New York City Nursing Home Negligence Attorney
Nursing home neglect is a dangerous and very real form of abuse, even when it not intentional. Nursing home residents require an intense level of care and supervision. Among their many responsibilities, nursing homes have a duty to keep enough staff on duty to provide adequate care to each resident and a duty to hire staff members who are properly trained to provide that care. There is no excuse for nursing home neglect. If someone you love has been harmed by nursing home neglect, New York nursing home negligence attorney Eric R. Bernstein is here to help.
What is Nursing Home Neglect?
Nursing homes have a duty to provide adequate care, protection and supervision. When neglect occurs, it is rarely an isolated case. If your loved one is suffering from neglect, there is a very good chance that other residents in the nursing home are also suffering. Neglect includes failure to:
- Properly assess resident and develop a care plan
- Follow the care plan
- Evaluate and revise care plan as needed
- Provide adequate nutrition
- Provide hydration
- Maintain hygiene
- Provide clean bedding and clothing
- Assist with bathroom needs
- Assist with walking or transferring to prevent falls
- Frequently turn immobile residents to prevent bedsores
- Provide medical attention
- Provide proper dental care
- Provide proper foot care
- Properly administer and manage medications
- Provide opportunities for socialization/stimulation
- Provide opportunities for physical activity when appropriate
- Supervise resident
- Protect resident from safety hazards
- Protect resident from attacks and assaults by other residents, staff, guests, and intruders
Consequences of Nursing Home Neglect
The consequences of nursing home neglect can add up slowly over time or manifest as a sudden accident. Either way, nursing home neglect can be fatal. For those who survive, quality of life can be destroyed forever. For instance, a fall can cause broken bones that will never heal properly in an elderly resident, leaving the formerly mobile resident bedridden for the rest of their life.
Consequences of nursing home neglect can include:
- Dehydration
- Malnutrition
- Bedsores and infections
- Illnesses
- Gradual, premature decline in physical or mental health
- Preventable or premature dementia
- Falls
- Brain injury
- Broken bones and fractures
- Spinal cord injury
- Cuts and burns
- Severe sunburn
- Chronic pain
- Choking
- Medication error
- Elopement and wandering
- Physical attacks
- Permanent disability
- Shortened life expectancy
- Diminished quality of life
To learn more about nursing home neglect and your legal rights in the State of New York, please call the Law Offices of Eric R. Bernstein, P.C., at (212) 683-1530 or email us to schedule your free initial consultation.
