The most common defense we hear was that, the bed sore wasn’t caused by any negligence on the part of the nursing home, it wasn’t cause because the nurses and aids failed to turn a helpless resident every two hours like they were ordered to do. The bed sore wasn’t caused because the nursing home failed to provide them with a proper, pressure relieving mattress. The bed sore wasn’t formed because the nursing home failed to give them a proper wheelchair, but instead the nursing home argues that the resident was so sick, and it was their medical condition that caused this bed sore, and that the bed sore would have been formed regardless of how many interventions were in place. The bed sore would have formed regardless of how often this resident would have been turned, and even if all the right interventions were in place, this resident was going to get the bed sore. Sounds ridiculous, but these are some of the excuses that nursing homes use to attempt to escape liability in court.
Another common defense that we see, involves patients who fall in the nursing home. The nursing homes argue that they told the resident time after time not to get out of bed by themselves, they told the resident not to get out of the wheelchair by themselves, but the resident simply wouldn’t listen. A lot of these cases involve nursing home residents with dementia, with Alzheimer’s, or with other medical conditions that may impair their judgement, however the nursing homes argue that it doesn’t matter. They told the resident not to do it, and they are doing it anyway, and therefore the nursing home is not at fault.
The third common defense happens even when the nursing home admits that they may have done something wrong. They argue that even if we’ve failed to watch this person, and the person sustains a hip fracture, she had so many medical conditions, and she had so much pain from other medical conditions, that she didn’t suffer any pain and suffering anyway.
You may wonder, ‘How do we overcome these defenses?’ Well, we may bring to court the witnesses that were there. We may question these witnesses. We retain medical experts, and nursing experts, and we attempt to prove that what the nursing home is saying is entirely untrue and/or entirely unreasonable.
About Leitner Varughese PLLC
Leitner Varughese PLLC is a cutting-edge litigation and trial law firm uniquely experienced in handling high-profile, complex lawsuits involving serious injuries and wrongful death. The Firm has vast experience in handling cases involving serious injuries caused by:
• Nursing Home Abuse/Neglect • Medical Malpractice • Construction Accidents • Motor Vehicle Accidents • Trip / Slip & Fall Accidents • Labor Law Violations • Negligent Premises Security • Products Liability • Defective Drugs
Leitner Varughese attorneys are routinely heralded as preeminent trial lawyers by nationally acclaimed organizations including the National Top 100 Trial Lawyers, Super Lawyers, American Academy of Trial Attorneys Premier 100, Rue Ratings Best Attorneys in America, America’s Top 100 Attorneys, and National Academy of Jurisprudence Premier 100 Trial Attorneys.
The attorneys at Leitner Varughese are routinely called upon to handle high-profile and newsworthy cases, many of which have been featured in news and media outlets, including the New York Law Journal, the New York Post, the New York Daily News, Channel 7 Eyewitness News, CBS News, Best of Long Island Press, Newsday, News 12, the LI Herald, and FIOS 1, amongst others.
In just the past few years, Leitner Varughese attorneys have facilitated in the recovery of over $100 million on behalf of clients that were injured because of car and truck accidents, construction accidents (involving New York State Labor Law violations), slip/trip and falls, and defective pharmaceuticals, including the recovery of over $50 million alone in verdicts and settlements on behalf of the victims of nursing home neglect and abuse.
For more information about Leitner Varughese PLLC or to be a part of our team, please contact us at (855) LV LAW NY (855-585-2969), or visit our website at http://www.lvlawny.com.
