A New York nursing home finds itself in the midst of nursing home abuse allegations after being accused of holding a frail Brooklyn judge prisoner by blocking his mail and visitors. The allegations are the latest twist in a case launched this year by the family of Judge John Phillips against Prospect Park Residence, the nursing home in which Phillips resided for eight months until he died at age 83 in 2008.
The family’s lawyer, John O’Hara, a long time friend of Judge Phillips, said of the tragedy:
The whole thing was surreal. It looked like a nice place, but it was a death house.
Elder Abuse and Nursing Home Negligence
Unfortunately, families are often led to believe that a nursing home that appears to be well maintained would provide care equal to the quality of the physical surroundings. There is often little correlation between how nice the home looks and how good the care is. In fact, a beautiful nursing home often gives the family a false sense of security about the care they expect their loved one will receive.
Court papers allege nursing home officials misled the former judge’s family and attorneys about the services they could provide for the diabetic. Nursing homes will make any promise necessary to gain residents. Families bring their loved ones to nursing homes because their conditions just become too fragile for these families to handle. This is why nursing homes exist – to take care of our loved ones when we no longer can.
The former judge’s family alleges that he didn’t get the diabetic meals or regular insulin shots he needed, which caused his health to quickly deteriorate. This is why it is important to maintain a primary care physician who is independent from the nursing home. It is also important to make sure the nursing home is communicating with the family and physician in a timely fashion about changes in the resident’s condition.
The suit charged that “Judge Phillips was confined against his will for approximately eight months by the defendants at their facility … denying [him] proper medical care.”
The nursing home’s executive director David Pomerantz declined to talk about the lawsuit. “On the advice of our attorney, I cannot comment,” he said. Phillips was in good shape when he arrived at the Prospect Park West facility, but quickly declined, friends said. “He was getting sicker and more miserable,” said O’Hara.
NJ and PA Nursing Home Negligence Attorneys
Is your loved one a victim of elder abuse or nursing home negligence in a nursing home or long term care facility? Donald Browne is an experienced Elder Abuse attorney at the Mininno Law Office. Donald has seen it all from the nursing home industry: avoidable bedsores, avoidable falls leading to fractures, medication errors, and physical and/or sexual assaults by staff members or other residents are amoung the most common.
Nursing homes make many promises, and lawyers like The Mininno Law Office’s Donald Browne hold them accountable when they put profits over people and do not follow through on these promises.
Please contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation, or simply call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.