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New York Nursing Home Negligence Lawyer Serving Clients In Schenectady

Many residents of the Schenectady area have to make the difficult decision of whether to help an elderly parent or loved one transition from a family residence into a nursing home. While many nursing home patients receive quality care from attentive healthcare providers, nursing home abuse and neglect is a serious problem in New York and across the country. New York is one of only a small number of states that does not currently require nursing homes to have a certain number of staff members, or a particular staff-to-patient ratio. Given that many injuries arising out of nursing home negligence occur because of understaffing, the lack of mandated staff numbers in New York often leaves seniors at risk of injury.

If you have questions or concerns, a Schenectady nursing home negligence lawyer can help.

What Is Nursing Home Negligence In Schenectady, New York?

Nursing home negligence refers to any type of negligent action or inaction that results in harm to a nursing home patient. When an elderly nursing home resident suffers injuries because of nursing home abuse or neglect, that elderly resident or their family may be able to file a nursing home negligence claim in order to obtain financial compensation. Nursing home injuries can be costly—economically, physically, and psychologically.

When a nursing home is negligent and a patient gets hurt, that patient can end up with extensive hospital bills, not to mention the possibility of diminished independence and emotional trauma.

Schenectady Nursing Home
Patient Rights

Nursing home residents in Schenectady and throughout New York have certain rights under New York law. The New York Department of Health provides details about nursing home resident rights and nursing home responsibilities in the state, which include but are not limited to the following:

Patients have a right to be treated with dignity and respect;
Patients have a right to privacy in their treatment and in care for their personal needs;
Patients have a right to be consulted about nursing home policies that set rights and responsibilities;
Patients have a right to be free from any type of abuse (including verbal, sexual, mental, and physical abuse), as well as from corporal punishment;
Patients have a right to be free from chemical and physical restraints unless they are medically necessary;
Nursing homes have a responsibility to provide patients with safe, clean, and comfortable surroundings; and
Nursing homes have a responsibility to protect patients from abusive treatment.

Types Of Nursing Home Negligence
Claims In Schenectady, NY

According to the National Council on Aging (NCOA), nursing home negligence claims can include multiple types of abuse and neglect, including, for example:

Physical abuse, which involves the infliction of physical pain or injury on an elderly nursing home resident;
Sexual abuse, which refers to any kind of sexual activity or touching that an older adult does not consent to or that the older adult cannot understand due to cognitive impairment;
Emotional abuse, which can include assaults, threats, harassment, embarrassment, and intimidation;
Confinement, or the intentional restraint or isolation of an older adult that is not for medically necessary purposes;
Neglect, which includes the failure to provide an elderly nursing home resident with any type of necessary care, including food, clothing, shelter, and medical treatment;
Willful deprivation, or intentionally denying an elderly nursing home resident medical care, food, medical devices, physical assistance, or any other type of care that the patient needs; and
Financial abuse or exploitation, which involves misuse or an elderly nursing home resident’s financial resources.

Liability In Schenectady
For Nursing Home Negligence

Depending upon the specific facts of the case, more than one party may be liable for nursing home negligence, such as:

Specific staff member;
Nurse;
Physician; and/or
Facility itself (and the owner of the facility).

Statute Of Limitations
In A Schenectady, New York
Nursing Home Negligence Claim

Like other types of negligence claims, nursing home negligence cases have a specific statute of limitations. Under New York law, most nursing home negligence claims must be filed within three years from the date of the accident or incident that resulted in the elderly resident’s injury. It is important to get in touch with a Schenectady nursing home abuse lawyer as soon as you can to file a claim. If more than three years pass from the date of the incident, the claim can become time-barred under New York law.

Contact A Nursing Home Negligence Attorney In Schenectady

If you have any concerns about nursing home abuse or neglect in New York, you should get in touch with a Schenectady nursing home negligence attorney as soon as possible. It is important to take steps to help your elderly loved one, as well as to hold a negligent facility responsible for serious and life-threatening injuries. Contact Powers & Santola, LLP for more information.

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