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New York City Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

Have you or a loved one suffered abuse, either intentionally or unintentionally, in a New York City nursing home?

Nursing homes have an important responsibility to care for aging individuals.

When a nursing home employee’s indifference, oversight, or intentional actions harm their residents, victims and their families may be entitled to financial compensation.

If you have questions about a potential injury case, contact or call Rosenbaum Personal Injury Lawyers at (212) 514-5007 to schedule a consultation with an experienced and knowledgeable New York City nursing home abuse lawyer. We have been helping individuals and their families for more than 40 years. We offer a free consultation to discuss how we can help you achieve justice and recover fair compensation.

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How Rosenbaum Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help With Your Nursing Home Abuse Case

Families trust nursing homes to care for their loved ones. The choice to place a loved one in a nursing home is typically need-based, with the desire for the individual to receive a higher level of care and attention than they could receive anywhere else. Nursing home residents often need help with basic activities such as eating, bathing, getting dressed, and moving about.

Unfortunately, facilities do not always provide a reasonable or acceptable level of care. Some facilities are negligent in hiring or training employees. Abuse and neglect in nursing homes are far too commonplace in New York and across the country. When abuse happens, it is essential to determine who is responsible.

That’s a lot easier when you have a skilled NYC personal injury lawyer fighting for you. At Rosenbaum Personal Injury Lawyers, our attorneys have 40+ years of experience representing victims of nursing home abuse and their families. We understand how emotionally devastating cases like these can be, and that’s why we strive to do everything in our power to maximize compensation for our clients.

When you turn to our NYC personal injury attorneys for help, we will:

Coordinate an in-depth investigation into the circumstances of the abuse or neglect
Determine if the nursing home and/or caretakers have bee the subject of formal reprimands or complaints
Work with experts as we analyze your loved one’s injuries and identify the likely value of your claim
Help you make the tough decisions, like whether or not you should accept a settlement offer
Have our trial attorneys argue your case before a jury.

We offer a free consultation, so please don’t hesitate to call us to arrange yours today.

Types of Nursing Home Abuse We Handle

Rosenbaum Personal Injury Lawyers can help you hold nursing homes accountable after any type of neglect or abuse.

Possible forms of nursing home abuse include:

Physical abuse
Starvation
Emotional, verbal, or mental abuse
Abuse with medications
Financial exploitation.

If you suspect care providers or a facility was responsible for harm to your loved one, taking action can ensure other future residents are not subject to harm, and the facility and negligent individuals are held accountable

COVID-19 and New York Nursing Homes

New York City nursing homes were a topic of much discussion and focus in the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In March 2020, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a directive, aimed at freeing up hospital beds, which essentially forced nursing homes to take COVID patients.

The order was amended in May (an order deleted from New York Health’s website), and hospitals were prohibited from transferring patients to nursing homes unless they tested Negative from COVID-19.

A state budget bill passed in late March 2020, stipulated that health care facilities would be liable for nursing home neglect or abuse only in situations of gross negligence or intentional misconduct. This protected nursing homes from many lawsuits. The measure was amended in July 2020, permitting lawsuits if the legal action did not involve direct treatment of coronavirus.

According to the Long-Term Care COVID Tracker, more than 6,700 people have died from COVID-19 at nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities.

Regardless of a pandemic or any other situation, nursing homes have a duty of care to residents. When residents are neglected or abused and suffer harm, the victims are entitled to justice. If you or your loved one experienced any abuse or neglect at a nursing home, you have legal rights which may include substantial monetary compensation. Speak with a knowledgeable NYC nursing home abuse attorney at Rosenbaum Personal Injury Lawyers about your legal rights.

Who May Be Liable for Nursing Home Abuse?

When people suffer harm in a nursing home, anyone who was responsible for or contributed to injuries or death may be liable. Parties in a nursing home abuse lawsuit may include:

Doctors and Physicians Assistants (PAs)
Registered Nurses (RNs), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), or Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVNs), Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs)
Contracted vendors and care providers
Custodians, groundskeepers, maintenance staff
Nursing homes and parent companies.

Who May Be Liable for Nursing Home Abuse?

Understaffing has been linked to low levels of care, including failure to observe residents and note changes in health. Nursing facilities must comply with federal laws that require a facility to hire enough staff to properly care for each of its residents. Many nursing homes have high levels of turnover, which may cause facilities to rush through or skip training periods.

Is the Nursing Home Responsible For Abuse?

