Nursing Home Injuries

Nursing home neglect is a type of elder abuse committed against older adults in assisted living facilities. Neglect involves poor care or a failure to provide a person with the care and services necessary to ensure freedom from harm or pain. This can include not providing a resident with basic necessities such as food, water, poor hygiene, shelter, bedsores or skin ulcers, medical needs not attended to, unpaid care bills, and a failure to assist a nursing home resident with basic physical and emotional needs that results in an injury. Neglecting personal hygiene is when a nursing home fails to help residents with bathing, dental care, laundry, and other basic hygiene needs.

Nursing home patients or residents in New Jersey have the following rights under the New Jersey Bill of Rights: the right to manage their own affairs, the right to privacy, the right to receive proper and timely medical care, the right to a decent environment and considerate and respectful care that recognizes their dignity and individuality, the right to manage their financial affairs, the right to be treated with respect, the right to a safe and decent living environment, the right to freedom from abuse and restraints, the right to live without the fear of enduring physical restraint, the right to live in a caring environment free from abuse, mistreatment and neglect, and the right to retain the services of their own personal physician at their own expense or under a health care plan.

Additionally, the laws that regulate nursing homes in New Jersey include the New Jersey Bill of Rights, the Omnibus Budget and Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA), the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, the Nursing Home Safety Act, and the New Jersey Department of Health regulations. These laws and regulations are intended to protect the rights of nursing home patients and ensure that they receive quality care. The regulations include standards for licensure, certificate of need, criminal background investigations, facility standards, and enforcement of licensure regulations.

The New Jersey Department of Health, Division of Health Facilities Evaluation and Licensing, regulates assisted living facilities in New Jersey. The Division is responsible for licensing and inspecting assisted living facilities in order to ensure that they meet the State's standards for quality of care. The Division also publishes the citations for the State's regulations for assisted living facilities and oversees their enforcement.

If you or a loved one have been injured due to nursing home negligence or abuse, you may be able to sue the nursing home for your injuries. The causes of action that may be available to you include medical negligence, wrongful death, personal injury, and intentional torts such as battery and assault. In order to successfully sue a nursing home, you must be able to prove that the nursing home was negligent and that their negligence caused your injury. This can be done by showing that the nursing home failed to meet the applicable standard of care, leading to your injury. Additionally, you must also show that you suffered damages as a result of the negligence, such as medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.