Nursing Home Abuse

Nursing home residents have the right to be treated with dignity and respect, and to be free from abusive and negligent behavior.  Today, there are more than 1.5 million people being cared for in nursing homes.  Unfortunately, those who we trust to take care of our loved ones can also be responsible for causing them physical, mental or psychosocial harm, sometimes intentionally, sometimes negligently.  Nursing home malpractice is a widespread – and growing – form of abuse in the United States and is substantially underreported.

We believe that is your right to start legal proceedings against nursing homes if someone you care about is hurt because of abuse or neglect.  Not everyone who resides in a nursing home is old, but everyone is vulnerable to being victimized.  Perpetrators of neglect or abuse include not only employees, but also members of the administration, volunteers and other residents.  Abuse, while typically physical, can also come in the form of emotional abuse and financial abuse.

Nursing homes are required to provide adequate staffing to prevent neglect and/or abuse from happening. Far too often, however, the nursing home staff may be underpaid, poorly trained and/or negligently hired. If the nursing home staff does not meet the standard of care, they may be held accountable for the resulting injuries.

Under New Jersey and federal law, nursing home staff members have a legal obligation to make sure that your loved one is properly cared for and does not suffer abuse.  When they fail to do so, an investigation by our team of attorneys is necessary. Our investigation will consist of gathering and analyzing medical records, obtaining training records and hiring policies, and consulting with the leading experts in the field.

Our attorneys have assisted countless families through cases involving neglect in care, including unsanitary conditions, failure to assist in personal hygiene, failure to protect from health and safety hazards, and failure to prevent dehydration, malnutrition, falls and bedsores. We also help families with cases involving:

• Physical and sexual abuse
• Medical neglect
• Failure to prevent dehydration, malnutrition, falls and bed sores
• Failure to assist in personal hygiene
• Unsanitary and unclean conditions
• Failure to protect from health and safety hazards
• Poor access to medical services
• Assault and battery
• Unreasonable physical restraints
• Giving too much or not enough medication
• Slapping, pushing, shaking, beating

You can count on us to be fully prepared when it is time to file the complaint in court. We will be ready to go to trial if a full and fair settlement cannot be reached. Finally, you can count on us to keep you informed of the case every step of the way.

Cohn Lifland believes that nursing homes have an obligation to offer excellent care for residents. When they do not meet the standard of care mandated by the law, our firm intervenes and fights on behalf of the victimized families.