If you have an elderly loved one who sustained injuries at a nursing home or assisted-living facility as a result of nursing home abuse or neglect, you should be thinking about the possibility of filing a lawsuit. Yet you may not be sure who is liable for your loved one’s injuries, and who you can sue. Since liability will depend upon the particular facts of your case, it is critical to seek advice from a New York nursing home negligence lawyer as soon as you can to determine who may be at fault. In the meantime, we want to provide you with some information about the parties that could be liable in a New York nursing home abuse or neglect lawsuit.
The Nursing Home
In most nursing home abuse and neglect cases, the nursing home will bear some responsibility for injuries. Under New York law, nursing home residents have rights that include rights to quality of care and a comfortable living environment. Accordingly, if a nursing home resident does not receive proper care, even if it is a result of passive neglect, the nursing home itself can be responsible for resulting injuries.
To be sure, nursing homes have a duty to protect patients from harm, which means properly training and monitoring staff members, conducting background checks on staff members, ensuring that staff members have the ability to do their jobs and to properly care for patients, repairing hazards on the nursing home property, and developing and implementing infection-control measures. As such, if a staff member engages in any kind of behavior that results in harm to a patient, from passive neglect to intentional physical or emotional abuse, the facility can be liable. Similarly, even if the nursing home has tasked a staff member with reporting hazards on the property, the nursing home may be liable if a hazard causes an injury like a slip and fall.
Staff Member at the Nursing Home
In some cases, staff members at nursing homes may bear some responsibility for harm, especially when the staff member engages in an intentional act of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse.
Designer or Manufacturer of Nursing Home Equipment
If a nursing home injury results from the use of defective or dangerous medical equipment or health aids, the designer or manufacturer of the equipment may be liable for harm.
Contractor Who Performed Maintenance Work at the Nursing Home
If a nursing home hires a maintenance worker to perform maintenance on a dangerous area of the facility, such as a place with rough flooring or with a broken light, the maintenance worker could be partially at fault if that person performs negligent maintenance on the property.
Contact a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer in New York for Assistance
When you are dealing with an elderly loved one’s injuries or death in a nursing home, it is essential to seek advice from one of our experienced New York nursing home abuse attorneys. It can be difficult to determine liability in a nursing home injury case, and these claims can be complicated for many additional reasons, as well. Our firm can assess your case and can work with you to file a claim against the nursing home and any other liable parties. Contact Leitner Varughese Warywoda PLLC for more information about filing a nursing home negligence lawsuit.