If a nursing home resident suffers injury or abuse, the nursing home or assisted care facility may be liable. Contact a nursing home abuse lawyer to discuss your potential case, if the harm or injury occurred as a result of:

Failing to provide food, water, and other necessities
Failing to provide medication or medical care
Failing to provide adequate security
Negligence in hiring and retention of nursing home staff (including failure to perform background checks and verify qualifications)
Negligence in the training of caregivers and staff members
Negligence in maintaining equipment (wheelchairs, walkers, and other instruments)
Failing to monitor staff members
Intentionally abusing a resident by staff members
Unnecessarily physically restraining a resident.

If the nursing home failed to care for you or your loved one, they may be liable for medical care expenses, pain and suffering, and other damages. The New York nursing home abuse lawyers at Rosenbaum Personal Injury Lawyers have successfully handled many nursing home abuse and negligence cases.

Signs of Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse

Signs of nursing home abuse and neglect can range from very subtle, to very obvious. Sometimes abuse is normalized, i.e., “Everyone does it, so this must be okay.” Over time, inappropriate practices become the norm. Many people are afraid to report suspected abuse for fear of retaliation. Other families who have dealt with abuse, but not reported it, have said all of their energy was directed at getting their loved one out of a facility and finding a new nursing home.

One New York study estimated that 260,000 (1 in 13) New Yorkers had been victims of at least one form of elder abuse in the preceding year. Risk factors for elder abuse include low levels of familial involvement or support, and dementia, which is associated with impairments of memory, judgment, and communication abilities. Generally, women are more likely to be abused than men, although all residents are vulnerable to abuse. Below are some common signs of neglect and abuse:

Signs of Neglect

Dehydration
Rapid weight loss/malnutrition
Infections
Pressure ulcers (bed sores)
Unsanitary/unclean bedding or living conditions
Burn injuries from being left in the sun, scalding bathwater, heating pads, or too-hot coffee or tea.

Signs of Physical Abuse

Open wounds, cuts, punctures, or lacerations
Head injuries
Untreated injuries in various stages of healing
Unexplained broken bones, sprains, or dislocations
Contusions or bruises
Failing to dispense medications
Unexpected death.

Signs of Emotional Abuse

Emotionally upset
Low self-esteem
Withdrawn or non-communicative
Reluctant to speak in presence of staff
Fear of a particular caretaker.

Signs of Sexual Abuse

STDs or genital infections
Bleeding unrelated to a medical condition.

Signs of Financial Exploitation

Changes in life insurance policies, property titles, powers of attorney, or wills
Unexplained ATM withdrawals, bank transfers, or credit card purchases.

If you believe your family member or loved one is the victim of abuse or neglect in a skilled nursing facility, assisted living facility, long-term care facility, or nursing home, you may be able to file a claim for financial damages. Contact us to discuss your case. If we represent you, we will do everything we can to make the process as easy as possible for you.

How to Report Nursing Home Neglect or Abuse in New York

The New York State Department of Health, Division of Nursing Home and ICF/IID Surveillance is the agency that investigates allegations or complaints of resident abuse, mistreatment, neglect and incidents occurring in nursing homes in New York State. If you believe a loved one has been neglected or abused, reporting it is an important step. You can report nursing home abuse several ways:

You can fill out the Nursing Home Complaint Form online (preferred method)
You can print out a PDF of the Nursing Home Complaint Form and submit it via mail, fax, or email.
You can call the Nursing Home Complaint Hotline at 1-888-201-4563.

You should never feel like you are overreacting when you report suspected abuse. Many people who experience abuse are unable to report it themselves. It is possible that if you do not report it, many others could also be abused.

When a complaint is made, it is investigated and there will be one of three outcomes:

Resident rights violation
Sustained abuse, neglect, or mistreatment violation
Unsustained abuse, neglect, or mistreatment violation.

If abuse, neglect, or mistreatment are determined, the victim may also pursue a civil claim for damages. A lawsuit may be against the individual(s) involved in an incident, as well as the operator of the care facility. Rosenbaum Personal Injury Lawyers can help you understand and protect your legal rights, and the rights of your family member or loved one.

Never a Fee Unless We Win

We handle all nursing home abuse cases on a contingency fee basis. This means there are no fees unless we recover money for you. In other words, we only get paid if we win your case. This arrangement benefits our clients because it allows them to access the highest quality legal representation with no out-of-pocket investment.

At Rosenbaum Personal Injury Lawyers, we have an outstanding success rate and long history of successful case results in personal injury, medical malpractice, nursing home negligence, and nursing home abuse. Our client reviews share the real and unedited experiences of clients who have placed their trust in us.

Get a Free Consultation with a New York City Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

At Rosenbaum Personal Injury Lawyers, we offer a free consultation to answer your questions and discuss your rights. Call us today at (212) 969-8296 for a free case review with a New York nursing home abuse lawyer.