Many citizens in New York that experience elder abuse or bed sores care about things besides just their specific recovery from a jury award or settlement amount. They ask us about the nature and procedures of the case as well. Here are some issues that touch upon these questions and inquiries.
The nursing home abuse attorneys from Nursing Home Law Center LLC are available to answer any further questions you may have.
For your elder abuse case or bed sore case, your first consideration will be New York’s statute of limitations. This bars actions if they are not brought within a certain time. Here is the time period that New York gives:
3 years according to N.Y. Civ. Prac. Laws & Rules 214 et seq. for negligence (i.e. injury) and two years and six months for medical malpractice.
“The following actions must be commenced within three year… an action to recover damages for a personal injury… An action for medical, dental or podiatric malpractice must be commenced within two years and six months of the act, omission or failure complained of or last treatment where there is continuous treatment for the same illness, injury or condition which gave rise to the said act, omission or failure.”
Normally, the nature and extent of recovery that you receive through a jury award or settlement amount is related to the type of case that you make before the court. That decision is normally predicated upon the facts and circumstances of the injury that necessitated the lawsuit in the first place. Here are the most common kinds of lawsuits dealing with elderly abuse and bed sores:
Negligence: New York negligence lawsuits offer that a defendant acted counter to what a reasonable person would have in similar circumstances and that led to the injury and damages of the plaintiff.
Medical Malpractice: Health care providers have a duty to treat patients according to the standards of the relevant, local medical community. If they fail to do this and injure others, then those injured can bring a medical malpractice lawsuit against the provider.
Wrongful Death: If residents of New York think that the wrongful conduct of another person or entity was the reason why one of their loved ones died, then they can bring a wrongful death case to recover for the related expenses and damages. Bed sores and elderly abuse are often associated with these lawsuits.
To the laymen, courts and cases might resemble a synchronized dance instead of the kind of fight that they might see in courtrooms on television. This is the case because New York nursing home lawyers have very specific things that they need to ascertain and illustrate in trial before you are allowed to receive a jury award or settlement amount. These legal points normally differ depending upon what kind of case you have and here are the main objectives for the types most commonly associated with elder abuse and bed sores:
Negligence CasesOften, clients ask us how the other side is going to fight back-not just what punches we are going to throw. This shows a tremendous amount of insight because it predicts what they need to get ready for in order to protect their jury award or settlement amount. Take a look at some of the defenses that defendants throw at us:
Pre-Existing Injuries: Defendants usually attempt to claim that another condition is the reason why you are injured and not their conduct.
Lack of Misconduct: Defendants consistently declare that they did everything required of them and nothing wrong at all.
Amount of Damages: Defendants use creative ways to critique the amount of damages that should be available to the plaintiff, if any at all.
Plaintiff’s Conduct: Defendants routinely try to turn the tables and say it was the plaintiff’s conduct that brought them to court in the first place.
In any lawsuit, you need to demonstrate that your injuries (i.e. physical/financial/emotional/sexual abuse, bed sores, dehydration malnutrition, etc.) led to specific and quantifiable damages. Your case will fail if you merely injury with no consequent damage. Thus, you have to figure out and find how you were harmed and how that led to loss, then claim and prove that in court.
If you can do this, then it will directly mirror the type and extent of recovery that will be available to you via jury award or settlement amount. The following are some common examples of damages for these kinds of cases:
All the medical bills, prescription bills, rehabilitative bills, and other costs associated with your recovery.
All lost income or wages that you sustained because of the incident.
Any property damage that you incurred because of the incident.
Any decreased quality of life that you can prove (i.e. if you can no longer do things you used to or enjoy things to the extent that you used to before the incident).
Any expenses, lost support, lost companionship or other losses associated with the death of a loved one because of the incident.
Upon a simple review of this information, you can see that New York plaintiffs can recover for damages related to economic, non-economic, and wrongful death injuries. However, to understand exactly what you can achieve, you should speak with one of our competent attorneys about the specifics of your case.
