healthcare professional. 

As a nurse attorney, she also has a passion for holding professionals accountable for their actions and their level of expertise.


The Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act (EADACPA) (Welf & I C §§15600–15675) mandates reporting of elder abuse to an adult protective services (APS) agency or local law enforcement agency (or to the local ombudsman or law enforcement where the abuse occurred in a long-term care facility) provides for the investigation of such reports.

EADACPA defines an "elder" as a person residing in California who is 65 years of age or older. Welf & I C §15610.27. "Abuse of an elder or dependent adult" includes any of the following: (1) physical abuse, neglect, abandonment, isolation, abduction, or other treatment with resulting physical harm or pain or mental suffering; (2) the deprivation by a care custodian of goods or services that are necessary to avoid physical harm or mental suffering; or (3) financial abuse, as defined in Welf & I C §15610.30. Welf & I C §15610.07.

Elder or Dependent Adult Abuse Restraining Orders

You can ask for an elder or dependent adult abuse restraining order if:

It is possible that you may qualify for an elder or dependent adult abuse restraining order AND a domestic violence restraining order (like if the person abusing you is a spouse or partner, or a child or grandchild). If this is your case, talk to a lawyer or legal aid agency to find out what is the best option for you

What a restraining order CAN do

A restraining order is a court order. It can order the restrained person to:

Once the court issues (makes) a restraining order, it goes into a statewide computer system. This means that law enforcement officers across California can see there is a restraining order in place.

Effect of a restraining order on the restrained person

For the person to be restrained, the consequences of having a court order against him or her can be very severe:

If the person to be restrained violates the restraining order, he or she may go to jail, or pay a fine, or both.


Emergency Protective Order (EPO)

An EPO is a type of restraining order that only law enforcement can ask for by calling a judge. Judges are available to issue EPOs 24 hours a day. So a police officer that answers a call because of serious violence or a serious threat can ask a judge for an emergency protective order at any time of the day or night. In elder and dependent adult abuse cases, you can ask for an EPO, but not if the sole abuse you are suffering is financial abuse.

The emergency protective order starts right away and can last up to 7 days. The judge can order the abusive person to leave the home and stay away from the victim for up to a week. That gives the victim of the abuse enough time to go to court to file for a temporary restraining order.

To get a more permanent order, you must ask the court for a temporary restraining order (also called a “TRO”).

Temporary Restraining Order (TRO)

When you go to court to ask for a domestic violence restraining order, you fill out paperwork where you tell the judge everything that has happened and why you need a restraining order. If the judge believes you need protection, he or she will give you a temporary restraining order.

Temporary restraining orders usually last about 20 to 25 days, until your court hearing date.

“Permanent” Restraining Order (Restraining Order After Hearing)

When you go to court for the hearing that was scheduled for your TRO, the judge may issue a “permanent” restraining order. They are not really “permanent” because they usually last up to 5 years.

At the end of those 5 years (or whenever your order runs out), you can ask for a new restraining order so you remain protected.

Criminal Protective Order or “Stay Away” Order

Sometimes, when there is an incident of violence or other elder or dependent adult abuse (or series of incidents), the district attorney will file criminal charges against the abuser.

This starts a criminal court case going. It is common for the criminal court to issue a criminal protective order against the defendant (the person who is committing the violence and abuse) while the criminal case is going on, and, if the defendant is found guilty or pleads guilty, for 3 years after the case is over.

The Restraining Order Process

When people ask for an elder or dependent adult abuse restraining order in court, they have to file court forms telling the judge what orders they want and why. What happens after that varies a little from court to court, but the general steps in the court case are:

1. The person wanting protection (or a court-approved guardian or conservator of the protected person) files court forms asking for the restraining order. There is NO fee to file.

2. The judge will decide whether or not to make the order by the next business day. Sometimes the judge decides sooner.

3. If the judge grants (gives) the orders requested, he or she will first make “temporary” orders that only last until the court date. The court date will be on the paperwork. These temporary orders can include issues like:

4. The person asking for protection will have to “serve” the other person with a copy of all the restraining order papers before the court date. This means that someone 18 or older (NOT involved in the case) must hand-deliver a copy of all the papers to the restrained person.

5. The restrained person has the right to file an answer to the restraining order request, explaining his or her side of the story.

6. Both sides go to the court hearing.

7. At the hearing, the judge will decide to continue or cancel the temporary restraining order. If the judge decides to extend the temporary order, the “permanent” order may last for up to 5 years.

https://www.courts.ca.gov/1058.htm All content copies from https://www.courts.ca.gov/1058.htm


Who is the mandated reporter?

Any person who has assumed full or intermittent responsibility for the care or custody of an elder or dependent adult, whether or not that person receives compensation, including administrators, supervisors, and any licensed staff of a public or private facility that provides care or services for elder or dependent adults, or any elder or dependent adult care custodian, health practitioner, clergy member, or employee of a county adult protective services agency or a local law enforcement agency, is a "mandated reporter." Welf & I C §15630(a). A mandated reporter who, in his or her professional capacity, or within the scope of his or her employment, has observed or has knowledge of an incident that reasonably appears to be physical abuse, abandonment, abduction, isolation, financial abuse, or neglect, or is told by an elder or dependent adult that he or she has experienced behavior constituting such abuse, or reasonably suspects that abuse, must report the known or suspected incident of abuse to APS or the local law enforcement agency, or to the ombudsman or law enforcement if the abuse occurred in a long-term care facility. Welf & I C §15630(b)(1).

Services Available through the Adult Protective Services