NYC Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers
While most people don’t envision spending their senior years in a nursing home, we do expect that these facilities should at least be able to provide us a basic level of proficient care. It’s an unfortunate realization, then, that so many nursing homes are negligent in their care of residents, ranging from neglect to flat-out abuse. Tucker Lawyers PC represents clients who have been the victims of nursing home negligence, and we can assure you that you do have rights. Nursing homes that have caused harm to their residents deserve to be held responsible, and their victims deserve compensation for the wrongs that they have suffered.
What We Know About Nursing Home Abuse
The National Center on Adult Abuse provides resources on the prevalence of abuse in nursing homes. Here are just a few of the statistics:
- In a study from 2000, 44 percent of nursing home residents said they had been abused.
- In the same study, 95 percent of residents said they had either been neglected or witnessed neglect in their facility.
- In a 2010 study, over half of nursing home staff surveyed admitted to mistreating patients, either through neglect, physical violence or mental abuse.
- The three leading kinds of nursing home abuse complaints were physical abuse, abuse by another resident and psychological abuse.
Possible Forms of Nursing Home Abuse
- Neglect – This can include ignoring a patient altogether or general inattention to their well-being and overall condition.
- Starvation – Failing to properly feed a patient can result in a deteriorated state of health. This includes a total failure to provide food or regularly allowing them to miss meals.
- Improper, Infrequent or Lack of Medication – It is the job of a nursing home’s staff to administer a patient’s medication in a timely fashion. If there is a lack of proper medication, or if a staff is providing the wrong medications, then that staff is being negligent in their care.
- Physical Abuse – Physical abuse includes grabbing, shaking or hitting nursing home residents.
- Verbal, Mental or Emotional Abuse – This includes yelling, cursing, or general cruelty toward patients.
Social Media Abuse in Nursing Homes – A Disturbing Breach of Privacy
Nursing Home Abuse in New York
One example of nursing home abuse in our own state can be found at the Mohawk Valley Health Care Center in Ilion, New York. The nursing home was accused of covering up medication errors and unlawful sexual conduct. The facility pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge and paid a $5,000 fine. In February of 2016, state auditors criticized the New York Department of Health for being slow to fine poorly run nursing homes. Regulators also said that when fines do come, they are often too weak to deter further neglect and substandard care.
Identifying Mistreatment
As you can see, mistreatment comes in various forms. If an attendant has been verbally abusive, has failed to provide your loved one with proper medication or food, has attempted to cover up an accident, or has been physically aggressive, you may be entitled to sue for personal injury. But what if the victim of abuse lacks the proper faculties to communicate? The nursing home abuse attorneys at Tucker Lawyers PC have handled these cases before, and we can provide you with a few red flags for negligence or abuse:
1. Has Your Loved One Experienced…
- Rapid weight gain or weight loss?
- Dehydration?
- Bedsores?
- An increased frequency of illnesses?
- Inexplicable bruises or cuts?
- A change in personality?
- A sudden fear of, or shyness communicating around, staff?
- Less sanitary than you remember?
- Understaffed?
Contact our NYC Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys
If you or a loved one has suffered from nursing home abuse and neglect, you can seek compensation for your damages. Nursing homes often have systems in place to defend against lawsuits, so it’s important to have an experienced nursing home abuse attorney at your side. We have fought this fight before and we know the proper course of action to take when representing your best interests. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you.
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