Here is a list of things to take note of or gather for cases related to elder abuse, bed sores, and similar lawsuits:
Any evidence of bills for medical treatment that the incident caused you as well as any incidental expenses.
Any evidence of lost income or wages as well as property damage because of the incident.
A list of all medical providers seen as well as any instructions or notes that they gave you or made that you can gather.
A list of all nursing homes, clinics, hospitals, or other facilities that you stayed at as well as the dates that you stayed at them.
Any evidence of your condition before the incident.
Any evidence of your condition after the incident.
Any evidence of misconduct by the person who caused the incident.
Any evidence of abuse/neglect including bruises, wounds, sores, dehydration, malnutrition, weight fluctuations, medication gaps, etc.
Any evidence of financial manipulation: modifications to estate documents such as wills, transfer of title of assets and bank accounts, disappearance of monies, etc.
For bed sores, evidence of broken skin, pigment discoloration, crater-like abscesses, and even exposed bones/muscles/tendons.
For elder physical abuse, evidence of unexplained injuries, signs of restraint, broken property, inability to visit the victim, etc.
All across New York, Nursing Home Law Center LLC has fought for victims of elderly abuse, bed sores, dehydration, malnutrition, and similar grievances. When we meet to hear their stories, they ask how we can assist them and what they practically can achieve. The most important thing to realize is that we can entirely takeover your case and manage it from start to finish so that you have nothing to worry about. All along the way, however, we make these specific promises:
Experience: We will make sure that only our most qualified and experienced attorneys manage your case through its entirety.
Resources: We will invest all resources necessary to ensure that your compensation is maximized and we will never ask you for a dime until we bring you an acceptable jury award or settlement amount.
Access: At all times throughout the case, we will make attorneys available to you so that your questions are answered and you are informed of what exactly is happening.
No Conflicts: We will promise not to represent nursing homes, hospitals, doctors, medical facilities, insurance companies, or any other related party because we believe in representing their victims and not their friends.
Remember, as soon as you walk through our door, we will take active control of your case and leave nothing to chance to make sure your recovery is protected and delivered. Our office is committed to fully prosecuting New York bed sore cases across the state and in the following cities: New York City, Albany, Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, Yonkers and Ithaca. Contact our office anytime for a free review of your case.
To report suspected elder abuse, neglect, or exploitation in New York:
Contact us today if you have been the victim of elder abuse or bed sores.
Many people all across New York have experienced elderly abuse or suffered from bed sores, falls, dehydration, malnutrition, or other conditions. When they eventually reach our office, many of these victims have no idea where to go next or how to fix the imbalance that this misconduct has caused them. Obviously, they would like to know what kind and amount of compensation that can achieve through the legal system. Therefore, we quite often hear them inquire “How much do New York plaintiffs normally receive in bed sore or elderly abuse cases?” We have laid out the following information with that concern in mind. Note, however, that these are just the boundaries of what has been possible for similar victims. Your case and compensation could look very deeply and it is important that you speak with one of our qualified attorneys so you understand what your case will look like. Then, peruse the other sections of this center so that you can see how these cases normally operate and what you need to do.
Plaintiffs’ Recovery in Elder Abuse CasesHere is the breakdown of what plaintiffs in New York obtained for elder abuse cases:
Here is the breakdown of what plaintiffs in New York obtained for nursing home abuse cases:
Here is the breakdown of what plaintiffs in New York obtained for bed sore cases:
Compared to the national average, New York elder abuse plaintiffs recovered about $60,000 more in compensation.
Compared to the national average, New York nursing home abuse plaintiffs recovered about $140,000 more in compensation.
Compared to the national average, New York bed sore plaintiffs recovered about $155,000 more in compensation.
Compared to the national average, New York elder abuse plaintiffs recovered nothing 3% more than others.
Compared to the national average, New York nursing home plaintiffs recovered nothing 5% more than others.
Compared to the national average, New York bed sore plaintiffs recovered nothing 4% more than others.
Compared to the national average, New York elder abuse plaintiffs recovered more than $1,000,000 4% more than others.
