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Knapp & Roberts Law Firm Wins Precedent-Setting Appellate Victory for Abused and Neglected Adults

Posted by: Craig Knapp
July 21, 2010
Topic: Assisted Living Facilities

The law firm of Knapp & Roberts has won a landmark victory for abused and neglected adults. On June 29, 2010, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled in Estate of Braden v. State of Arizona that the State of Arizona and its agencies must treat incapacitated and vulnerable adults with the same care and attention that the Arizona Adult Protective Services Act (APSA) requires from private caregivers. The opinion is a first in Arizona.

Jacob Braden was an exceptionally disabled young man suffering from a host of medical problems, including seizure disorders, spastic quadriparesis, clinical blindness, severe hearing deficit, and an inability to speak or communicate. Because of these tragic conditions, for many years the State had been providing around-the-clock care for Jacob through one of its many agencies-the Division of Developmental Disabilities of the Arizona Department of Economic Security. Jacob had a hard life, but he was coping as well as he could, and should have lived for many years.

But Jacob died at age 19. The immediate cause was internal bleeding from a blunt-force traumatic fracture of his thoracic spine. The medical examiner who autopsied Jacob called his death "suspicious, unnatural, and unusual." Knapp & Roberts conducted an intense investigation, which uncovered a shocking pattern of neglect and abuse, including widespread bruising, rectal bleeding, multiple fractures, chronic lack of supervision, anemia, and malnutrition.

The State of Arizona, however, refused to admit that it had the duty to control, manage, or direct the care that its agency provided Jacob-or to protect him from neglect and abuse. In a clear, strong opinion, the Arizona Court of Appeals held that the State had assumed a legal duty to care for Jacob. Moreover, the Court held that the State was not immune from liability under the Arizona Adult Protective Services Act. As the Court wrote, if the Arizona Legislature had wanted to provide immunity to the State, it "could have done so." But it did not.

Knapp & Roberts overturned an adverse trial-court ruling and won a precedent-setting victory against the largest law firm in Arizona-the Office of the Arizona Attorney General. No longer can the State evade its legal duty to supervise the care that its agencies and caregivers provide for incapacitated and vulnerable adults like Jacob Braden. This opinion means that Jacob did not die in vain. His death will bring better care-and justice-for hundreds of other incapacitated and vulnerable adults.


The Knapp & Roberts law firm represents serious injury and wrongful death clients throughout Arizona, including the communities of Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Glendale, Peoria, Surprise, Queen Creek, Apache Junction, Goodyear, Tucson, Flagstaff, and Yuma in the Valley of the Sun - Maricopa County, Pinal County, Coconino County, Yuma County, and Gila County.