Easing the Burden of Proof for Victims of Elder Abuse

August 6, 2026

The U.S. population is aging rapidly. The number of Americans 65-plus is projected to balloon from 58 million in 2022 to 82 million by 2050 (including nearly 25% of California residents) – meaning more and more families will depend on elder care, adding enormous pressure to an already strained and deeply flawed nursing home system.

For years, California families have trusted nursing homes to care for their most vulnerable loved ones. But a growing wave of lawsuits, government citations, and investigative reporting is exposing a disturbing reality inside some of the state’s largest elder care chains: allegations of chronic understaffing, neglect, abuse, and profit-driven failures that put residents at serious risk.

Nursing Home Neglect & Citations in California Chains

Calmatters published an exposé on the mounting legal cases against Los Angeles-based entrepreneur Schlomo Rechnitz, owner of one of the largest nursing home chains in the state. Rechnitz, who has a reported net worth of $786 million, and his wife Tamar have an ownership stake in more than 78 California facilities.

Rechnitz’s nursing homes have faced serious elder abuse accusations dating back more than a decade – negligence, understaffing, overmedication, missed medical appointments, malnutrition, severe injury, rape, and COVID-related deaths of two dozen residents – plus witness tampering.

LA & Alameda County Nursing Home Abuse Verdicts

As Calmatters reported, in February 2024, an LA County jury awarded an 84-year-old patient $2.34 million after finding her rights were violated over 130 times in a Rechnitz- owned facility. In Alameda County, $7.6 million was awarded to the family of a man who died after missing multiple chemotherapy appointments because nursing home staff failed to transport him.

High Citation Rates and Low Federal Quality Ratings

Over the past three years alone, Rechnitz’s 78 nursing homes received an average of 12.4 citations (more than double the state average). Two-thirds have faced federal fines. His facilities have been fined an average of $47,897 in those years, compared to under $30,000 for average facilities in CA. Rechnitz-owned facilities also receive low federal quality ratings – close to 58% had one- or two-star ratings out of five.

Back in 2014, then-Attorney General Kamala Harris tried to bar Rechnitz from buying new nursing homes. However, not only did his purchases go through, but the state Department of Public Health allowed Rechnitz-owned companies to continue to operate 18 nursing homes for seven years while their licenses were pending. Five additional homes stayed in operation even after the state had denied their licenses.

According to Calmatters, “Elder care advocates say [Rechnitz] is Exhibit A in how regulators at the Department of Public Health are failing some of California’s most vulnerable citizens.”

The Elder Abuse Crisis: On the Rise, but Under the Radar

In addition to physical, verbal/psychological, or sexual abuse, elder abuse can take numerous forms, including passive neglect, abandonment, confinement/isolation (when not medically necessary), deprivation (e.g., basic needs, medical treatment), and financial exploitation.

Tragically, seniors are most commonly mistreated by the people they trust and rely on for their care – including nursing home staff. Federal studies have found that resident abuse in nursing care facilities is not only a growing problem but also significantly underreported.

In 2019, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that, between 2013 and 2017, the number of cited abuse deficiencies more than doubled. Currently, elder abuse happens about every 5 seconds in the U.S. Recent data from the National Council on Aging (NCOA) reveals that about 5 million older Americans suffer abuse every year, often in nursing homes. Approximately 1 in 10 adults aged 65 or older experiences at least one type of abuse – but some estimates put the number closer to 1 in 6, or roughly 10 million elders per year.

Less than a quarter of cases are reported to authorities. Further, the GOA report found that even after abuse was cited, there was frequent failure to implement enforcement actions.

How California AB 251 Gives Hope to Victims of Elder Abuse

On January 1, 2026, AB 251 (signed into law in October 2025) took effect. The new law is aimed at making it easier for victims of elder abuse and their families to seek justice. For more answers, call our Elder Abuse attorneys in Orange County.

Overcoming High Burden of Proof Under EADACPA

Previously, under the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act (EADACPA), proving elder abuse required victims to provide “clear and convincing evidence” of neglect. Although EADACPA provided important protections, including the right to seek enhanced remedies such as lawyer fees and punitive damages in extreme cases, this standard placed a very high burden of proof on plaintiffs who are often unable to speak up for themselves – the elderly, disabled, cognitively impaired, or deceased.

Unfortunately, in such cases, evidence that a nursing home was negligent or abusive, and that its operators were aware of the failures, relied primarily on records (charts, logs, staff notes) kept by the very facilities where abuse allegedly occurred. Therefore, elder care centers, especially if accused of recklessness or harm, could benefit from altering, concealing, or destroying records.

Lowering Standard of Proof for Missing or Altered Records

Now, under AB 251, if a nursing facility manipulates or destroys records, the judge can lower the plaintiff’s burden of proof to a “preponderance of evidence.”

AB 251 passed after two previously unsuccessful attempts by the California legislature (2017 and 2024) to revise the evidentiary standard in EADACPA.

There’s still a long way to go, but with AB 251, vulnerable elders – victims of negligent facility operators and owners that put profit over people – have new leverage.

Experienced California Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers

Aitken Aitken Cohn has extensive experience representing victims of nursing home abuse, neglect, and elder mistreatment throughout Orange County and the Inland Empire.

Types of Elder Neglect & Abuse Cases We Handle

Over the years, the firm’s attorneys have successfully handled numerous confidential cases involving allegations of inadequate staffing, failures to monitor vulnerable residents, medication errors, untreated pressure injuries, unsafe living conditions, and negligent supervision. These matters have included preventable deaths resulting from falls, untreated infections, delayed medical care, medication mismanagement, and failures to protect residents from known dangers. While every case is unique, they share a common theme: vulnerable seniors suffering devastating harm because facilities failed to provide the basic care, dignity, and protection they deserved.

Through these cases, Aitken Aitken Cohn has helped families obtain justice while holding nursing homes, board and care facilities, and long-term care providers accountable for failing to meet their legal obligations to protect those entrusted to their care.

Written on behalf of Aitken*Aitken*Cohn