Compared to the national average, New York nursing home plaintiffs recovered more than $1,000,000 5% more than others.
Compared to the national average, New York bed sore plaintiffs recovered more than $1,000,000 13% more than others.
NAME: GROSS VS. JOHNSON
YEAR: 2014
TYPE/INJURY: ABUSE
AWARD: $1,205,000
This remarkable series of abusive events occurred to Jeff Gross, an elderly resident of a cooperative nursing home. A former resident stalked him, attacked him, fired gunshots at him, and spread defamatory remarks about him. Outside of the reputational damage that he suffered, he also sustained arm, neck, leg, and other physical injuries. For these damages, he brought a lawsuit against the perpetrator for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and battery, The court agreed with the plaintiff and gave him $1,205,000 in damages: $955,000 for compensatory damages and $250,000 for punitive damages.
NAME: FEINSTEIN VS. NORWEGIAN CHRISTIAN HOME
YEAR: 2012
TYPE/INJURY: FALL
AWARD: $1,500,000
The victim in this case was an older woman who was admitted to a nursing home because she needed substantial assistance in day-to-day activities. She suffered from a number of medical issues. However, despite notice and knowledge of her critical state, the nursing staff did not take appropriate measures to care and protect her while she resided there. They took no actions beyond their requisite care for other residents. Eventually, the woman fell and hit her head. This fall resulted in serious brain damage and eventually killed her approximately one year later. At trial, her lawyers argued that the nursing home facility was responsible because they failed to take action after becoming aware of the decedent’s needs. The defendant disagreed. It contended that its actions constituted the appropriate level of care that the woman was owed and that the fall was beyond its control. The jury, however, came down on the side of the plaintiff and awarded the estate $1,500,000.
NAME: BEHRINGER VS. UNITED CEREBRAL PALSY ASSOCIATION
YEAR: 2012
TYPE/INJURY: ABUSE
AWARD: $11,100,000
This horrendous affair occurred to a blind and crippled man in a nursing home. According to allegations made in the subsequent lawsuit, the nursing staff taunted him, yelled homophobic slurs at him, and failed to give him his anti-seizure medication, among many other grave insults. He sued the facility for damage to his dignity that he suffered as a result of these acts. The defendant replied that he had the intelligence of a two-year old child. However, plaintiff’s counsel was able to demonstrate that many of these incidents actually occurred. As a result, the jury sympathetically awarded the man $11,100,000:
NAME: LOPEZ VS. ST. VINCENT
YEAR: 2013
TYPE/INJURY: FALL
AWARD: $750,000
This lawsuit involved a number of serious claims. The plaintiffs represented a decedent who died while in the care of a nursing home. She passed away as the result of a head injury she sustained after falling from his wheelchair. However, she also was allowed to take out her tracheotomy tube and endure emotional and humiliating insults. Her lawsuit brought wrongful death, negligence, and other claims against the defendant facility. The defendant countered that it had done nothing wrong and any injury the decedent sustained was a result of her own actions. The jury found favorably for the plaintiffs and award the estate $750,000-$250,000 for compensatory damages and $500,000 for punitive damages.
NAME: MILLER VS. AMSTERDAM
YEAR: 2014
TYPE/INJURY: DEHYRDATION; MALNUTRITION
AWARD: $212,500
This case ostensibly began when a woman in her middle nineties died in a nursing home, but it really began much before then. While living there, she experienced dehydration, malnutrition, sepsis, and other symptoms of deficient care that eventually combined to kill her. After her passing, her representatives brought a lawsuit against the facility. They stated that the defendant did not properly care for her; did not adequately diagnose her; did not give her the medication, food, and water that she needed; and in many other ways did not afford her all the things that they were obliged to give her. The defendant countered that she did not accept food or treatment when offered and that her death and complications were the result of natural developments. Yet, both parties agreed to settle and move on from controversy for $212,500.
