Nursing Home Negligence Led To The Death Of A Woman. A New York nursing home is facing allegations that its negligence led to the untimely death of a Nassau County woman under its care for less than two months. The deceased woman, on behalf of her estate, is being represented in a lawsuit against that […]
Nursing Home Negligence Led To The Death Of A Woman. A New York nursing home is facing allegations that its negligence led to the untimely death of a Nassau County woman under its care for less than two months.
The deceased woman, on behalf of her estate, is being represented in a lawsuit against that nursing home by the national law firm of Parker Waichman LLP, which has represented numerous other victims of nursing home abuse or negligence. In the lawsuit filed against UPR Care Corp. (doing business as Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation) in Woodbury, N.Y., the unnamed victim was admitted to the nursing home in late-January 2011 and stayed there until early-March.
During her short stay, the victim developed numerous serious health complications, all of which are being blamed on the negligent care provided to her at Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation. The claim against the nursing home lists some of the complications as “numerous decubitus ulcers, skin breakdown, infections, malnutrition, dehydration, and other injuries.”
Throughout and after her short stay at the nursing home, the plaintiff was admitted to Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola, N.Y., for the treatment of these conditions, namely the breakdown of her skin. The hospital, the lawsuit claims, was unable “to render her proper and adequate care and treatment to prevent the worsening” of her skin problems. She was admitted to the hospital for stays ranging from one week to two, including a final visit on May 3, 2011. The victim died on May 4, just more than four months after first being admitted to the nursing home.
The lawsuit, filed this week before the Supreme Court of the State of New York, charges Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation with negligence, gross negligence, and wrongful death. It seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, plus fees, on behalf of the woman’s estate.
This case is an example of something becoming far too commonplace in U.S. nursing homes, as many have been forced to make drastic budget restrictions in the face of an economic downturn. With less money, nursing homes have been forced to hire poorly-trained staff and care workers, have taken their eyes off screening potential employees as those who may be more likely to abuse patients or have a history of abuse against patients, and have drastically reduced the actual number of staff members.
These conditions can often result in negligent or abusive care. Fewer employees does not allow a nursing home to offer adequate care to its residents. Medications are often missed, confused, or abused. Common medical complications, like ordinary infections, can quickly worsen in no attention is given to it. Residents who require round-the-clock care are less likely to receive that.
Further, important medical records are not kept and family members who suspect their relative under a nursing home’s care is being abused or neglected may not get proper response or are ignored if they raise their concerns to nursing home administrators.
The personal injury attorneys at Parker Waichman LLP offer free, no-obligation case evaluations. For more information, fill out our online contact form or call 1-800-YOURLAWYER (1-800-968-7529).