If you or someone you know is accused of hurting or harming an elderly person you need to speak to a skilled criminal defense attorney who can began taking the necessary steps to protect you. In Los Angeles county, elder abuse is aggressively investigated and prosecuted. We believe it is important to be proactive when facing elder abuse accusations. Call us to set up a one-on-one confidential consultation to discuss your legal options. We have an experienced legal team that can help you when facing these types of allegations.

California Elder Abuse Law

Generally, Elder Abuse can be defined as physically or mentally injuring, neglecting, endangering, falsely imprisoning or stealing from a person who is 65 years or older. Elder Abuse and the penalties for committing it are contained in California Penal Code Section 368. According to California law, it is illegal to intentionally:

• Cause or permit unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering to an elder, or
• Cause or permit an elder’s injury or health endangerment, or
• Commit theft, embezzlement, forgery, fraud or identity theft on an elder, or
• Falsely imprison an elder by the use of violence, menace, fraud or deceit.

Penal Code Section 368 protects both elderly and Dependent Adults. In other words, it is equally illegal to physically or mentally injure, neglect, endanger, falsely imprison or steal from a Dependent Adult. According to California Law, a Dependent Adult is a person who is between the ages of 18 and 64, who has physical or mental limitations that restrict his or her ability to carry out normal activities or to protect his or her rights. This definition includes people who have physical or developmental disabilities and people whose physical or mental abilities have diminished because of age. The term “Dependent Adult” also refers to a person between the ages of 18 and 64 who is admitted as an inpatient to a 24-hour facility.

Penalties and Punishment

Dependent Adult and Elder Abuse can be charged as either a felony or a misdemeanor. In deciding how to charge the case, the prosecutor will consider the offender’s criminal record, the circumstances surrounding the event and whether the abuse has caused “great bodily injury”, death or significant financial loss. Great bodily injury (also referred to as "great bodily harm" or "GBI") means significant or substantial injuries.

The penalties for Dependent Adult or Elder abuse depend on whether the abuse was physical, financial or involved false imprisonment.

• Physical or Emotional Injuries
  If the defendant’s actions were likely to injure, make suffer, cause pain or endanger the health of the victim, the offense is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year and a fine up to $6,000 or both; or if charged as a felony by a fine up to $6,000 and imprisonment in a state prison for 2, 3 or 4 years.
  
  If the defendant’s actions were not likely to injure, make suffer, cause pain or endanger the health of the victim, the offense is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year and a fine up to $2,000 or both.
  
  If the victim suffered great bodily injury, an additional 3 year term is added to the state prison term if the victim is under 70 years of age and an additional 5 year term is added if the victim is older than 70. If the victim dies, the additional term is 5 years if the victim is under 70 years old and 7 years if the victim is older than 70.
  
  
• Financial Injuries
  If the defendant steals money (e.g., by theft, embezzlement, forgery, fraud), goods or labor worth more than $950, the offense is punishable by a fine up to $1,000 and/or imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year; or if charged as a felony the offense is punishable by a fine up to $1,000 and imprisonment in the state prison for 2, 3 or 4 years. If the value is less than $950, the offense is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail and a fine up to $1,000 or both.
  
  
• False Imprisonment
  If the victim has been falsely imprisoned (restrained without consent by the use of violence, menace, fraud or deceit), the offense is punishable by incarceration in the state prison for 2, 3 or 4 years.

Committing elder abuse may also result in court ordered counseling, probation and victim restitution.

Los Angeles Elder Abuse Attorneys

The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office has a dedicated Elder Abuse unit that is staffed with prosecutors who are specially trained in California elder abuse law and prosecution. They have vast resources to prosecute these cases. To level the playing field, you need experienced and aggressive criminal defense attorneys. At Rodriguez, Lewis & Kahn, we have over 70 years of legal experience to challenge the prosecutor’s case and obtain the best resolution in your case. Our first objective will be to get the charges against our client dismissed. If a dismissal is not an option, we will aggressively negotiate with the prosecutor to obtain a favorable plea agreement. If we cannot obtain a satisfactory deal, we will take the case to trial seeking a “Not Guilty” verdict. Call Rodriguez, Lewis & Kahn to schedule a free and CONFIDENTIAL CONSULTATION.