NAME: NUCCIO VS. CENTRAL SUFFOLK HOSPITAL
YEAR: 2009
TYPE/INJURY: ABUSE
AWARD: $750,000
This case actually involved a chain of misconduct that eventually combined to confine the victim to a bed and even take his life. The man was in his eighties and was admitted to a hospital for an operation to remove his tumor. Later, his counsel would contend that the procedure was unnecessary, but, putting that aside, he also suffered extraordinary abuse while staying at the same facility for post-operative care. For instance, staff failed to properly and regularly remove his catheter and that resulted in infection and serious pain. However, there were other instances of abuse, including dehydration and malnutrition. In the eventual suit that combined all of these injuries, the defendant cried that it had done the best it could and all that the law required of it. However, possibly seeing the writing on the wall, it still agreed to settle with the decedent’s estate for $750,000.
NAME: PATANE VS. ST. TERESA’S NURSING HOME
YEAR: 2006
TYPE/INJURY: DEHYDRATION; MALNUTRITION; SEPSIS
AWARD: $525,000
This story began when a woman in her late eighties was admitted to a nursing home and ended when she died three months later. Prior to entering the facilty, she had a medical history of heart issues, dementia, and hypothyroidism. She often spoke in Italian and, consequently, the staff had a difficult time communicating with her. Just in the first few weeks of her stay there, her hydration and nutrition levels began to drastically drop. Then, she developed bed sores that led to infections. Eventually, she had to be transferred back to a hospital to undergo critical care but this could save her. She died merely three months after she entered the nursing home. Her estate brought a lawsuit but the defendant nursing facility did not want to wage an expensive and long war for its defense; therefore, settlement negotiations quickly commenced and ended prior to the commencement of trial. The plaintiffs received $525,000.
NAME: ROSELLI VS. EGER HEALTH CARE
YEAR: 2005
TYPE/INJURY: FALL
AWARD: $300,000
After ten falls, a nursing home patient finally declared enough was enough and brought suit against the facility where she was living. In fact, on the tenth and final fall, she broke her hip. She also suffered from pain and suffering because of these incidents. In her suit, she noted that staff actually was aware of her falls and did nothing about it; they failed to enhance any kind of monitoring or preventative services to the woman. Prior to the beginning of trial, both sides decided to end the matter in a private settlement agreement that gave the woman $300,000.
NAME: DRAYTON VS. KATERI RESIDENCE
YEAR: 2006
TYPE/INJURY: BED SORES
AWARD: $650,000
The victim in this case was an elderly man in his middle seventies. He was admitted to a nursing home following treatment he had undergone following a stroke. He also was experiencing symptoms related to hypertension, diabetes, and other issues. Within a matter of months, the man began showing signs of bed sores all over his body. Some of them were so severe that he had to be taken to a hospital for debridement surgery. Eventually, the infections that developed in the sores were so severe that he passed away, leaving his family. They sued the nursing home facility for wrongful death and negligence. Both sides settled for $650,000 in a mediated settlement.
NAME: PALMIERI VS. STATEN ISLAND UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL
YEAR: 2014
TYPE/INJURY: BED SORES; DEATH
AWARD: $500,000
The estate of a man who died at the age of 86 brought an action against the Staten Island University Hospital following his passing. The man was survived by a wife and two children. The lawsuit alleged that after undergoing surgery to correct an aneurysm in his abdomen, he sustained bed sores while recuperating at the same hospital. Further, they complained that the facility failed to put enough staff on his care, failed to adequately train and monitor them, and failed to prevent the emergence of bed sores on the man’s body. The hospital replied that they did the best that they could. A jury did not look fondly on this argument as they awarded the decedent’s family $500,000 for their expenses as well as pain and suffering.
NAME: SCHEINER VS. STATEN ISLAND UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL
YEAR: 2006
TYPE/INJURY: BED SORES
AWARD: $350,000
This tragic story involved a woman in her late forties who entered a hospital-Staten Island University Hospital- for treatment related to multiple sclerosis. While staying at the hospital, she developed bed sores that caused her substantial pain, disfigurement, and scarring. Due to these injuries, she was unable to work, walk, or sit for an extended amount of time. Eventually, the woman died from multiple sclerosis but the estate still brought an action against the hospital for the pain and suffering that the bed sores caused her as well as the expenses. The hospital argued that there was nothing it could do-that her condition and prior injuries made her acutely prone to bed sores. However, the jury believed that the hospital’s deficient care was the source behind the sores and awarded the family $350,000.
