National law firm, Parker Waichman LLP, just filed a lawsuit on behalf of the estate of a New York woman who died, allegedly due to the negligence of Our Lady of Consolation Geriatric Care Center, located in West Islip, New York. The complaint was filed on March 30th in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York (Index No. 151438/12).
The complaint alleges that the now-deceased woman was admitted to Our Lady of Consolation Geriatric Care Center from December 2008 to May 2011. On May 16th, she suffered a fall, which fractured her left tibia and fibula. The lawsuit alleges that the fall was due to the nursing home’s negligence and the impact from these lower limb injuries led to complications that caused the woman’s death on May 22nd, 2011.
Our Lady of Consolation is being charged with negligence, gross negligence, and wrongful death. The lawsuit alleges that the facility violated the woman’s rights under New York Public Health Law; effectively abandoned its responsibility to care for her; and forced the woman to undergo medical treatment, incur medical expenses, and suffer from disfigurement, disability, pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and death. Among other items, the lawsuit seeks punitive damage compensation.
“One of the largest causes of potentially preventable hospital emergency room visits made by nursing home residents is injury due to a fall,” says Brett Leitner, Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect attorney at Parker Waichman LLP. “This is all the more reason that nursing homes must be vigilant about keeping the facility free of dangerous conditions that might cause an elderly patient to slip or trip and fall, and must provide proper safety devices, supervision, and interventions to prevent falls from occurring.”
We recently wrote that another nursing home death lawsuit led to a $4.5 million award. That lawsuit was filed by the son of the woman who died after a short stay at the Life Care Center of Las Vegas. The center is part of the larger national chain, Life Care Centers of America.
We also recently wrote that Parker Waichman LLP filed a lawsuit on behalf of the estate of a Nassau County, New York, woman who died, allegedly, as a result of nursing home negligence on the part of the Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation. That center is located in Woodbury, New York. The complaint states that, while at the facility, the woman developed numerous decubitus ulcers, skin breakdown, infections, malnutrition, dehydration, and other injuries.
Parker Waichman LLP also filed another nursing home neglect lawsuit against Grandell Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, of Long Island, New York. That lawsuit was filed on behalf of a Nassau County woman who suffered severe and permanent injuries from falls associated with negligence on the part of Grandell Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, which is also being charged with violations of the New York Public Health Law and negligence and gross negligence.
