Trial attorney Brett Leitner of New York law firm Leitner Varughese is featured as a legal analyst on Today's Verdict discussing recent trends in New York nursing home abuse and neglect law

https://abc7ny.com/family-blames-long-island-nursing-home-for-fathers-death/5115542/ PORT WASHINGTON, Long Island (WABC) -- A family is speaking out and demanding justice after they say their father's Long Island nursing home is to blame for his death. Diane Scancarello remembers her father as a family man, a jokester who loved the holidays and loved to cook. But she also has darker memories of her 88-year-old father that she will never forget. Edward Innella died at The Amsterdam at Harborside in Port Washington back in November of 2017. "He just kept saying 'Help me, help me, help me,'" Scancarello exclusively told Eyewitness News. Those were the last words Innella spoke to his daughter. He died a few hours later. "I got a phone call from the nurse on duty and she said my father had fallen out of a wheelchair and it looks like he might need stitches, he may have a broken nose and he's spitting up blood," Scancarello said. Scancarello said it didn't sound urgent, but when she got to the hospital, her father was not in good shape. "It looked like a guy went through rounds on a fight," Scancarello said. "His face was all cut up, his nose was to the side, it looked like his jaw was broken." The nurse caring for her father was arrested earlier this month by state police and charged with endangering the welfare of an elderly patient, falsifying business records and willful violation of health law. He appeared before a judge at Nassau County District Court on Wednesday. State records show his nursing license was temporarily suspended by the state in 2002 after being charged with attempted menacing. "They have a duty to be sure that they are in fact screening the people that they're hiring," attorney Justin Varughese said. Varughese is Scancarello's attorney and is filing a civil case. A spokesperson for The Amsterdam at Harborside released the following statement: "The matter in question was an isolated event that was immediately investigated, reported by us to the appropriate regulatory agencies and corrective action was taken. The employee involved was subsequently dismissed. All of our staff members are thoroughly screened and receive job-appropriate training upon hire." Varughese said something doesn't feel right about the investigation by the facility. "We've seen some of the internal notes from the medical chart already and they've already demonstrated that there's something of a cover up," Varughese said. Scancarello said she doesn't believe the story that her father fell out of his wheelchair. "There's no way my dad -- and we knew that when it happened -- could've fallen out of the wheelchair on his own and sustained that amount of injuries," Scancarello said. https://abc7ny.com/family-blames-long-island-nursing-home-for-fathers-death/5115542/

Leitner Varughese Warywoda was featured on The Today Show and NBC News fighting for the families of more than 12,000 nursing home residents who died in New York nursing homes from COVID. Thank you to New York State Attorney General Letitia James for bringing to light the failure of NY nursing homes to protect their residents, which led to the deaths of over 12K vulnerable people. This brings us one step closer to getting justice for these grieving families. https://www.today.com/video/nursing-home-deaths-in-new-york-were-undercounted-new-report-says-100213829758?fbclid=IwAR1zoFZIvSyvx7IFYSFLA4gCBmwAKjtDD1fGTzvCSNPaAssEcNxkdf-HQGs www.lvlawny.com Here is a full transcript of the report on NBC’s Today show: 8:05 AM ET WILLIE GEIST: Now to a scathing new report out of New York, accusing the state of undercounting the number of COVID deaths in nursing homes. NBC’s Kristen Dahlgren joins us with a closer look. Kristen, good morning. KRISTEN DAHLGREN: Good morning, Willie. So we know what happened in nursing homes early on in the pandemic was tragic. But this morning, New York’s attorney general is saying it may have been much worse than we were told. [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: New York Underreported Nursing Home Deaths?; State Attorney General Releases Scathing New Report] In a new report, the state’s attorney general saying New York may have underreported the number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes by as much as 50%. JAMES SKOUFIS [D-NEW YORK STATE SENATOR]: The state had not counted, as of today, nursing home residents who died in hospitals. And we deserve to know the full scope of just how horrific this nightmare, this crisis was. DAHLGREN: The 76-page report also blasts a March directive from Governor Andrew Cuomo, mandating nursing homes take in COVID patients to free up hospital beds. Adding, some of the facilities were unprepared for the order and failed to comply with protocols, like isolating infected patients. Vivian Rivera Zayas lost her mom, Anna, who was recovering from knee surgery at a care facility. VIVIAN RIVERA ZAYAS: Never would I have imagined that as soon as the doors were closed, that my mother would have passed away two days before she was supposed to be home. DAHLGREN: Her attorney, Brett Leitner, represents more than a hundred families with similar stories. BRETT LEITNER: Nursing homes knew about a COVID-positive resident and was still having them in the day room, in the elevators, without masks, and just in direct contact with the other elderly nursing home residents. DAHLGREN: Governor Cuomo has not commented on the report, but in the past has said that he was following federal guidelines. He spoke to Savannah last June. GOV. ANDREW CUOMO [D-NY]: What we did here in New York is nothing different than what the federal government put out as guidance for every state. Yes, people died in nursing homes, Savannah. SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Was that a mistake? CUOMO: No, look, if you look at how many people died in nursing homes in New York compared to other states, we actually have a lower percentage of people who died in nursing homes. DAWN BEST: It should never have happened. DAHLGREN: For Dawn Best, who says her mom died of neglect while her nursing home was overrun with COVID, she hopes the report brings accountability. For her, it’s much more than numbers. BEST: New York State failed my mother and failed thousands of people’s mothers and fathers. DAHLGREN: This morning, the state health commissioner is taking issue with the accusation of an undercount. He says the state has always counted nursing home residents who died in hospitals separately. If you add them all up, Willie, those who died in nursing homes, in hospitals, and those that haven’t been confirmed yet but are suspected, it is more than 12,000, not the 6,000 that’s officially on the books. GEIST: It is a maddening report for so many families in this state. Kristen Dahlgren, thanks so much.

