Nursing Home Neglect

Massachusetts and Rhode Island Nursing Home Neglect Lawyer

Nursing home neglect is a general term that covers many different kinds of injuries and causes of death. Falls, bedsores, elopement, dehydration, malnutrition, and choking on food are all signs of resident neglect. If a family member has suffered an injury or death in a Rhode Island or Massachusetts nursing home, contact me, lawyer Jeffrey Padwa. It may be a sign of neglect.

Neglect in nursing homes is frequently due to inadequate staffing. It is estimated that staff salaries are 70 percent or more of the cost of running a nursing home. Many facilities cut personnel to increase profitability. As a result, there is simply not enough staff to bath, feed, toilet, and attend to residents.

Jeffrey Padwa has 14 years of experience in representing clients in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and nationwide.

In one of my cases, an 88 year-old man entered a nursing home in Middletown, Rhode Island, happy, cheerful, and cooperative. He was unresponsive 13 days later and died because of malnutrition and dehydration. The nursing home failed to assess adequately his condition on admission regarding nutrition and hydration. The nursing staff threw his dentures out with the trash, did not notice that he had thrush, an infection of the mouth, and did not give him the dietary supplements that were recommended by the dietician.

Signs of Nursing Home Neglect

You should contact an attorney whenever you notice signs of nursing home neglect. Those signs may include:

• Failure to assist in personal hygiene, or in the provision of food, fluids, clothing, or shelter
• Failure to prevent malnutrition or dehydration
• Failure to take the person to the toilet when necessary
• Failure to take adequate precautions to prevent falls
• Failure to adequately supervise residents according to proper care plans
• Leaving persons lying in urine and feces
• Allowing the development of pressure sores (decubitus ulcers / bedsores) or frozen joints
• Over-medicating nursing home residents
• Failing to provide pain medication when necessary
• Dropping persons and causing fractures
• Failure to respond to call lights
• Retaliation for making a complaint or filing a grievance.

Nursing Home Liability for Neglect

A nursing home can be found liable for neglecting a resident in their care. Federal and state laws require that nursing homes develop an individualized plan of care for each nursing home resident and employ sufficient staff to provide all the care listed on the care plan. There are also staffing levels mandated by federal, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts regulations.

Personal injury claims and wrongful death cases hold nursing homes accountable, help protect other seniors from similar harm, recover money damages for injured persons and their families, and help families to gain emotional closure.

Free Consultation: Concerned about your loved one's care in a nursing home or assisted living residence? Call nursing home neglect lawyer Jeffrey Padwa.