Buffalo Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

Buffalo NY Nursing Home Ratings GraphBuffalo is the second most populated city in New York State. Over one in every ten residents is over 65, and many more are rapidly approaching retirement.

With numbers growing, Buffalo nursing home abuse attorneys of Nursing Home Law Center LLC remain adamant about defending the rights of those injured due to nursing home negligence or abuse in assisted living facilities.

Have you or your loved one been abused or neglected at a nursing home? If so, contact the affiliate New York personal injury attorneys at the Nursing Home Law Center, LLC, and talk directly with one of our affiliate attorneys.

We help many victims of personal injury and gross negligence who have suffered nursing home abuse and neglect at the hands of those in charge of providing proper care. Call our Buffalo, NY nursing home abuse lawyers at (800) 926-7565 (toll-free phone number) for an immediate legal opinion on your case.

We serve clients throughout New York state, including those living in the Buffalo area, Orchard Park, Niagara Falls, Erie County, and Western New York. All confidential or sensitive information you share with our legal team remains private through an attorney-client relationship.

What Are The Common Types of Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

Improper Medical Care

Disabled, infirm, and senior citizens in assisted living facilities could have weakened immune systems or health conditions. Therefore, they must receive proper medication on a regular schedule. In addition to causing a resident to suffer from illness, medical negligence cases can lead to:

  • Failure to notice obvious signs of problems that require medical attention, such as residents who are exhibiting symptoms of heart attack or stroke
  • Administering improper medication or treatments: This is the withholding of medication, which includes administering the medicine in the wrong dosages or at the incorrect intervals.
  • Failed to provide medical attention to those who needed a strict regimen of medications
  • Failure to check in on residents who require medical personnel visits may result in infections that, if not adequately treated, can progress rapidly and lead to blood disease, shock, pulmonary arrest, or death.
  • Bed sores, pressure ulcers, and pressure sores: These are open wounds caused by lying or sitting still for long periods. They occur among people who are not helped to reposition themselves regularly.

Lack of Hygiene

Lack of hygiene is a massive issue for nursing home residents. A clean and septic environment is essential to their quality of life, especially when many patients have mobility issues or need help with their primary activities.

When a nursing facility is unclean, it can lead to staph infections and other infections. Nursing home negligence of a resident’s hygiene needs may be indicated by:

  • Lack of bathing, including being dirty or unwashed or unbrushed hair
  • Dirty bed covers or soiled mattresses can easily lead to pressure sores and pressure ulcers
  • Unchanged diapers or bed pans
  • Unclean clothes
  • Dirty nails;
  • Eye infections or crusting of the eyes;
  • Bad breath or other signs of poor dental hygiene, like teeth or dentures that have not been cleaned, can lead to several other problems, such as difficulty chewing and swallowing food.
  • Unclean toilets and bathing areas
  • Dirty rooms and furniture
  • Filthy carpets or dirty floors.

Sexual Abuse

Sexual elder abuse is unfortunately common in nursing homes since a resident who is confused or unable to give consent due to their mental or physical condition is much more vulnerable. The engaging of physical or sexual conduct with a nursing home resident that the patient does not want or has consented to is sexual abuse.

Sexual elder abuse can also be:

  • Sexual assault or battery
  • Generally unwanted touching
  • Having clothes that are torn or have unusual stains or blood on them
  • Exhibiting depression, withdrawal, anxiety, fear, or agitation around certain staff members or residents
  • Sexually-explicit photography of the resident
  • Becoming depressed or withdrawn
  • Personal injury, such as bruising in regions that include genital areas, thighs, and breasts.
  • Exhibiting more difficulty walking, sleeping, or sitting
  • Unexplained STDs infections

Paying attention to behavioral changes or a recurrent personal injury are reasons to suspect Buffalo nursing home abuse. Start a conversation with your loved ones about the care they are receiving.

Nutritional neglect

Residents in nursing homes often have difficulties feeding and drinking by themselves, which can happen because of a physical or mental medical condition.

When the staff at your loved one’s nursing home cannot provide food and drink or nutritional supplements or deliberately withholds provisions, it is considered abuse and neglect. Lack of proper nourishment can be a critical factor in the downward spiral of a loved one residing in an assisted facility.

  • Malnutrition: Caused by a lack of sufficient food and nutrients, increases physical weakness, which increases fall risk in patients. Additionally, it causes internal issues involving the blood and organs and impacts the ability to fight off bed sores and infections.
  • Dehydration: When the patient doesn’t have enough water and other fluids to perform routine functions. It can be a symptom of malnutrition or a side effect of some medication.

