Long Island Bedsores Lawyer

Bedsores (pressure ulcers) are a painful and often preventable sign of neglect. When these wounds develop on a loved one in a hospital or nursing home, it often indicates a failure in care. If your family member developed bedsores due to negligence, call a Long Island bedsores lawyer.

At Rosenberg & Gluck LLP, we fight for your loved one’s rights. Contact us at (631) 451-7900 for a free case review.

Why Choose Rosenberg & Gluck LLP for Your Long Island Bedsores Case

Discovering that a loved one has developed bedsores is distressing, since these injuries often signal inadequate care in a facility entrusted with their well-being. Selecting the right legal team is a key step in holding negligent parties accountable and seeking justice. 

Rosenberg & Gluck LLP offers compassionate and determined representation for bedsores victims and their families across Long Island.

Experienced With Bedsores Cases

Our attorneys have significant experience handling cases involving bedsores and other nursing home or hospital neglect. These injuries often fall under the broader category of nursing home abuse injuries, and we understand the medical complexities, the standards of care required to prevent them, and how to demonstrate when those standards were breached.

Committed to Our Long Island Neighbors

Rosenberg & Gluck LLP is a Long Island-based law firm serving communities throughout Nassau County and Suffolk County. We represent clients from all corners of the island and the boroughs and are familiar with local healthcare facilities and the specific challenges families face here. 

Clear Communication in English and Spanish

We believe clear and consistent communication is essential, especially when dealing with sensitive matters like elder neglect. Our team proudly offers legal services in both English and Spanish. 

If you or your family members prefer to discuss your case with a Spanish-speaking bedsores lawyer on Long Island, we’re here to assist.

Client-Focused Approach

We recognize the emotional and physical toll that bedsores take on victims and their families. While you focus on your loved one’s care and recovery, your Long Island bedsores lawyer at Rosenberg & Gluck LLP handles the legal complexities. 

We strive to ease your burden and fight for the compensation your family deserves. Contact Rosenberg & Gluck LLP at (631) 451-7900 for a compassionate consultation.

Understanding Preventable Bedsores and Facility Neglect

Pressure ulcers are injuries to the skin and underlying tissue that result from prolonged pressure on the skin. They most often develop on the skin covering bony areas of the body, such as the heels, ankles, hips, and tailbone. 

For individuals with limited mobility in nursing homes, hospitals, or receiving home care, regular repositioning and proper skin care are vital to prevention.

When healthcare providers fail to implement adequate preventative measures, it often constitutes negligence. A Long Island bedsores attorney investigates the facility’s protocols and actions. 

The development of bedsores, especially those advancing to later stages, strongly suggests a lapse in the expected standard of care.

There are typically four stages of bedsores, ranging from Stage 1 (skin intact but reddened) to Stage 4 (full-thickness tissue loss with exposed bone, muscle, or tendon). 

Severe bedsores cause immense pain, lead to serious infections like sepsis, and significantly diminish quality of life. In some tragic cases, complications from bedsores prove fatal.

Who Is Liable for Bedsores on Long Island?

Identifying all responsible parties is a key role of your Long Island bedsore lawyer. Pressure ulcers often result from systemic failures within a healthcare facility or due to the negligence of specific individuals. Several entities or individuals may be held liable.

• The Home or Facility: Nursing homes and assisted living facilities have a duty to provide adequate care, including regular repositioning, nutritional support, and skin assessments for at-risk residents. If understaffing, poor training, or inadequate care protocols lead to bedsores, the facility itself is liable. 
• Hospitals: Hospitals are also responsible for preventing bedsores in patients, especially those who are immobile for extended periods due to illness, surgery, or injury. 
• Healthcare Professionals: Individual doctors, nurses, or other medical staff members are liable if their direct negligence, such as failing to follow a care plan or neglecting to turn a patient, caused the bedsores. 
• Third Parties: In some situations, third-party contractors providing care or medical device manufacturers (if faulty equipment contributed) might also share liability.

How a Long Island Bedsores Lawyer Proves Negligence

Successfully pursuing a bedsore claim requires demonstrating that a healthcare provider or facility was negligent and that this negligence directly caused your loved one’s injuries. You need a nursing home abuse lawyer who can gather the right evidence, consult with medical experts, and hold the responsible parties accountable for the harm caused.

A Long Island bedsore attorney from Rosenberg & Gluck LLP meticulously builds your case, gathering and analyzing all relevant evidence to establish a breach in the standard of care.

This process involves obtaining and thoroughly reviewing extensive medical records, including doctors’ notes, nursing charts, wound care documentation, and facility care plans. 

We look for evidence of inadequate repositioning schedules, failure to provide proper nutrition and hydration, delayed identification and treatment of developing sores, or insufficient staff training. Photographs of the bedsores over time can provide crucial visual evidence of their progression and severity.

Often, proving bedsores negligence requires expert medical testimony. Your attorney works with qualified medical professionals who review the records and provide an opinion on whether the facility or its staff deviated from accepted medical standards. 

Witness testimony from facility staff (if willing to speak) or other residents and their families also provides valuable insights.

Compensation You May Recover in a Long Island Bedsores Claim

Victims of bedsores negligence and their families are entitled to seek compensation for the extensive harm suffered. A bedsores lawyer in Long Island helps you pursue all available damages. 

These damages fall into several categories, aiming to cover both financial costs and personal suffering.

Economic Damages

Calculating economic damages is straightforward since they cover the tangible financial losses. This includes:

• Medical Treatment Costs: Compensation for all medical expenses related to treating the bedsores, such as hospitalization, wound care specialists, debridement procedures, medications, special mattresses, and any ongoing or future medical needs.
• Rehabilitation and Therapy: Costs associated with physical therapy or other rehabilitative services needed due to the bedsores and their complications.
• Out-of-Pocket Expenses: Reimbursement for other costs directly resulting from the bedsores, such as transportation to medical appointments or home health care.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages compensate for the intangible, yet very real, suffering caused by the bedsores. These include pain and suffering, emotional distress, disfigurement from scarring, and loss of enjoyment of life. 

