Know what you're owed
What your state's law lets your family ask for — and how long you've got.
Your rights →A public resource for California · Arizona · Nevada · New Mexico
Someone has to be watching. We are.
We write the plain-English guides nobody else does — how to spot it, who to call, what your family is owed — and our watchdogs keep reading the records on every care home in your state.
"I kept telling myself I was overreacting. I wasn't."
— A daughter in Phoenix, on the six weeks before she called anyone01
Report it now
Who to call, what to say, and what actually happens after you do.
Guides for your state →02
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Look up a care home
What inspectors found, how many times, and what the home did about it.
Search homes →
Checked by our watchdog team · every guide
Everything sourced · to public records
Kept current · we re-check the data quarterly
Free & private · we reply by text, usually within 15 minutes
In danger right now? Call 911 first.
As seen on
The Facility Watch
Investigation
One in four five-star nursing homes has a finding where a resident was harmed
From September, Medicare inspects five-star homes less often. So we read the inspection record of every five-star nursing home in the four states we cover — 347 of them — and found that 85 carry a finding where an inspector recorded a resident was actually hurt.
By our watchdog team · Reviewed by Defend Our Elders · August 12, 2026
1 in 10people over 60 said they'd been abused or neglected in the past year
1,435nursing homes in the country carry Medicare's abuse warning right now — 37 of them in Arizona
$28.3Bis taken from people over 60 every year, mostly by someone they knew
Sources, in order: the National Elder Mistreatment Study (funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, 5,777 adults aged 60+); our own count from Medicare's Care Compare file, checked 11 August 2026; and AARP's 2023 analysis of elder financial exploitation. How we count →
County reports: what the inspection records say
Look up any home →Our watchdogs read the federal inspection record for every certified nursing home in these counties, named the homes with the most serious findings, and set out what a family can do next. Every number comes from the CMS files dated October 1, 2026.
California · 369 homes
Los Angeles County
50 homes carry the federal abuse icon, and 26 are in or candidates for the Special Focus Facility program.
California · 83 homesSan Diego County
31 findings where a resident was actually harmed — 14 of them at homes in El Cajon.
California · 72 homesOrange County
About 58 citations per home since January 2024 — more than double San Diego County's average.
California · 54 homesRiverside County
16 immediate-jeopardy findings, the most dangerous category inspectors can record.
California · 55 homesSan Bernardino County
9 immediate-jeopardy findings spread across 7 different homes.
California · 37 homesSacramento County
12 homes — nearly one in three — carry the federal abuse icon.
California · 31 homesFresno County
15 homes, nearly half the county, have at least one actual-harm finding.
California · 17 homesKern County
16 of the county's 17 homes have a finding where a resident was actually harmed.
Arizona · 77 homesMaricopa County
14 homes carry the federal abuse icon; 33 findings where a resident was actually harmed.
Arizona · 24 homesPima County
6 homes — one in four — carry the federal abuse icon, all of them in Tucson.
Nevada · 42 homesClark County
872 citations and 7 immediate-jeopardy findings; two homes are Special Focus Facility candidates.
Who's behind this
We're not a magazine. We're the people who take these cases.
Defend Our Elders is published by Justice 4 Elders — a law practice that does nothing else. Not car crashes, not slip-and-falls. Just seniors — somebody's mother, somebody's father — hurt by the people who were supposed to be looking after them. Our watchdog team reads the state records; our lawyers take the cases the records point to.
Los Angeles, CAPhoenix, AZLas Vegas, NV
Results we've won for families
$3MBroken back from a fall
$2.5MFall in a nursing home
$1.4MBedsore
Past settlements don't guarantee what happens in your case. These are results from prior years, from attorneys working with or for Justice 4 Elders, Inc.
Choose your state
We build this state by state, because the rules change at every border.
Who you call, what they can do, and how long you have are all different depending on where your person lives. Pick your state. If we haven't got to it yet, we'll still point you at someone who can help.
Arizona
Arizona lets a family take a nursing home to court directly. We read the inspection records for all 140 Arizona homes — look yours up, then tell us what happened. Free, and we usually text back within 15 minutes.
