Nursing Home Neglect, Abuse and Accidents

Nursing Home Neglect, Nursing Home Abuse and Nursing Home Accidents

Our New York personal injury law firm aggressively represents residents and patients who have suffered serious physical or emotional injuries as a result of improper or inadequate care, neglect, abuse, medical errors, accidental injuries or wrongful death at a nursing home, hospital or assisted living facility in New York State, or while receiving home care provided by a facility in New York State.

Nursing Home Neglect, Nursing Home Abuse and Nursing Home Accidents | Legal Rights Of Nursing Home Residents

In addition to the legal rights afforded to accident victims by customary negligence principles of law, and possible medical malpractice, New York State law further protects the rights of nursing home patients. The following is a brief summary of some important provisions of New York law relating to nursing home residents.

New York Public Health Law section 2803-c protects the nursing home patient’s rights, including:
• the right to receive adequate and appropriate medical care, and to be informed regarding his or her medical condition and proposed treatment
• the right to have privacy in treatment
• the right to receive courteous, fair and respectful care and treatment
• the right to be free from mental and physical abuse
• the right to be free from physical and chemical restraints (except under very limited conditions)

New York Public Health Law section 2801-d provides that a patient of a nursing home (residential health care facility) who is injured as result of the nursing home’s negligence and deprivation of his or her rights provided in the Public Health Law is entitled to monetary damages in an amount sufficient to compensate the patient for the injuries sustained. The amount of such compensation in set at a minimum of 25% of the daily per-patient rate of payment for the facility, for each day of the patient’s residence at the facility during which time the patient endures the injury or deprivation of legal rights as stated in the Public Health Law. These rules apply where the patient’s injury was caused by the facility, unless there is a finding that the facility exercised all care reasonably necessary to prevent and limit the patient’s deprivation of rights and injuries.

In addition, any attempt by the health care facility to obtain a waiver from a patient of the right to sue under Public Health Law section 2801-d, or of the right to a jury trial prior to the commencement of a lawsuit, shall be null and void and shall have no legal force or effect.

New York Public Health Law section 2801-d also provides that a patient of a nursing home (residential health care facility) who commences a lawsuit pursuant to this section may not be discriminated against by the residential health care facility.

New York Codes, Rules and Regulations 10 NYCRR 415.12 provides that:
• every resident is entitled to all necessary care and services in order to attain or maintain the highest practical physical, mental and psycho social well-being, in accordance with the comprehensive assessment and plan of care for the patient
• except in unavoidable situations, the patient’s abilities regarding activities of daily living should not diminish during the patient’s residence at the facility
• the facility should ensure that the patient does not develop pressure sores (“bed sores”) unless they were unavoidable, despite any reasonable efforts to prevent them
• the facility should provide necessary treatment for patients who already have pressure sores (“bed sores”) to promote healing, prevent infection and prevent new sores from developing

Injuries Sustained By Nursing Home Patients

Residents of a nursing home, hospital, assisted living facility, or home health care provided by a facility should not sustain accidental injuries, and should not develop bed sores while in the care of a competent facility. Furthermore, if the resident enters the facility with medical conditions such as bed sores, they should be properly treated by the facility’s staff and medical providers, in order to ensure that the medical conditions do not worsen or become infected, and that the conditions are quickly resolved.

If a resident of a nursing home, hospital, or assisted living facility, or a home bound patient whose health care is provided by a facility, is neglected, physically or emotionally abused, or sustains injuries from falls or other accidents, we can help to obtain the money damages that the patient or the patient’s family deserves.

We represent residents and patients of nursing homes, hospitals, and assisted living facilities, as well as patients confined to home, while receiving home care provided by a facility, where the resident or patient is subjected to neglect, abuse, or injuries, including:
• Malnutrition or dehydration
• Bed sores or pressure sores
• Failure to administer prescribed medication, or giving the wrong medication, or giving an incorrect dosage of prescribed medication
• Physical abuse, such as physically harming or needlessly restraining a patient
• Emotional abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Accidental Injuries
• Wrongful Death

In order to minimize the possibility of your loved one becoming a victim of nursing home neglect or abuse, and to obtain evidence of nursing home neglect or abuse if it has occurred, we recommended the following:
• Visit your loved one at the nursing home or other facility regularly.
• Do not limit your visits to meeting your loved one in common areas of the nursing home or other facility. Instead, make sure that you also visit your loved one’s room, and pay attention to his or her living conditions.
• Meet with the facility’s staff, including the treating physicians, and become involved with the resident’s medical, physical and emotional treatment.
• Observe the physical condition of your loved one, and make sure that any bruises, bed sores, pressure sores, or other medical conditions are properly treated, so that they do not worsen and do not become infected.