If the bedsores tragically contributed to a loved one’s death, a wrongful death claim seeks damages for funeral expenses, lost financial support, and the family’s loss of companionship.

Your Long Island bedsores lawyer advocates fiercely for full and fair compensation.

How a Long Island Bedsores Attorney Helps Your Family

If your loved one suffers from bedsores due to neglect, the path to justice might feel insurmountable. A Long Island bedsores lawyer from Rosenberg & Gluck LLP provides comprehensive legal support and protection. Here’s how we can help.

Thorough Investigation

Your attorney conducts an in-depth investigation into the circumstances leading to the pressure ulcers. This involves meticulously reviewing all relevant medical records, including admission assessments, daily nursing notes, wound care reports, and physicians’ orders. 

We scrutinize facility policies and procedures regarding skin care and bedsores prevention. We also identify and, where possible, interview staff members or other witnesses who have information about your loved one’s care, or lack thereof.

Identifying All Responsible Parties

Liability in bedsores cases extends beyond a single caregiver. Your Long Island bedsores attorney works to identify every party whose negligence contributed to the injury. This includes the nursing home or hospital facility itself for issues like understaffing or inadequate training. 

It also may include individual doctors, nurses, or aides who failed in their direct care duties. We determine all potential defendants to maximize your family’s chances of a fair recovery.

Calculating the Full Extent of Damages

Bedsores cause significant physical, emotional, and financial harm. Your lawyer carefully assesses and calculates all damages your family is entitled to claim. 

This includes:

• Current and Future Medical Bills: You may seek compensation for all treatment related to the bedsores, including specialized wound care, hospitalizations, surgeries, and medications.
• Pain and Suffering: This compensation is for the immense physical pain and emotional distress your loved one endured.
• Loss of Quality of Life: You may seek damages for the diminished ability to enjoy daily activities and overall well-being.

If the bedsores tragically led to a fatality, we also pursue wrongful death damages for eligible family members.

Navigating Complex Legal and Insurance Processes

Dealing with healthcare facilities and their insurance companies is daunting. Your Long Island bedsores attorney handles all communications and negotiations on your behalf, protecting your family from insurer tactics designed to minimize payouts. 

We prepare and file all necessary legal documents, complying with strict deadlines.

Fighting for Justice and Fair Compensation

Our primary goal is to achieve justice for your loved one and secure the maximum compensation possible. We build a robust case based on strong evidence and, if necessary, expert medical testimony. 

While many cases settle out of court, our Long Island bedsores attorneys are fully prepared to take your case to trial if a fair settlement offer is not forthcoming. What you need to know about filing is that early legal action can protect your rights, preserve key evidence, and set the stage for a stronger case. We stand by your family every step of the way.

FAQ for Long Island bedsores Lawyer

What Are the First Signs of Bedsores?

Early signs of bedsores (Stage 1) include areas of skin that appear red, blue, or purple and feel warm to the touch, especially over bony prominences like the hips, tailbone, heels, or elbows. The area might be tender or itchy. The skin will not briefly lighten when you press on it. 

If you notice these signs, report them immediately to nursing staff and ensure they implement a plan to promote healing.

How Can a Long Island Bedsores Lawyer Help My Family?

A bedsores attorney in Long Island investigates the circumstances, gathers medical records and other evidence, and consults with medical experts to determine if the standard of care was breached. 

Your lawyer identifies all liable parties, calculates the full extent of damages, and handles all negotiations with insurance companies or the facility’s legal team. 

If a fair settlement isn’t reached, they can file a lawsuit and represent your family’s interests in court to secure the compensation you deserve.

Can I Sue a Nursing Home if My Loved One Develops Bedsores?

Yes, you can file a lawsuit against a nursing home if your loved one developed bedsores due to the facility’s negligence or that of its staff. 

Nursing homes have a legal duty to provide residents with care that meets accepted medical standards, including implementing measures to prevent bedsores in at-risk individuals. 

Failure to provide adequate staffing, proper training, regular repositioning, nutritional support, or timely medical intervention for developing sores constitutes negligence. 

What if My Loved One Was in a Hospital When They Got Bedsores?

Hospitals may be liable if patients develop pressure ulcers due to negligent care during their stay. Hospital patients are often immobile due to illness, surgery, or medication, making them highly susceptible to pressure ulcers if preventative measures are not diligently followed. 

Just like nursing homes, hospitals must adhere to a standard of care. If doctors, nurses, or other hospital employees breach that standard, the hospital is responsible. Cases against a hospital can be more difficult to prove, given different standards and the likelihood that hospital patients are presenting with other urgent medical conditions requiring priority.

How Long Do I Have to File a Bedsores Lawsuit on Long Island?

In New York, the statute of limitations for pressure ulcers depends on the circumstances, but is generally two and a half years if there is a medical malpractice component. If you’re filing a wrongful death claim, you have two years.  Additionally, municipal facilities have much shorter notice requirements.

Contact a Long Island bedsores lawyer immediately to understand the specific deadline applicable to your situation.

Securing Justice for Your Loved One

Discovering that a trusted caregiver or facility allowed your loved one to suffer from preventable bedsores is a profound betrayal. You have the right to demand accountability and seek compensation for their suffering and your family’s losses. 

The dedicated team at Rosenberg & Gluck LLP is here to provide the strong legal advocacy you need. Let us help you pursue justice for your loved one. 

Call us now at (631) 451-7900 for a free, confidential consultation with a compassionate Long Island bedsores lawyer.