California
Somebody's mother deserves better. We read the inspection record for all 1,165 California nursing homes — see any home's citations, then tell us what happened to your family. Free, and we usually text back within 15 minutes.
Nevada
We read the inspection record for all 66 Nevada nursing homes — see any home's citations and harm findings, then tell us what happened to your family. Free, and we usually text back within 15 minutes.
New Mexico
Worried about a New Mexico nursing home? Tell us what's happening and we'll help you find out what the record says and what your family can do. Free, and we usually text back within 15 minutes.
TexasGuides in progress
FloridaGuides in progress
Ohio & WashingtonOn the roadmap
Somewhere else?We'll point you to help in any state
What changed this month
All news & updates →California just made it easier to prove elder abuse — if the home destroyed the records
A law that took effect in January lowers the standard of proof for enhanced elder abuse remedies when…
The federal staffing rule is dead. California’s survived — and 17 homes just paid $15 million.
A national minimum for nursing home staffing was written in 2024, struck down in 2025, blocked by Congress…
Medicare is about to inspect one in eight nursing homes less often
From September, homes with five stars and a clean recent record get a shorter inspection. The catch: the…
Most-used guides
What most people come here to do
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Wrongful death in a nursing home: what the record shows and what families can do
When a death in a nursing home didn't have to happen, the inspection record, the chart and the death certificate…
Nursing home elopement: what the inspection record shows and what families can do
A resident who walks out of a nursing home unnoticed was failed twice: by the assessment and by the supervision.…
Dehydration and malnutrition in a California nursing home: what the record shows, and what the law says
Unexplained weight loss or dehydration in a nursing home is a federally regulated failure, not bad luck. What F-692 requires,…
Falls and unwitnessed fractures in a California nursing home: what the record shows, and what the law says
A nursing home is required to assess fall risk and supervise — federal rule F-689. What an unwitnessed fall or…
Pressure sores in a California nursing home: what the record shows, and what the law says
Pressure sores are almost always preventable — federal rule F-686 requires homes to prevent them. What the inspection record shows…
Warning signs
You noticed something. A bruise nobody can explain. A smell in the hallway that never quite clears. Your mother going…
Know the law
The laws that actually have teeth
California
California's Elder Abuse Act, in plain English
Normally, suing a care home is treated like any other medical mistake — and there's a ceiling on what a family can get back. California made an exception for seniors. If a home didn't…
Reviewed by our watchdog team
California-admitted attorneys
California-admitted attorneys
Arizona
Arizona's Adult Protective Services Act, in plain English
In most states you wait on the government to act, and if it doesn't, that's the end of it. Arizona wrote its law differently: a vulnerable adult or their family can take the caregiver…
Reviewed by our watchdog team
Arizona-admitted attorneys
Arizona-admitted attorneys
Nevada
Nevada's double-damages law, in plain English
Most states let a family recover what they can prove they lost. Nevada goes further. When an older person — 60 or over — or a vulnerable person is injured through abuse, neglect or…
Reviewed by our watchdog team
Nevada-admitted attorneys
Nevada-admitted attorneys
Quick answers
Questions families ask first
Will they take it out on my mom if I report them?
It's illegal everywhere we cover to punish a resident because their family complained, and homes know it. You can also report without giving your name. This is the fear that keeps people quiet longest, so our state guides spell out exactly what protects you where you live.
If I report it, do I still need a lawyer?
They do different jobs. Reporting gets someone out to check on your person and can put a mark on the home's record. It can't get your family anything back for what happened, and it usually doesn't change how the home is run. Most families end up doing both.
My dad fell. Is that anyone's fault?
Sometimes it genuinely isn't. What decides it is whether the fall was preventable — was he flagged as a fall risk, was there a plan, was anyone following it, were there enough staff on that shift. All of that lives in paperwork the home holds, which is why moving early matters.
What does this cost?
Nothing to ask, and there's no obligation. If a case does go ahead, these are handled so the lawyer only gets paid out of what's recovered — no bill arriving while it's going on. There can still be court costs, and you'd have that in writing before signing anything.
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