New York City personal injury firm Greenstein & Milbauer, LLP is pleased to announce that Valerie Hernandez has joined the firm as an associate. Hernandez will focus her practice on nursing home abuse and neglect.
Bedsores — also called decubitus ulcers and pressure ulcers— are caused by prolonged pressure on the skin. Bed sores and pressure sores are the most common type of harm suffered by victims of nursing home negligence. Bedsores develop quickly and are extremely painful.
Managing partner Robert Greenstein stated “Bedsores are a preventable problem in nursing homes and hospitals. We hold medical professionals, nursing home staff, and other caretakers accountable when the sick or elderly are neglected. These cases can be complicated and require experienced bedsore lawyers. With the addition of Valerie, we continue to expand our bedsore litigation department”.
In assessing the viability of a nursing home neglect case, it is vital that an individual obtain the policies and procedures for the particular nursing home, in regard to the specific care that is at issue. Additionally, all nursing home residents are given an initial assessment and a nursing home “Care Plan” is developed at the time they start their residency and treatment at a facility. This nursing home Care Plan can and should be amended when necessary, with specific interventions that are essential in keeping nursing home residents safe.
Pressure ulcers have varying degrees of severity and are referenced by stage (stages I-IV) by medical professionals. Compensation for an individual’s pressure related injury is significantly affected by the stage of a particular bedsore and the amount of pain and suffering that a person has suffered as a result of nursing home neglect. The most common causative factors for these injuries are related to inattention by the nursing home staff. Importantly, residents that cannot ambulate at all or are largely confined to a bed or chair, should be turned and repositioned at least every two hours. Furthermore, the staff should be using pressure relieving devices such as wedges, special bedding, and pillows to reduce the chance of a bedsore developing. These actions by the nursing home staff must be documented in the certified medical chart for each patient. Obtaining these documents is challenging for individuals who have been affected by nursing home negligence on their own but firmly within the skillset that Hernandez brings to the firm.
About Greenstein & Milbauer, LLP (www.nyclawfirm.com) Greenstein & Milbauer, LLP, is dedicated to helping clients injured by the negligence of others. They fight aggressively to recover maximum compensation for their clients while providing exceptional customer service.
Greenstein & Milbauer, LLP has offices throughout New York City including Harlem, Queens, Bronx, Brooklyn, and Staten Island, as well as Westchester & Nassau Counties.
If a loved one has suffered an injury due to nursing home neglect or abuse, Don’t Be a Victim Twice, call 1-800-VICTIM2 (1-800-842-8462) for a confidential consultation. The call is free. The consultation is free. Greenstein & Milbauer, LLP takes cases on a contingency basis.
