Can You Use A Camera In Your Loved One’s Nursing Home Room?

Monday, September 14, 2020 by The Law Offices of J. Jeffrey Herman

If you have made the choice to put your loved one in a nursing home so they can receive the care that they need, we understand how difficult this decision was. You should be able to count on nursing home staff members to treat your loved ones with respect and dignity. Unfortunately, nursing home abuse is not uncommon. Many family members struggle to prove that their loved one has been abused, and they often inquire about whether or not they are allowed to place cameras inside a nursing home resident’s room. At the Law Offices of J. Jeffrey Herman, our Ventura County elder abuse attorneys want to discuss the legality of using cameras in nursing homes in California.

Cameras Cannot Be Used In California Nursing Home Rooms

As of this writing, there are currently no laws that allow family members to use cameras inside of their loved one’s nursing home room. Only a handful of states (Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Washington) have laws that allow the installation of cameras in nursing home residents’ rooms. In those states, both the resident and their roommate must consent to having the camera placed in the room.

Why Are These Cameras Not Allowed?

The debate over whether or not to allow cameras in nursing home rooms revolves around instances of abuse that can occur at the facility. At the Law Offices of J. Jeffrey Herman, our Ventura nursing home abuse attorneys regularly help clients who discover that their family members have suffered from physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, financial abuse, or neglect.

There has been significant discussion in California, and other states throughout the country, about whether or not cameras should be allowed in nursing homes. In general, the debate comes down to privacy. While a camera may very well help detect instances of abuse that could occur in nursing homes, these cameras will, by their very nature, be invasive. Nursing home residents may not want to be monitored while they are bathing, changing, or even going about their daily activities. Additionally, if the recording device has the ability to pick up sound, a resident’s conversations will no longer be private. For nursing home rooms that have more than one resident, a camera could violate the privacy of anybody present.

Contact Us For A Free Consultation Of Your Case

If you suspect that your loved one has been abused in a nursing home in California, contact an attorney as soon as possible. At the Law Offices of J. Jeffrey Herman, we have extensive experience handling these cases, and our goal is to ensure that nursing home abuse victims and their family members secure compensation for what happened. This could include coverage of:

• Any medical bills relating to the abuse
• Compensation for relocation expenses to a new facility
• Pain and suffering damages
• Loss of personal enjoyment damages
• Possible punitive damages against a nursing home

If you need a Ventura County nursing home abuse attorney, you can contact us for a free consultation by clicking here or calling 805-983-2344.