Long Island Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

A Long Island nursing home abuse attorney is here to help victims of negligence, abuse or neglect.

Know Your Rights

If you or a loved one is looking to reside in a nursing home in New York, it is important to consider the laws and regulations. You deserve to know your rights. You have access to a document called Your Rights as a Nursing Home Resident in New York State and Nursing Home Responsibilities. This document provides the necessary information regarding your protections by law. Below our Long Island personal injury lawyers have compiled a list of rights you need to know:

• You have the right to experience quality care without discrimination.
• You have the right to a healthy, comfortable living situation where you are treated with respect.
• You have the right to be in charge of your own decision making regarding medical and personal care.
• You have the right to choose selected activities.
• You have the right to protect all personal properties you may have.
• You have the right to communicate with your friends, family, and medical professionals in private.
• You have the right to be protected throughout your admission, discharge, transfer, and any related happenings.
• You have the right to learn about and file complaints.
• You have the right to file complaints without intimidation or retaliation.

A Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Can Help

Have you or a loved one experienced abuse or negligence in a nursing home? If so, reach out to our Long Island nursing home abuse lawyers. The right nursing home abuse lawyer can help you with every aspect of a nursing home abuse lawsuit or personal injury claim. We are ready to fight for your rights. Get in contact today for a free consultation.

In this Article

Assisted Living Facility Statistics

With the increasing number of elderly people in the United States, more families rely on nursing homes, assisted living centers, and long-term care facilities than ever before. The 2022 publication The National Imperative to Improve Nursing Home Quality by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, states that almost 1.3 million individuals live in more than 15,000 licensed nursing facilities across the United States.

The purpose of this report was to highlight the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on nursing home residents and staff. And this has renewed focus on long-standing flaws that negatively impact high-quality nursing home care. The facts are shocking. Nursing home residents accounted for almost 19% of all COVID-19 deaths despite being just one half of one percent of the total population.

Use of short-term and long-term nursing homes is widespread. Short-term facilities are often used when a patient requires nursing care to aid in recuperation after an illness or a hospital stay. In other cases, families frequently need long-term care for aging parents and turn to nursing homes for this kind of service.

Contact an experienced nursing home abuse lawyer today to discuss if your rights have been infringed upon or you suspect nursing home abuse. An experienced nursing home abuse attorney will have the knowledge to tackle nursing home abuse cases and fight for your rights.

Nursing Home Abuse Statistics

Although nursing home abuse remains a largely underreported issue, there are several significant studies that shed light on the prevalence of this serious problem. Different researchers gained varying insights about nursing home abuse throughout the country, mainly due to the difficulties that exist in capturing data about this issue. The following statistics reflect some of the most recent and reliable data available on the subject:

• The prevalence of all types of elder abuse stands at just under 10% of the nationwide nursing home resident population. That equates to about 160,000 victims. However, one study based in New York found that a tragic 260,000 senior citizens in the state of New York had suffered abuse of some kind in the previous year.
• One study found that verbal abuse was the most commonly reported type at 9%, followed by financial abuse (3.5%) and physical abuse (less than 1%). In the New York study, financial exploitation was the most commonly reported abuse type, at a rate of 41 per 1,000 residents surveyed.
• The New York State Elder Abuse Prevalence Study found the rate of underreported nursing home abuse to be 1:24. For every case of abuse someone reports, another 24 are never brought to the attention of agencies or programs. While the rate that people report nursing home neglect and abuse cases is increasing, this issue is still widely and unfortunately kept quiet.

As authorities gain more knowledge and awareness about nursing home abuse and neglect, more nursing home lawsuits will likely gain momentum around the country. It is up to the relatives of nursing home residents to encourage their loved ones to come forward about nursing home abuse.

Family and friends should try to detect signs of potential abuse before it reaches a critical point. If a loved one is in nursing home care, know what to look for and how to report suspected abuse in New York.

Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers Are Ready to Help

Personal injury lawyers can help you be as informed as possible about how to recognize when abuse might be happening and what to do about it. If you suspect nursing home abuse or neglect for yourself or a loved one, contact a nursing home abuse attorney from our law firm today for a free consultation.

How to File a Nursing Home Abuse Complaint in New York

If you or a loved one experienced nursing home abuse in New York, immediately remove them from the nursing facility. Here are the necessary steps to file a claim against the facility or its staff:

• Call the 24/7 Nursing Home Complaint Hotline at (888) 201-4563 to file your complaint.
• The State of New York provides a form called the Nursing Home Complaint Online Form to the public. Fill out the form online and submit for review.
• If one of the nursing home staff members has witnessed neglect or mistreatment, they are urged to submit the Incident Reporting Form. This form can be submitted through the Health Commerce System.

Every complaint received by the Centralized Complaint Intake Unit is taken very seriously. They will take appropriate action on a case-by-case basis. The unit initiates a meeting with the patient, staff and any relevant person to the case.

All obtained information will be reviewed, including records and incident reports. New York nursing home laws state that both state and federal statutes are mandated to be met. If both statutes are not met by the nursing home’s regulations, a fine will be issued. The nursing home may be subject to being shut down when regulations are properly met.

Nursing Home Laws Are Designed to Protect You

Nursing home laws were created to protect the patients from negligence and abuse within nursing homes. You and your loved ones deserve a safe environment to peacefully reside in. Contact a nursing abuse lawyer today if you believe you or a loved one was mistreated in a nursing home. An experienced attorney from our law firm is ready to provide a free legal case review.

Types of Nursing Home Abuse

There are four main categories of nursing home abuse: physical, emotional, financial, and sexual. Each category has its own possible signs and red flags for loved ones to watch out for.

In many cases, nursing home residents are the victims of more than one type of abuse. For example, an offender might physically abuse a victim as part of a financial abuse scheme, to get the resident to give in to the offender’s wishes.

Here is a more in-depth breakdown of each type of nursing home abuse:

• Physical abuse. Physical abuse can refer to any type of physical contact meant to harm, threaten, or intimidate victims. Acts of violence such as slapping, hitting, pinching, kicking, pushing, grabbing, burning, or misuse of restraints are forms of physical abuse. Physical abuse can also take the form of neglect, such as failure to bathe or feed residents, or refusal to administer medications (which can be a form of medical malpractice).
  Physical nursing home abuse can lead to serious health consequences and even mortality in vulnerable elderly residents. Victims could suffer broken bones, bruising, lacerations, burns, internal injuries, or head and brain damage at the hands of a physical abuser. Without prompt medical care, physically abused nursing home residents might never fully recover from their injuries.
• Emotional abuse. Emotional abuse targets victims’ emotional, mental, and psychological well-being. Perpetrators might emotionally abuse elderly people just to torment them, as a way to relieve job-related stress or to gain something from the victim, such as money. Emotional abuse can involve anything that causes victims emotional distress, including verbal threats or harassment, name-calling, insults, isolation, or denial of food or basic necessities.
  Elderly victims of emotional abuse suffer not only mental effects, but also physical declines. Long-term psychological effects of emotional abuse can reduce residents’ ability to enjoy quality of life, and lead to loss of the will to stay healthy, be active, and survive. Victims can also suffer effects such as depression, anxiety, fear, or mental trauma.
• Financial abuse. The elderly are a vulnerable population when it comes to financial abuse targeting. Perpetrators such as caregivers, nursing home employees, neighbors, friends, or even family members might use their positions of trust to take advantage of residents for financial gain. Financial abuse can result in financial strife and ruin, as well as problems such as identity theft and misuse of power of attorney. Financial abuse can ultimately result in loss of savings to pay for long-term care.
• Sexual abuse. Perhaps the most heinous form of elder abuse is sexual abuse. Intentionally violating nursing home residents’ rights and attempting to engage them in sexual acts or intercourse is sexual elder abuse. Sexual abuse can affect an elderly person physically, mentally, and emotionally. It can lead to physical harms such as injuries to the genitals and communicable diseases, as well as emotional harms such as feelings of fear, guilt, or shame.

