Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect

New York gives nursing home residents a specific right to sue when a facility deprives them of a right or benefit created by statute, regulation, or contract for their well-being — including the detailed standards of care in the State’s nursing home regulations. The statute permits compensatory damages, punitive damages where the deprivation was willful or in reckless disregard of the resident’s rights, and, in the court’s discretion, attorneys’ fees.

Those claims are usually brought together with claims for negligence and, where appropriate, medical malpractice, so that every basis for the facility’s responsibility is before the court.

Bedsores (pressure ulcers), repeated falls, unexplained bruises or fractures, sudden weight loss, dehydration, poor hygiene, over-sedation, and changes in mood or behavior can all indicate neglect or abuse. Many of these harms trace to understaffing, which is a choice the facility makes.

If you are concerned about a resident’s safety, raise it with the facility in writing, consider whether the resident should be moved, and report it to the New York State Department of Health, which investigates nursing home complaints. Then talk with a lawyer about the facility’s responsibility.

We obtain the resident’s chart, care plans, and assessments, and we look at the facility’s staffing, its inspection history, and its compliance with State and federal standards. Those records often show whether an injury was an isolated event or the product of a pattern.