In most situations, an elder care facility is the right choice. It should provide the appropriate level of personal and medical care while remaining as independent as possible. Unfortunately, it also places you or your loved one at risk for neglect and abuse, which could cause tremendous harm.
On This Page:
Personal Injury Laws
If your elderly relative has been harmed at a nursing home or elder care facility, call a New York nursing home abuse lawyer from Hecht, Kleeger & Damashek, P.C. as soon as possible. Our compassionate and highly skilled NY injury lawyers will immediately investigate to determine if your loved one suffered a nursing home injury and whether they have a valid claim. If your loved one was the victim of elder abuse, neglect, or some other harm, we’ll help protect them and fight to hold the right parties accountable.
There are no up-front fees, and you owe nothing until we win compensation for you. Contact us online or call 212-490-5700 to schedule a free, no-risk case evaluation.
Types of New York Senior Care Facilities
There are various kinds of elder care facilities, usually distinguished by need, level of care, and specialized services:
- Independent Living Facilities: When your senior loved ones are mostly independent but are no longer able or interested in maintaining their own residence, they may benefit from moving to an independent living facility. These facilities are akin to senior communities where residents can receive help with cleaning, meals, and keeping up with medications. However, they do not offer medical services or daily assistance.
- Assisted Living Facilities: When a senior relative can no longer go through their day without some medical and/or practical assistance, they often benefit from an assisted living facility. These facilities offer personal care, and, in some situations, essential health services. However, they typically do not provide skilled nursing services to residents.
- Nursing Homes: Nursing homes in NYC offer residents 24-hour care by skilled nurses, including licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, and nurses’ assistants. Your elderly loved one will receive full housekeeping, meals, personal care, and medical care services. Different nursing homes offer different levels of care, and it is important to choose a facility that matches your loved one’s needs.
- Memory Care/Dementia Care Facilities: If your loved one suffers from Alzheimer’s disease or a form of dementia, their safest option is usually to live in a facility designed around caring for people with memory issues. Some facilities are entirely dedicated to residents with dementia while some nursing homes have a memory care unit or wing. The facilities have heightened security so your loved one cannot wander away from the premises and the staff members are trained to work with residents with memory impairments.
If your loved one suffered harm at any of these living facilities, call our lawyers for senior citizens as soon as possible. We will review the facility, the circumstances involved, and the duty of care owed to your loved one. We will determine whether the facility is liable and if so, we will explain the best next steps to hold the facility accountable and pursue compensation.
What is Nursing Home Neglect?
Nursing home neglect occurs when your loved one does not receive the standard of care they are entitled to, and as a result, suffers an injury or a worsening condition. Neglect is not necessarily based on intentional misconduct. Instead, it often arises from staff members’ careless or reckless behavior.
Our New York nursing home abuse lawyers find that residents often suffer when facilities are understaffed and when staff members are not adequately trained and supervised. These issues typically result in staff members not maintaining the environment or not caring for residents to the degree they should.
Common Effects of Nursing Home Neglect
Nursing home neglect can be mild, and you may not notice it is going on. However, our nursing home neglect lawyers have handled many claims in which nursing home neglect is persistent and leads to serious health issues for residents.
Some of the most common effects of negligent care are:
Bed Sores
Nursing home residents with physical impairments and those who are improperly restrained are at risk of developing pressure sores where their skin is in continuous contact with another surface, like a bed or wheelchair. Bed sores, also known as pressure sores, are not a normal part of aging or living in a facility. If you notice that your loved one is suffering from one or more bed sores, call a nursing home abuse lawyer right away.
Falls
When nursing home residents are not appropriately supervised and supported as they move about, they are much more likely to fall. At Hecht, Kleeger & Damashek, P.C., we represent many elderly individuals dealing with falls and fractures in nursing homes. Falls, when you are young, are not necessarily dangerous. However, for seniors, falls can lead to broken bones, broken bones in the arm, and head trauma.
Dehydration
Many seniors do not receive enough water and other liquids throughout the day, which can lead to dehydration. In turn, dehydration can cause or exacerbate other health conditions. Nursing home staff members are responsible for ensuring residents do not suffer from dangerous dehydration.
Malnutrition
Seniors living in a nursing home rely on the facility and staff members to receive their meals. If the meals are not appropriately planned, or your loved one is not taken to the cafeteria or brought meals, they can suffer from malnutrition. Like dehydration, this can lead to serious medical conditions and reduce their quality of life.
Dirty clothing and linen
Nursing home residents rely on the staff for their bedding and clothing to be laundered. When these tasks are ignored, residents can find themselves living in unsanitary conditions.
Poor hygiene
Nursing home residents should receive help from staff members in regard to brushing their teeth and bathing. If your loved one is not cared for in this way, their hygiene can suffer, and as a result, they may have an increased risk of infection.
What is Nursing Home Abuse?
Elder abuse in nursing homes is all too common. While neglect may be the result of staff members’ carelessness and substandard care, abuse is intentional. Elder abuse is the result of willful and harmful conduct by an individual against a senior, who in many circumstances, cannot protect themselves with fewer options to resolve the situation on their own.
Common Examples of Elder Abuse
Our New York elder abuse lawyers represent individuals who have suffered from:
Elder Physical Abuse
Physical abuse against the elderly often encompasses, hitting, slapping, pushing, kicking, physical restraints, and chemical restraints, such as being over-medicated.
Elder Sexual Abuse
Another individual may take advantage of your relative by performing sexual acts without their consent, including oral, vaginal, and anal intercourse.
Elder Emotional/Psychological Abuse
Abuse against the elderly is not always physical. A caretaker can severely harm your relative without lifting a finger through name-calling, blaming, shaming, humiliating, berating, and isolating them.
