Nursing Home Understaffing

Well over a million Americans reside in nursing homes. They depend on others not only for medical care but also for attention to their personal needs, which may include feeding, hydration, and personal hygiene. When a nursing home is not adequately staffed, residents suffer the consequences. In addition to delays in care and treatment, some patients’ nutritional and other needs will inevitably be altogether unmet, leading to sickness, injury, and even death. If you believe that your loved one has been hurt or has died because of understaffing at a nursing home, the Rockland County nursing home negligence lawyers at the Law Firm of Valerie J. Crown, Attorney at Law, P.C., will be glad to discuss your loved one’s situation with you and help you determine whether going forward with a formal claim in a court of law is advisable.

Nursing home staffing is a problem that has plagued our nation’s long-term care facilities and assisted living centers for many years. Patients in understaffed nursing homes are at a substantially increased risk for infection, malnutrition, dehydration, bedsores, and other potentially life-threatening conditions. When a nursing home is understaffed, not only are there not enough professionals in place to attend to patients’ needs, but also those staff members, who are trying their best to attend to as many patients as possible, will eventually grow fatigued. An exhausted healthcare worker can easily make mistakes that could threaten a patient’s wellbeing. Staff members can even grow so frustrated with working conditions as to become abusive to patients in some cases.

Although the nursing home industry is heavily regulated, nothing is likely to change with regard chronic understaffing caused by owners putting profits over patient wellness unless owners are held accountable. Nursing home negligence lawsuits can effectuate changes because the court system can order nursing home owners to pay out monetary compensation for medical care, pain and suffering, and other damages caused by understaffing. In some cases, settlements and judgments can be substantial, and a seasoned nursing home negligence attorney can help you pursue the compensation you may be owed.

In a New York nursing home negligence case (other than bedsore cases), the burden of proof is on the plaintiff. This means that he or she must be able to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the defendant breached a duty and that the breach of this duty was the proximate cause of the harm for which the plaintiff seeks compensation. In bedsore cases, the burden of proof is on the defendant nursing home. This means the nursing home must prove it took all reasonable measures to prevent and/or treat a patient’s bedsores.

Typically, the opinion of an expert witness is necessary in order for a nursing home negligence case to proceed to trial. Without an expert’s opinion as to the standard of care that was owed to the patient, whether and how that standard of care was breached, and the extent to which that breach of the standard of care was the proximate cause of injury or death to a nursing home patient, the case will likely be dismissed on summary judgment prior to trial. Therefore, it is important that a family whose loved one has been hurt by understaffing in a New York nursing home consult legal counsel who is experienced with these types of cases, and knowledgeable about potential experts who can review the case and render an opinion at trial.

Failure to properly staff is a huge problem for nursing homes across the country. A loved one should not have to suffer or die because of a nursing home owner’s failure to hire sufficient staff members to meet the needs of the patients entrusted to the facility’s care. To talk to a helpful Rockland County attorney, call the Law Firm of Valerie J. Crown, Attorney at Law, P.C., at 845-708-5900, call Valerie’s cell phone at 845-598-8253, or contact us online. If you engage our services, payment will not be expected until your case is settled or a favorable judgment is obtained in court. We handle nursing home cases throughout Greater New York, including in Westchester, Dutchess, Ulster, and Orange Counties, and we look forward to serving your family’s legal needs at this difficult time.