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Torts/Personal Injury,
Evidence

Jan. 9, 2026

New law aims to combat pervasive spoliation of evidence in elder abuse cases

After years of attempts, California has amended the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act to let judges lower the evidentiary bar in cases involving spoliation.

Zachary N. Zaharoff

Partner
Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP

Specializes in Business Fraud, Class Actions, Elder Abuse, and Personal Injury

Email: zzaharoff@cpmlegal.com

Zachary spent over five years as a litigation associate in Big Law before moving to CPM.

See more...

New law aims to combat pervasive spoliation of evidence in elder abuse cases
Shutterstock

In 2011, the editorial board of the Sacramento Bee published findings from a review of nearly 150 cases of alleged chart falsification in California assisted care facilities. Based on allegations made in state citations or in lawsuits spanning more than two decades, the article concluded that "patients and their families often are the victims of records fraud in California nursing homes." See L...

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