Meet Associate Attorney Suzanne Voas

I got into this field of elder abuse and neglect litigation, when I started at Lanzone Morgan when I was still in law school. I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of a couple cases here at Lanzone Morgan that went all the way to the California Supreme Court. I saw how our systems are really failing the elderly population in a lot of ways, but I also saw how Lanzone Morgan was making a real tangible difference in our clients’ lives and in the industry as a whole.

We have a really tight-knit team with decades of experience in this field specifically. A lot of times, our clients are not able to communicate their story of what happened to them because they may have some cognitive limitations, or sadly, sometimes our clients have passed away. And that can pose some challenges, but thanks to the experience that we have here at Lanzone Morgan and the resources we have, we’re able to still tell the story, and the way that we do that is, That we’re able to use hospital, doctors, and family members’ stories of what they witnessed. We’re able to put that together to create a narrative even when somebody may not be able to tell us themselves.

If you do run into concerns with your loved ones’ care, I recommend that you try to make sure someone in the management of the facility hears about your concern and keep records of what you see when you visit. Keep notes of who you speak to, despite your best efforts, your loved one could still become a victim of neglect sadly, which is why we do what we do to hopefully create a safer environment for elders going forward.

One of the most valuable things I’ve learned litigating elder abuse neglect cases is to make room for empathy with my clients. People I think have this perception of lawyers as very no nonsense and business-like all the time and there’s a time and place to be business-like and formal, but I learned that it’s also important to show our clients that there’s enough room for Empathy and big hearts as well. Growing up, I had a chance to have relationships with all my grandparents and I had a chance to learn from them about our family history and, you know, what makes us who we are. And I think it’s incumbent on us to honor them and honor their legacy and try to ensure that they’re being treated with the dignity and respect that they deserve. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else.