Emotional Neglect

Emotional neglect is, in itself, a form of abuse in Buffalo nursing homes. The withholding of companionship and personal contact that caregivers should be providing is harrowing. Lack of emotional support could include:

  • Withholding companionship
  • Lack of patience
  • Not listening to the resident and taking days to respond to the patient’s needs.
  • Lack of empathy
  • Not providing feedback on problems and concerns, especially when a resident talks about elder abuse or physical abuse they or another patient is going through
  • Proving appropriate physical comfort such as putting one’s arms around the resident’s shoulder or holding or patting a hand.

Social neglect

All nursing home patients have the right to participate in activities, enjoy social activity outside the facility if they can, and receive visits from friends and family members.

However, social neglect cases may include actively isolating a patient who needs assistance to join an activity or purposely excluding a resident from activities they want to participate in.

When Buffalo nursing homes fail to provide their patients with social activity, they can exhibit phycological and physical symptoms such as:

  • Confusion
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Regressive behavior
  • Self-destructive behavior, which can cause personal injury
  • Slow down recovery from a disease

Neglect of basic needs

Nursing home neglect occurs when the caregiver fails to provide competent care to a nursing home resident. This includes failing to supervise and attend to a resident’s daily requirements, particularly those needed to keep a resident safe from harm. Chief among these are:

  • Attention to preventing falls
  • Traumatic brain injury
  • Broken bones from falling
  • Failure to frequently reposition an immobile resident should be routinely moved to prevent bed sores.
  • When staff takes a long time to answer when residents require assistance.
  • Prevention of wandering and elopement – Individuals with dementia and early-stage Alzheimer’s are likely to wander. Failure to supervise residents’ is neglect. Failing to walk these ambulatory patients and keep them active because there is not quality staff is also neglect.
Warning Signs to Look For When You’re Visiting Nursing Homes

You should look for the following signs when visiting prospecting nursing homes for your family member:

Inadequate Training of the Staff

 Proper training of your loved one’s Buffalo nursing home staff should include:

  • Training on the nursing home’s policies and procedures should include medication procedures, when to call a doctor, how to treat nursing home injuries, and how to keep records.
  • How to handle different emergency scenarios, including complaints of abuse and neglect by a fellow staff member.
  • Fluids and nutrition training course
  • Dementia and Alzheimer’s awareness course

Additionally, a Buffalo, NY, nursing facility should have staff trained in various practice areas to provide the best possible care for patients with different needs.

If the caregivers do not have this training, a resident may suffer a preventable personal injury. In that case, the staff and nursing home may be held responsible for the emotional damage your loved one has endured.

Appropriate Staff-Resident Ratio

Unfortunately, understaffing is a big problem in nursing homes. It could be because of poor management, lack of funds, or even putting profits over quality. However, training is limited or rushed when staff-to-patient ratios must be maintained, and administrators don’t even make adequate background checks.

Buffalo, NY, nursing facilities need someone on the job to ensure adherence to New York state regulations, which just changed. Nonetheless, the care homes struggle to maintain the proper staff-to-patient ratio.

When they rush the job and don’t hire and train properly, it presents the danger of personal injury and neglect to your vulnerable loved ones.

The new legislation enacted in April 2022 has requirements that you should be able to quickly check when looking for a good nursing home for your loved one. That is because the legislation requires that nursing homes post information regarding nurse staffing at their facility in a manner visible and accessible to its residents, their family members, and staff.

This legislation requires that at a minimum:

  • Nursing home staffing standards include 3.5 hours of nursing care per resident per day
  • Of the 3.5 hours, at least 2.2 hours of care per resident may be provided by a nurse aide or certified nurse aide, and
  • At least 1.1 hours have to be provided by a licensed practical nurse or registered nurse.
  • From January 1, 2023, nurse aides must be certified to meet the minimum hourly requirements.
Nursing Home Residents Have Rights

Basic rights

  • Adequate food, clothing, and shelter.
  • Emotional peace and a feeling of safety.
  • Open communication with staff and family members.
  • If your loved one is a special needs resident, he has the right to evaluation and adequate, specialized treatment, such as occupational therapy and speech therapy.

Privacy rights

  • Privacy during medical treatment, family visits, and other communications.
  • Privacy when it comes to documents and records
  • To share a room with your spouse if you both live in the same nursing home
  • The nursing facility has to notify you before your room or roommate is changed and should consider your preferences.

Transfer and discharge rights

  • When a nursing home closes, or if a patient can no longer afford to pay, the resident has a right to an orderly process of transfer or discharge.
  • You have the right to appeal a transfer or discharge to the State.
  • The care home can’t make you leave if you’re waiting to get Medicaid.

