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.
According to a recent study, almost 80% of all serious medical malpractice events stem from poor communication during “patient hand-offs”. These errors are usually caused by the inadequate transfer of crucial patient information from one medical provider to another. Without the correct information about a patient’s current and past medical treatment, a doctor can make terrible mistakes that could lead to misdiagnosis, serious injury, or wrongful death. 
Whenever there is rubbing between two surfaces, there will always be wear and tear. All hip implants will have some wear and tear between the implant and the bone. During surgery, a surgeon will cut out the old hip joint and glue in a new hip joint (implant). These implants will have both a “ball,” which is at the head of the femur, and a “cup,” which is the joint/hip socket. These pieces will rub together and over time, break down.
The resident was a 58 year-old man from Kern County. He had a history of aggression and outbursts, and was particularly difficult with staff members on June 23, 2009. Brown Manor Policy states that residents displaying agression should be monitored for at least 72 hours, or until their disposition is relaxed. This monitoring and extra supervision did not happen, however, and a few days later, the 58 year old man fell out of his wheelchair, sustaining injuries to his brain and spine. 
According to a report by the American Medical Association, 98,000 people lose their lives each year to medical errors, most of which are surgical. This makes 
It is this same kind of 
If you are one of the unfortunate patients who received the recently recalled DePuy Orthopaedics ASR hip implants, you are probably wondering if there are any time limits to make a claim?
Michelle L. Koenig went to the Emergency Room at Provena St. Mary’s Hospital with complaints of a skin condition that she did not recognize or know the cause of. The ER doctor, Timothy Moran, diagnosed her skin illness as simply a rash and sent Michelle home. Two days later, Michelle was dead. 
An extreme case of 
Mark Weinberger, also known as the “nose doctor,” was an otolaryngologist in Meriville, Indiana.