Nursing home neglect is not a reality that anyone wishes to imagine for their elderly loved one. Unfortunately, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in Saint Albans, New York, are not always equipped with the proper staff or procedures to ensure adequate resident care. In these scenarios, senior citizens can suffer serious injuries, illnesses and even premature death.
At Abaev Law Firm, PLLC, our personal injury lawyers in Saint Albans have years of experience handling nursing home neglect and abuse cases throughout Queens. When you contact us, we can help your family understand its legal options during a free initial case evaluation. We are passionate about protecting vulnerable New Yorkers within our community.
Why Choose Us?
- We are aggressive New York trial attorneys who have recovered millions of dollars in settlements for past clients. Our nursing home neglect attorneys won’t leave money on the table.
- Our team offers client-centered legal services and direct attorney accessibility. We will return your calls and answer your questions within 24 hours of you contacting us.
- We take clients on a contingency fee basis – meaning you won’t pay your Saint Albans nursing home neglect lawyer unless we win your case and you receive compensation.
What Can a Nursing Home Neglect Attorney in Saint Albans Do for You?
A nursing home neglect attorney can help you and your family recover financial compensation for injuries caused by careless or wrongful acts committed at a long-term living facility in Saint Albans. A lawyer can handle all of the legal elements of your case while your loved one focuses on healing physically and emotionally.
An attorney will have the resources to thoroughly investigate the nursing home and search for evidence of resident neglect, such as medical records, photos, video footage and witness statements. Then, your lawyer will build a strong claim on your family’s behalf to seek maximum compensation for related losses.
Your attorney can negotiate with insurance companies to fight for a fair and full settlement and bring your nursing home neglect case to court in Queens, if necessary. Most importantly, hiring a lawyer can grant your family peace of mind during this troubling time. Your lawyer can connect your loved one to the right doctors in Saint Albans and help facilitate their recovery.
Common Types of Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse
Nursing home neglect describes a breach of the appropriate standard of care within a nursing home setting. Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in Saint Albans are legally required to take proper care of their residents to ensure their physical, mental and psychosocial well-being as much as possible.
Nursing home neglect can refer to many different failures or acts of negligence, such as the institution or one of its staff members failing to:
- Promptly address a resident’s medical needs
- Respect a resident’s rights under New York law
- Maintain a safe and sanitary living environment
- Administer the correct type and dosage of medication
- Exercise or turn an immobile resident regularly to prevent bedsores
- Bathe or change a resident as needed
- Help maintain a resident’s mental and emotional well-being
- Keep a resident properly nourished and hydrated
- Protect a resident from improper restraints
- Prevent a foreseeable slip and fall accident
- Screen and background-check new hires
- Prevent physical, sexual, emotional and financial abuse
Nursing home neglect does not have to be intentional for the institution to be found liable, or financially responsible, for a victim’s related injuries. It can be a careless or unintentional breach of the facility’s duty of care.
Signs of Nursing Home Neglect
If your loved one is living at a nursing home in Saint Albans, it’s important to visit often so that you can be on the lookout for potential signs of elder neglect or abuse.
Any of the following should be viewed as red flags and a reason to look deeper into the nursing home, especially if you notice multiple signs:
- Bedsores
- Infections or sepsis
- Medication errors (e.g., adverse drug interactions, overdoses)Â
- Severe or unexplained injuries
- Frequent trips to the emergency room
- Poor personal hygiene
- Unkempt appearance
- Sudden weight lossÂ
- New depression or anxiety
- Withdrawal or isolation
- Behavioral changes
- Dirty or dangerous environment
As soon as you notice signs of neglect, report it to management at the nursing home as well as to the New York State Department of Health. They will investigate and may cite the nursing home for discovered infractions. Then, consult with an attorney at ALF Law to discuss your legal rights with a caring attorney.
Seeking Justice for Nursing Home Neglect in Saint Albans
In New York, it is possible to receive financial compensation for a case of nursing home neglect that results in injury to or the death of a resident. Evidence that the nursing home or one of its staff members should have done more to prevent the victim’s harm is enough to make the victim or victim’s family eligible for financial damages.
To bring a negligence claim against a Saint Albans nursing home, you must have evidence of the following elements:
- Duty of care: the nursing home had a legal obligation to treat the resident with an appropriate amount of care based on New York law.
- Breach of duty: the nursing home or one of its employees breached or violated the duty of care through a careless or wrongful act.
- Causation: the breach of duty caused or substantially contributed to the resident’s injury, illness, infection or death.
- Damages: the situation resulted in compensable losses for the victim or victim’s family, such as bodily injury, hospital bills, or pain and suffering.
Evidence that may be available to prove your nursing home neglect claim includes medical records and bills, photographs of injuries and of nursing home conditions, video footage, witness statements, nursing home employment documents, and testimony from relevant experts.
Contact Us for a Free Nursing Home Neglect Case Evaluation in Saint Albans
If you or your loved one is a victim of neglect, abuse or misconduct by a nursing home or one of its staff members in Saint Albans, the lawyers at Abaev Law Firm, PLLC can help you move forward with a claim in pursuit of justice and financial compensation. We offer free initial consultations, where we answer client questions at no cost or obligation to hire us.
Contact us today – either online or by calling (212) 763-7738 – to arrange your cost-free case review with an experienced and local nursing home neglect lawyer. We take clients in Saint Albans, Jamaica, Hollis, Cambria Heights and throughout Queens.