Abuse at the hands of caregivers is a growing concern in our country. If you have questions about nursing home injury or abuse, contact our firm to schedule a consultation with an experienced nursing home injury attorney for straightforward solutions that will work for you.
Nursing Home Injury Legal Information From Our NYC Law Firm
Below we have provided some general legal information about nursing home abuse and neglect that you may find useful. To talk about what happened to your loved one in a confidential free case evaluation that does not obligate you in any way, please contact our law firm, Menkes Law Firm.
Clients are reassured by our lawyer's caring, capable and effective ability to represent their interests in personal injury matters. Manhattan attorney Sheryl Menkes has more than two decades' experience representing clients who have suffered grievous harm or loss due to a broad range of unlawful actions or inactions on the part of nursing homes and their staff.
Please call our office to arrange a free initial consultation to discuss your concerns: 888-854-4026 or e-mail the firm.
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At New York City's Menkes Law Firm, it costs you nothing to learn more about nursing home neglect and abuse law and review what happened with an experienced personal injury lawyer. Attorney Sheryl Menkes understands firsthand the kinds of things that can go wrong in nursing homes. She will fight fiercely for your rights and for your loved ones rights to recover full and fair compensation for any wrong done.
Call 888-854-4026 or e-mail the firm to schedule a free consultation.
Experienced Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer in NYC
With more than 19 years of experience focused exclusively on nursing home abuse and personal injury law, Manhattan nursing home neglect lawyer Sheryl Menkes can help you understand whether you have legal reason to file a nursing home abuse or neglect case on behalf of yourself, a parent or a spouse.
We represent all clients on a contingency fee basis. You pay no attorney fees unless we win your case.
Call 888-854-4026 or e-mail the firm to schedule a free consultation.
Special Considerations in Proving Damages in Nursing Home Abuse
If a resident has been injured in the care of a nursing home facility or at the hands of a nursing home employee, action must be taken. There are special legal considerations involved when proving injuries of a loved one. Some damages may be mental suffering, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment in life, shortened life expectancy or malicious and reckless conduct by the nursing home staff. The injured individual may bring a claim for injuries suffered or if they are unable to bring a claim, a loved one may bring a claim for damages on their behalf. If you are a nursing home resident who has been harmed in the nursing home setting, or if you care about such an individual, you are invited to contact an experienced elder law attorney at Menkes Law Firm in New York, New York about the legal rights of nursing home patients.
Mental or Physical Suffering
Mental or physical suffering are common forms of abuse suffered by residents of a nursing home facility. Mental abuse is often shows itself in the form of fear. A patient is suffering mental abuse if they are afraid of the consequences while waiting for help. They may be afraid that their injury will worsen as they wait for someone to assist them or afraid that by the time someone comes to their aid the injury will have worsened. A patient may also have had fear at the time the injury occurred and experienced anxiety for their own well-being. After an injury occurs, an individual may fear the consequences of that injury. This may include surgery, further injuries or future injuries that may occur from the person or persons who may have harmed them. Mental suffering may also lead to loss of enjoyment of life. The physical results of an injury may have caused disfigurement or a shortened life expectancy. Although, many residents of a care facility have physical or health problems, their lives should not be halted due to inadequate care and/or abuse. Loss of enjoyment in life may show mental or physical abuse and lead to appropriate damages for that abuse.
Punitive Damages
To show punitive damages, there must have been malicious or reckless conduct by the nursing home facility or staff. This conduct may be demonstrated by showing that the nursing home knew of the problems in the facility and did nothing to correct them. Some examples of this wanton conduct include the understaffing of employees, inadequate criminal background checks for staff members and employees not caring for known patient health issues properly. When staff members do not care for patients properly, injuries occur that may be shown to prove punitive damages. Injuries caused by negligent or intentional omissions of care generally fall into six categories: restraint injuries, decubitus ulcers (bedsores), severe dehydration/malnutrition, exposure to the elements (wandering around the facility, elopement/leaving the grounds) and physical abuse or assault (hitting, pushing, force-feeding, unsanitary environment, using unnecessary physical restraints).
Many injured nursing home residents are elderly, have health issues and have shorter life expectancies. Punitive damages may be more common in a nursing home injury case then in other types of personal injury cases. Awards against nursing homes that are punitive damages are usually for mental anguish, pain and suffering experienced by the injured person, medical expenses and the loss of affection and companionship by the surviving spouse or children.
Damages Recoverable by Survivors, Heirs or Dependents
In an action against a nursing home where the resident has died, the resident's survivor(s) may bring an action and recover damages. Some damages may be loss of consortium or affection, loss of parental advice and guidance, mental anguish of the survivor and funeral expenses. Due to the growing number of elderly persons in the United States, there has been an increase in lawsuits and damages against nursing homes by loved ones or survivors of injured residents. This increase has caused an increase in liability premiums and has been making it difficult for care facilities to correct the problems. The main problems in nursing home injury cases are due to lack of staff, lack of trained staff and inadequate/poorly maintained equipment in care facilities. As the nursing home abuse epidemic continues, the number of awards for punitive damages will continue to rise. If you or a loved one has been injured due to the fault of a nursing home or its employees, contact an attorney at Menkes Law Firm in New York, New York experienced in pursuing legal compensation in these cases.
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