NAME: KYTKA VS. DRY HARBOR NURSING HOME
YEAR: 2010
TYPE/INJURY: BED SORES
AWARD: $300,000
This story involved a veteran and bed sores. The man was found lying on the ground of the nursing home where he lived and rushed to the hospital. However, this was to no avail because he died shortly thereafter. It was later determined that infections that developed within his bed sores were the cause for his passing. His family brought a wrongful death action against the nursing home and argued that this substandard care caused these sores to arise in him and was the reason why he died. The defendant facility marshaled a whole host of evidence and experts to refute this premise but it could not stop the jury from awarding the family $300,000 for their expenses, losses, and the decedent’s pain and suffering.
NAME: GROFF VS. STRONG MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
YEAR: 2013
TYPE/INJURY: BED SORES
AWARD: $1,000,000
This was a medical malpractice lawsuit that stemmed from a patient’s one-month stay in a hospital following treatment he had on his liver. During the course of his post-operative care, he sustained pressure sores to his penis and sacrum. The former arose because the facility used a “condom” catheter (which covers the head of the penis) rather than a Foley catheter. These sores progressed rapidly into stage IV. For the great pain, suffering, and expenses needed to combat these bed sores, he sued the hospital for negligence and sought significant damages. On the record of these facts, the jury returned a verdict of $1,000,000 for the plaintiff.
NAME: POPIELSKI VS. MAPLEWOOD HEALTHCARE
YEAR: 2004
TYPE/INJURY: BED SORES; NEGLECT
AWARD: $1,500,000
This case centered on a resident in a nursing home. She was an elderly woman in her middle eighties who was suffering from many medical conditions including dementia. One day, while trying to move from her bed to her wheelchair she fell and broke her elbow. Later discovery proved that she had been neglected for many hours around the time of this accident. Subsequently, she also developed bed sores around the area where she broke her elbow. Her representatives filed a complaint in court against the nursing home for negligence and argued that she deserved better care-care that would have prevented fall and bed sores from ever happening. A jury agreed, over the objections of the defendant nursing facility, and gave the woman $1,500,000 in compensation recovery.
NAME: IVEY VS. JEWISH HOME AND HOSPITAL
YEAR: 2010
TYPE/INJURY: BED SORES
AWARD: $150,000
The event surrounding this case began in March of 2002. While staying at a hospital, the patient developed bed sores and they rapidly advanced to stage IV. Even with treatment and procedures, their development could not be slowed or reduced. Eventually, she even experienced urosepsis as a result of the bed sores and passed away in May of 2002, just two months after the bed sores emerged. She was 89 years old. The estate of the woman sued the hospital for wrongful death and negligence. The defendant facility aggressively defended their actions. They argued that they operated within the standard of care and that the woman died because from natural causes. However, the strong case that the plaintiffs made as well as the visceral reaction that the courtroom had to the decedent’s image convinced the jury to award the family $150,000.
NAME: PURICELLI VS. ST. PETER’S HOSPITAL
YEAR: 2009
TYPE/INJURY: BED SORES
AWARD: $125,000
In this case, a teacher and coach underwent surgery to fix a problem in his hip. Following the procedure, he was given compression socks. These unfortunately caused him to develop pressure sores that caused him great pain and even required him to undergo additional surgeries to prevent the bed sores pressure sores from deteriorating. He brought a lawsuit against the providers and hospital where he underwent the initial operation for malpractice. He argued their negligent care and instructions led to the development of his pressure sores and caused his damages. The defendants disagreed and offered that the plaintiff’s pre-existing diabetic condition as well as his refusal to follow their instructions caused his injuries. However, neither side ended up making their case to the jury because they settled prior to trial for $125,000.