Elder Financial Abuse
Seniors may be manipulated into giving someone “gifts” or transferring property into another person’s name. Caretakers may also directly steal money and property. Additionally, seniors are often taken advantage of through scams and over-billing for facility services.
If you believe your relative is being abused, manipulated, or being taken advantage of, call a New York nursing home abuse lawyer immediately. We will help move your loved one to a safe environment, get appropriate medical care, and fight to set things right by pursuing maximum compensation for their damages.
Nursing Home Residents’ Rights in New York
Your elderly loved one gives up a lot when they move into a nursing home or care facility. However, under New York’s Nursing Home Bill of Rights, they retain many rights concerning their living arrangements, privacy, and care.
Seniors living in nursing homes have the right to:
- Dignity and respect
- A comfortable living environment
- Be free from restraints
- Be free from discrimination
- Be free from physical, sexual, verbal, and mental abuse
- Be informed of services and fees in writing
- Self-determination
- Handle their own money and property
- Participate in activities of their choosing
- Choose their own schedule
- Have visitors
- Private communications
- File complaints
- Voice grievances without fear of retaliation
If you or your loved one believes their care facility is violating any of these rights, do not hesitate to call us to discuss your options, including filing a complaint, seeking to move to a new facility, or filing a nursing home lawsuit.
Filing a Nursing Home Lawsuit
If you discover that your loved one has been injured or their condition has deteriorated because of nursing home neglect or abuse, it is important to talk with a lawyer about suing the nursing home. By hiring an attorney, you have additional resources to get your loved one the care they need and guidance in holding the facility liable for your relative’s injuries.
On your loved one’s behalf, you may have the right to file a personal injury lawsuit against the abusive or negligent individual and their employer. By pursuing a nursing home lawsuit, you can seek compensation for their:
- Medical expenses
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional distress and mental anguish
- Disfigurement
- Disability
- Reduced quality of life
Nursing Home Deaths
If your loved one passed away and you believe it was because of abuse or negligent care they endured at a nursing home, call a New York nursing home abuse lawyer as soon as you can.
Hecht, Kleeger & Damashek, P.C. will pursue an in-depth investigation into your loved one’s death. We will gather as much evidence as possible to determine if we can establish that abuse took place or that your relative received substandard care. We also will analyze the evidence to determine if we can prove the abuse or neglect was the cause of your relative’s death.
Depending on the circumstances, we may recommend filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the nursing home and pursuing compensation.
Is Your Elderly Loved One Neglected or Abused?
If you know or fear that your elderly loved one’s condition is deteriorating or that a new injury is because of elder neglect or abuse, contact Hecht, Kleeger & Damashek, P.C. right away. We have assisted countless nursing home injury victims in securing the compensation rightfully owed to them.
With decades of experience, and hundreds of millions of dollars recovered, we are highly skilled in investigating and litigating nursing home injury claims. If there is evidence that your loved one has been intentionally harmed or is receiving substandard care, we will get your relative to a safe place and aggressively pursue legal action against the facility.
Let us help protect your loved one. Contact us online or call 212-490-5700. We offer free, no-risk consultations, never charge fees up-front, and you owe nothing unless we recover compensation on your behalf.
CLIENT REVIEWS
05/01/2015
“I cannot recommend Jon Damashek highly enough. I attribute the favorable outcome of my case to his consummate and tireless dedication and tenacity. Just as important, he was truly there with me every step of the way. He was very…
5
Mike, HKD CLIENT
05/01/2015
“I had the opportunity to work with Jon Damashek and had an amazing experience. I have known Jon for many years and always felt very comfortable relying on his expertise, knowledge of the law, and more importantly – his ability…
5
Steven, HKD CLIENT
06/05/2019
I had the opportunity of having this amazing team of lawyers work on my case. When I first met with Jordan Hecht and Michael Kusz, I really liked their energy and the spunk that they had, it meant business and…
5
Anonymous, HKD CLIENT
07/05/2015
I cannot recommend Jon Damashek highly enough. I attribute the favorable outcome to my case to his consummate and tireless dedication and tenacity. Just as important, he was truly there with me every step of the way. He was very…
5
Mike W., HKD CLIENT
07/05/2015
I had the opportunity to work with Jon Damashek and had an amazing experience. I have known Jon for many years and always felt very comfortable relying on his expertise and knowledge of the law and more importantly his ability…
5
Steven B., HKD CLIENT
07/05/2015
I have worked with countless attorneys over the years and Jon Damashek stands out among them. I have seen first hand him advocate for his clients vigorously. He fights for the rights of the seriously injured, does not back down…
5
Wendy B., HKD CLIENT
07/05/2015
I know all three named partners at this firm and highly recommend them. They are very professional and tireless advocates for their clients. If you need a personal injury attorney, you cannot do better than Hecht, Kleeger & Damashek.
5
Eric G., HKD CLIENT
07/05/2015
After meeting with Jon Damashek I knew immediately he was the right attorney for me. I had met with other attorneys in the past, but Jon’s experience, knowledge, and track record were most impressive. I highly recommend Jon Damashek and…
5
Ryan G., HKD CLIENT
07/05/2015
After meeting a half dozen lawyers at different firms, I decided to go to Hecht, Kleeger and Damashek. As soon as I met Jon Damashek, I knew I had to look no further. Mr. Damashek made me feel at ease…
5
Michael R., HKD CLIENT
07/05/2015
I retained Hecht, Kleeger & Damashek for a serious personal injury case. They were very professional and managed to obtain a settlement for me that far exceeded my expectations. I would strongly recommend this firm for anyone’s legal needs.
5
Peter M., HKD CLIENT