Injuries can also happen in nursing homes as a result of neglect in the absence of specific abuse.  Neglect comes in many forms but always involves the failure to provide appropriate care and assistance.  If you suspect your loved one was injured as a result of neglect, we can help.

Get Help From a Nursing Home Abuse Attorney

At Rosenberg & Gluck, LLP, our Long Island nursing home abuse lawyers believe that all types of nursing home abuse are deplorable and deserve aggressive legal action. No resident in a nursing home in Suffolk County or Nassau County, or elsewhere, should have to endure any form of abuse or neglect.

Nursing homes should take preventive measures when it comes to abuse, such as conducting background checks on nurses and staff members. They should also take resident complaints and issues seriously, investigating any abuse allegations. Failure to care for the health, safety, and well-being of residents could result in a lawsuit against the perpetrator, the nursing facility, and/or other parties.

If you think you or a loved one is experiencing abuse or neglect, you should seek professional medical advice depending on the type of abuse involved. Just as importantly, you should seek out legal counsel from a knowledgeable nursing home abuse lawyer to find out what legal options are available to you.

Signs of Nursing Home Abuse

The first step in putting an end to nursing home abuse is to recognize when it’s happening. If you have a loved one in a New York nursing home, keep a sharp eye out for any potential signs of abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation.

Signs of Physical Abuse and Neglect

Signs and symptoms of abuse will depend upon the type of abuse. Search for signs of physical abuse such as unexplained injuries, frequent trips to the hospital, oddly-shaped bruises, malnutrition, bedsores, burns, or strap marks, as well as signs of emotional abuse.

Signs of Emotional Abuse

Emotional abuse can be more difficult to detect since it doesn’t leave behind physical signs. Talking to your loved one and visiting often can help you notice changes in his or her behavior or appearance that could point to abuse. Warning signs of nursing home neglect might also include unkempt appearance, lack of hygiene, depression, anxiety, withdrawal from social activities, isolation, mood swings, weight loss or weight gain, or being suddenly non-communicative.

Signs of Financial Abuse

Watch over your loved one’s bank accounts and finances to keep an eye out for financial exploitation. Red flags for abuse could be unexplained changes in financial status, strange withdrawals, unexpected changes to wills or power of attorney, missing cash or valuables, or unusual subscriptions or services the elder did not sign for.

Signs of Sexual Abuse

Finally, signs of sexual abuse can include genital injuries or bruising, trouble walking/sitting, bloody undergarments, unexplained sexual diseases or infections, or the victim expressing feelings of guilt or shame.

If you notice any of the aforementioned signs, consult with our Long Island nursing home abuse attorneys to learn more about your available legal options.

How Can a Lawyer Help in Cases of Neglect?

Rosenberg & Gluck, LLP’s nursing home attorneys have significant expertise representing nursing home residents and their relatives. We regularly pursue civil claims on behalf of our clients involving nursing home negligence including:

• Negligent supervision and care
• Negligent hiring and retention of employees
• Negligent maintenance of premises
• Negligent selection or maintenance of equipment
• Breach of contract
• Wrongful death

Statistics of nursing home negligence indicate that 14 percent of all self-reported abuse involve neglect. If you suspect that a family member or someone you care for is a victim of physical abuse or neglect in a nursing home facility, immediate legal assistance is crucial to stopping the abuse.

Contact Rosenberg & Gluck, LLP online or by calling us for a free consultation. Speak with a personal injury lawyer to learn about the legal process and remedies available to protect your loved one from further abuse and neglect. Preserve their rights and obtain full and fair financial compensation for the harm they suffered.