Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect Lawyers

When the place meant to protect them causes harm.

We represent residents of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and rehabilitation centers, and the families of those lost to neglect, in cases against operators and the corporate groups that own them across New York.

Request a free case review Call (631) 240-4390

Governing law: PHL § 2801-d · 10 NYCRR Part 415
Where we practice: NYC · Long Island · Hudson Valley · Upstate
Fee: No fee unless we recover

Warning signs

What nursing home neglect actually looks like.

Serious cases rarely start with one dramatic event. They build over weeks or months, in patterns families and overworked staff can miss until the harm is severe. Most fall into recognizable categories.

Bedsores and pressure injuries

Stage 3 or 4 wounds, wounds in unusual places, or wounds that worsen quickly suggest the resident was not being turned, repositioned, or checked as the care plan required.

Falls and fractures

Repeated unwitnessed falls, falls from beds without rails or alarms, or hip fractures in residents already identified as fall risks often point to understaffing or ignored precautions.

Malnutrition and dehydration

Unexplained weight loss, signs of dehydration, or lab values that worsen in a resident who has feeding and hydration orders.

Medication errors

Missed or doubled doses, the wrong drug, untreated infections, or sedating residents with antipsychotics to make them easier to manage.

Physical and sexual abuse

Unexplained bruising or injuries, sudden behavior changes in a resident with dementia, or incident reports closed without a real investigation.

Wandering and elopement

A resident with dementia leaving a secured unit, especially when the care plan flagged the risk and the facility did not put the required safeguards in place.

Your rights under New York law

Residents have specific, enforceable rights.

Unlike an ordinary negligence claim, a New York nursing home case can be brought under a dedicated statute that protects resident rights and allows meaningful penalties when they are violated.

N.Y. Public Health Law § 2801-d

A private right to sue for rights violations

Any nursing home resident deprived of a right or benefit created by statute, regulation, or contract can sue. The law allows compensatory damages, punitive damages where the violation was willful or in reckless disregard of the resident’s rights, and reasonable attorney’s fees. The question is whether a protected right was violated, not only whether staff were careless.

10 NYCRR Part 415

Minimum standards every facility must meet

New York’s regulations set the operating standards for every licensed nursing home, from pressure-injury prevention and medication administration to dignity protections and grievance procedures. A documented violation often supplies the rights violation for a § 2801-d claim.

42 U.S.C. § 1395i-3 · 42 C.F.R. Part 483

Federal Nursing Home Reform Act

Facilities that accept Medicare or Medicaid, which is nearly all of them, must also meet federal resident-protection requirements. These run alongside New York’s standards and add further grounds for liability.

CPLR Article 2 · EPTL § 5-4.1

Deadlines are short, so act quickly

The time to sue depends on the type of claim and can be as short as two years and six months for malpractice-based theories. Wrongful death claims have their own deadline. Records, staffing data, and witness memories fade quickly, so early consultation matters.

How a case proceeds

From the first call to a resolution.

1
Consultation
A free, confidential conversation with one of our trial attorneys. We flag urgent deadlines and tell you candidly whether we believe the case has merit.
2
Records and investigation
We obtain the full chart, care plans, assessments, incident reports, staffing data, and the facility’s inspection history.
3
Expert review
We retain geriatric nurses, wound-care specialists, and physicians early, before filing, to confirm what went wrong and why.
4
Filing and discovery
We sue the facility and, where the evidence supports it, the owners and management companies behind it.
5
Resolution or trial
We negotiate from a position of trial readiness. If a fair resolution is not offered, we are prepared to try the case.

Free guide for families · 56 pages

The Family Guide to New York Nursing Homes.

What to expect, who does what, and how to handle the problems that arise. Written in plain English for families with a loved one in a New York nursing home, with the federal and state rules behind each answer so you can bring them to a care plan meeting or a complaint.

1Admission and the first 30 daysChecklists, the admission agreement, arbitration clauses, and health care proxies.
2Who’s who on staffCNAs, nurses, the director of nursing, the administrator, and whom to call about what.
3The care plan and the chartCare plans, the MDS, MARs and flow sheets, the Braden Scale, and bedsore stages.
4Safety and resident rightsFalls, weight loss, restraints, bed rails, sedating drugs, visiting, and discharge.
5Strategies and toolsA step-by-step plan, getting the records, an every-visit checklist, and an incident log.

Read the free guide Download the PDF

Published by the New York Nursing Home Resource Center, sponsored by Leitner Warywoda PLLC. October 2026 edition.

More free tools for families

Get the records. Report the problem.

Medical recordsRequest the nursing home chartWho can request a resident’s records in New York, what to ask for, and the deadlines and fees that apply. Includes a request letter generator.Get the records request letter Report a concernFile a complaint about careHow to report neglect or abuse to the New York State Department of Health and the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, and what to document first.How to file a complaint

From the New York Nursing Home Resource Center (rightsforvictims.com), sponsored by Leitner Warywoda PLLC. General information, not legal advice.

Nursing home results

Ten of our largest nursing home recoveries.

All results

01$1.3MSettlement during trialFall with a dislodged catheter resulting in death, Bronx County.
02$1.3MSettlement during trialNursing home neglect involving a failure to diagnose.
03$1.25MSettlementNursing home neglect, Suffolk County.
04$1MSettlement during trialFall resulting in a subdural hematoma, Suffolk County.
05$986KSettlement · 2024Wrongful death of a nursing home resident.
06$975KSettlementNursing home neglect, Suffolk County.
07$950KSettlement · 2023Wrongful death of a nursing home resident.
08$775KSettlement · 2020Wrongful death of a nursing home resident.
09$700KSettlement · 2023Wrongful death of a nursing home resident.
10$600KSettlement · 2025Wrongful death of a nursing home resident.

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Amounts are gross settlement or verdict figures; each case is different.

In this practice area

Cases we handle.

Questions families ask

Frequently asked questions.

How long do we have to bring a nursing home case?

It depends on the claim. Some deadlines are as short as two years and six months, wrongful death claims generally must be brought within two years of death, and claims against a county-run facility require a notice of claim within 90 days. Because the deadline turns on the facts, speak with a lawyer as soon as you suspect neglect.

What does it cost to hire your firm?

Nothing up front. We handle nursing home cases on a contingency fee, which means we are paid only if we recover for you.

Who can be held responsible besides the nursing home?

Many New York nursing homes are owned and run through networks of operating companies, management companies, and real-estate entities. Where the evidence shows they controlled staffing or budgets, they may share responsibility.

What if the facility is run by a county or municipality?

Claims against public facilities follow different rules, including a short notice-of-claim deadline under General Municipal Law § 50-e. Identifying the correct defendants and deadlines early is part of our first review.

My loved one is still a resident. What should we do now?

Report immediate safety concerns to the facility administrator and the New York State Department of Health, keep notes and photographs, and request a copy of the chart. Our free Family Guide to New York Nursing Homes walks through each step. Then contact us so we can help preserve the records.

This page describes the legal frameworks generally available in nursing home matters. How they apply to a particular case depends on the facts, the type of facility, and the procedural posture. Nothing here is legal advice for a specific situation.