The legislature clearly perceived elder abuse as a very serious problem, justifying legislative intervention and designated elder abuse a class 5 felony. The next year, the legislature expanded the elder abuse statute by creating a statutory civil cause of action for elder abuse. The legislature thereby distinguished civil actions for elder abuse from other personal injury actions and created a statutory civil cause of action for elder abuse. B. An incapacitated or vulnerable adult whose life or health is being or has been endangered or injured by neglect, abuse or exploitation may file an action in sucerior court against any person or enterprise that has been employed to provide care, that has assumed a legal duty to provide care or that has been appointed by a court to provide care to such incapacitated or vulnerable adult for having caused or permitted such conduct. We believe the plain wording of A.R.S. 46-455 allows the trial court to award damages for pain and suffering.
Actual damages are synonymous with compensatory damages.
Compensatory damages include damages for pain and suffering. Thus, actual damages include damages for pain and suffering, and the elder abuse statute affirmatively permits the trial judge to award such damages. Defendants contend, however, that pain and suffering damages awarded after the victim's death are not compensatory because the person whom the damages would compensate is unable to receive the benefit of the compensation. However, subsection F is merely a nonexclusive list of orders the trial court may issue. The statute does not purport to prohibit a court from ordering damages to be paid to the representatives of the injured victims, whether or not the victim is deceased.