In the event that a resident of a nursing home, hospital, assisted living facility, or home health care provided by a facility is neglected, physically or emotionally abused, or sustains injuries from falls or other accidents, we suggest that you obtain as much information and evidence as possible. Speak to your loved one, and to other residents, in order to learn the circumstances surrounding the incident, and also to determine whether neglect, abuse, falls, and other accidental injuries are frequent occurrences at the facility. Also, obtain copies of accident reports, medical records, photographs of injuries, photographs of the accident location, and photographs of any dangerous conditions or dangerous equipment that may have caused the accident.

Nursing Home Neglect, Nursing Home Abuse and Nursing Home Accidents | How We Can Help

It is our mission to protect the rights of residents of nursing homes, hospitals, assisted living facilities, and home health care provided by a facility. The resident who is the subject of neglect, physical or emotional abuse, mistreatment, or accidental injuries deserves to be financially compensated. We can help you or your loved one receive financial compensation for neglect, abuse, medication errors, or accidental injuries sustained in a nursing home, hospital, assisted living facility, or home where health care is provided by a facility, including bed sores, malnutrition, injuries due to falls or other accidents, head injuries, broken bones, and wrongful death.

If you or a loved one was seriously injured in a nursing home, hospital, assisted living facility or while receiving home care provided by a facility due to neglect, abuse or accidental injury, it is important that you hire the right New York personal injury lawyer. We will conduct a thorough investigation, obtain records of medical conditions, records of care provided to the resident and work diligently to uncover evidence needed to prove the merits of the patient’s or resident’s case against the nursing home or other facility. Witnesses will be interviewed and accident reports will be obtained and analyzed.

Nursing Home Neglect, Nursing Home Abuse and Nursing Home Accidents | Time Limitations

There are strict time limitations that apply to New York accidental injury lawsuits, including lawsuits for nursing home neglect, nursing home abuse, nursing home accidents, and other types of New York accidents. The statute of limitations (time limit for commencing litigation) varies depending on the type of case, and in some instances, depending on the defendant being sued. Furthermore, many types of claims and lawsuits also have other time limitations (in addition to the statute of limitations), such as time limitations for filing a Notice of Claim, Notice of Intention to Make Claim, and other important documents.

Free Confidential Consultation

If you or a loved one sustained serious injuries due to an accident, or was the victim of neglect or abuse in a nursing home, hospital, assisted living facility or while receiving home care provided by a facility, and would like to discuss your case with a New York Accident Lawyer, we invite you to call our office for a free confidential consultation, or complete our questionnaire.

Nursing Home Neglect, Nursing Home Abuse and Nursing Home Accidents | Disclaimer

Visiting our website, submitting any information via questionnaire or email, or discussing your case with us does not create an attorney-client relationship. An attorney-client relationship with our law firm can only be established with the signing of a written retainer agreement prepared by our law firm.

Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future case or legal matter.

Our New York personal injury attorney website provides general information about New York nursing home neglect, NY nursing home abuse, and accidents occurring in a nursing home, hospital, assisted living facility or while receiving home care provided by a facility. The New York personal injury, NY accidental injury, serious injury accident, or other personal injury legal information contained in this website is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor to create an attorney-client relationship or lawyer-client relationship. We recommend that you discuss your accident case with a NY Personal Injury Attorney or NY Accident Lawyer promptly, since there are strict time limitations that apply to New York accident cases.

This website is not intended to solicit clients for nursing home neglect, nursing home abuse, or nursing home accidental injuries occurring outside of New York State.

New York Accident Lawyer and Personal Injury Attorney New York representing victims of neglect, abuse and accidental injuries occurring in a nursing home, hospital, assisted living facility or while receiving home care provided by a facility in New York City, Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Long Island, Nassau County, Suffolk County, Westchester County, Rockland County and upstate New York.

Law Offices of Michael W. Goldstein, a New York personal injury law firm
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