Leitner Varughese Warywoda is a cutting-edge litigation and trial law firm uniquely experienced in handling high-profile, complex lawsuits involving serious injuries and wrongful death. A Long Island woman is suing the nursing home where her mother is believed to have contracted the coronavirus and later died for gross negligence. WEST ISLIP, Long Island (WABC) -- A Long Island woman is suing the nursing home where her mother is believed to have contracted the coronavirus and later died for gross negligence. Vivian Zayas, of Deer Park, said federal health authorities warned officials at Our Lady of Consolation Nursing and Rehabilitative Care Center in West Islip, in early February of the coronavirus, but the facility did not take steps to safeguard its patients from the virus. Brett Leitner, Zayas's attorney, said, "T hey did not take proper precautions. They did not have proper care." Leitner said federal officials cited the nursing home 31 times between 2018-2019 for violating standards of care, including failing to have proper infection control procedures. A spokesperson for Our Lady of Consolation wouldn't comment to Eyewitness News due to the lawsuit. Zayas's lawsuit is complicated by a law buried deep in the New York State budget bill passed in early April. The Disaster Treatment Protection Act makes healthcare providers, including nursing homes, immune from most lawsuits after March 7, 2020. The legislation, which was a surprise to even some lawmakers who approved the budget, states, "It is the purpose of this article to promote the public health, safety and welfare of all citizens by broadly protecting the health care facilities and health care professionals in this state from liability that may result from treatment of individuals with COVID-19 under conditions resulting from circumstances associated with the public health emergency." The law, however, does not provide immunity if the harm or damages were caused by an act of intentional criminal misconduct or gross negligence. Leitner said Zayas's lawsuit for the time period between March 7 and April 1 is complicated by the public health law amendment. "That will make it a big uphill battle, but we think the evidence suggests that the nursing home was grossly negligent and the statute will not apply and will not protect them," he said. Leitner said he is confident about the viability of the lawsuit for the period between January 8 - when Martinez entered the facility - and March 6 pointing again to the February CMS memo warning about the coronavirus. "Our argument is that their negligence occurred before the immunity order and we are going to open the door for 6,000 plus families to sue for the wrongful deaths of their loved ones in nursing homes in New York," he said. New York State Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Flushing) and Senator Alessandra Biaggi (D-Bronx) have introduced a bill to repeal the Disaster Treatment Protection Act. "If you want to have a discussion about wanting some sort of an immunity pass, it should be done openly, it should be done in a public hearing with all the loved ones and all the families who lost loved ones there participating having input," Kim said. Biaggi said repealing the amendment will enable families to pursue a legal pathway that could uncover evidence of poor care. "By repealing the Governor's provision to shield nursing homes and other healthcare facilities from liability, we can at least provide impacted families with the transparency and accountability they deserve," she said.