Control over their financial situation

  • Open accounting, where medical bills are regularly explained and accounted for
  • The right to choose an administrator for their estate and to turn funds over to them
  • The nursing home must allow the residents access to their bank accounts, cash, and other financial records.
  • The nursing home can’t combine the resident’s funds with the nursing home’s funds.

Rights against restraint, abuse, and neglect

  • Nursing homes can’t use physical or chemical restraints, such as overmedicating your loved one, so they are easier to deal with for the staff’s convenience.
  • Residents have the right to be free from nursing home abuse in general, such as verbal, sexual, physical, and mental abuse.

When these rights are violated, your loved one may need to seek legal intervention from a specialized Buffalo, New York attorney.

How To Report Nursing Home Abuse in Buffalo, New York

Has a family member suffered nursing home negligence in Buffalo, NY? You should take immediate action and get your loved one to a safe place. Left untreated, health problems stemming from abuse and neglect can lead to depression or permanent disability.

After you have secured your loved one, report them to the authorities as soon as possible. Doing so can prevent a similar outcome for other nursing facility residents.

Furthermore, the New York State Department of Health, Division of Nursing Home, and ICF/IID Surveillance are responsible for investigating complaints about resident abuse, neglect, mistreatment, and incidents occurring in nursing homes in New York State that are related to a State and Federal regulatory violation.

They will look into your complaint in Buffalo, New York area, or Orchard Park. The Department reviews all complaints received about nursing homes through the Centralized Complaint Intake Unit, and appropriate action is taken.

How Our Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorneys Can Help

Are you or a loved one a victim of abuse, neglect, or personal injury in a nursing home? In that case, legislation is in place to protect the nursing home abuse victims and legal recourse to claim justice and compensation.

Whatever form of violence, be it physical, emotional, psychological, or even financial, by forging medical bills that shouldn’t exist and others, our attorneys will give you a free case evaluation to get the best possible outcome.

A attorney specializing in nursing home abuse, with many positive prior results, can help you and your loved ones understand the laws, gather information, and bring a lawsuit to ensure justice and compensation.

An attorney from our center will be able to bring a lawsuit against the nursing home if:

  • They failed to keep the premises safe
  • They negligently hired abusive staff members
  • They failed to provide adequate and sufficient training to the staff
  • They were unable to supervise the caretakers, which led to abusive situations
  • They breached their duty of care

Nursing home abuse is awful in all cases, and you should not wait to seek an attorney who will provide the best possible legal assistance. Contact us as soon as you suspect your loved one has suffered abuse or neglect in a nursing home for a free case evaluation, and we will help you in all steps of this process.

Call Our Attorneys for a Free Consultation on Your Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse Case

Is your family member experiencing injury or pain caused by abuse and neglect at the Buffalo nursing home? Take immediate legal action for your loved one, and call our Buffalo nursing home abuse attorneys to schedule a free case review.

Seeking professional legal counsel is the best attitude you can have to help your family navigate a Buffalo nursing home abuse situation. An affiliate nursing home abuse lawyer in Buffalo, New York, can assist you in understanding your rights and seeking compensation for your damages against Buffalo nursing homes.

Call us at (800) 926-7565 to arrange a free consultation with a Buffalo nursing home abuse attorney at the Nursing Home Law Center, LLC. We will review your case and discuss what we can do for you to ensure maximum compensation.

We serve clients throughout the New York state, including those living in the Buffalo area, Orchard Park, Niagara Falls, Erie County, and Western New York. All information you share with a Buffalo NY nursing home abuse lawyer within our law firm remains confidential through a lawyer-client relationship.

We provide immediate legal representation, advice, and counsel without upfront fees. All our legal services are paid after negotiating an acceptable out-of-court settlement or winning your case at trial.

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Client Reviews

★★★★★
Jonathan did a great job helping my family navigate through a lengthy lawsuit involving my grandmother's death in a nursing home. Through every step of the case, Jonathan kept my family informed of the progression of the case. Although our case eventually settled at a mediation, I really was impressed at how well prepared Jonathan was to take the case to trial. Lisa
★★★★★
After I read Jonathan’s Nursing Home Blog, I decided to hire him to look into my wife’s treatment at a local nursing home. Jonathan did a great job explaining the process and the laws that apply to nursing homes. I immediately felt at ease and was glad to have him on my side. Though the lawsuit process was at times frustrating, Jonathan reassured me, particularly at my deposition. I really felt like Jonathan cared about my wife’s best interests, and I think that came across to the lawyers for the nursing home. Eric