Philadelphia Personal Injury Attorney Blog | Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis LLP

In neighboring New York, a small nursing home facility was issued an order to immediately shut down because it was considered to pose an imminent danger to the health and safety of its residents. According to the order of the New York Health Department, the facility subjected residents to "abuse and neglect," in numerous instances, leading to one resident being ordered by her doctor to be relocated from the dangerous nursing home.

The proximate complaint that inspired the department's action was an incident following a supposed outbreak of head lice at the facility. The owner of the facility ordered that all residents be inspected for head lice, and the inspection was carried out in summary fashion, with both men and women present, with no privacy for anyone. Then, two of the men were ordered to go to the back patio of the facility, where their hair was cut short by a 15-year-old boy with hair clippers that were not sterilized either before or between shaving the residents.

While residents were being inspected, their clothes were taken "for cleaning," and the residents had to wear sheets and towels in lieu of clothes. Some of them were without clothes for days, and some had only one set of clothing for nearly a month.

In addition, a previous incident came to the attention of inspectors that was even more dangerous. A female resident rose from bed at night to go to the bathroom, but was dizzy, so she slipped and fell, suffering a head injury. She hit her call button, and attendants at the facility came to her room and lifted her into bed, but did not contact her physician about her injury. When the woman fell again the subsequent night, she called her physician directly, and her physician prescribed her with medication and ordered she be moved to the ground floor to prevent accidents.

When home attendants refused to give her medication or move her to the ground floor, her physician ordered she be removed.

As a result of these instances of nursing home abuse and neglect, the home was ordered closed.

If your loved one is suffering as a result of nursing home abuse and neglect, the chances are they are not alone. Protect your loved one and others by contacting an experienced nursing home abuse attorney at Pomerantz, Perlberger, and Lewis, LLP today for a free initial consultation.