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Nursing Home Residents' Rights

New Jersey Nursing Home Residents' Rights

Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Federal laws specifically outline nursing home residents' rights. Lawyers at Merovitz, Cedar & Gruber, LLC, (MCG Legal), with offices in Mount Laurel and Philadelphia, are committed advocates of vulnerable adults. In order to help nursing home residents and those who speak on their behalf, we have summarized significant points below:

  • A nursing home must provide care that maintains or enhances the resident's quality of life, and ensure the dignity of each resident.
  • Residents must be encouraged to participate in planning and decisions related to care and treatment.
  • If the resident's quality of care or life changes significantly, the family or legal representative must be notified.
  • A nursing home resident is entitled to privacy, and confidentiality.
  • A resident is entitled to see his or her own physician.
  • The nursing home will take measures to prevent theft of patient funds and private property.
  • A resident must not be physically restrained unless medically necessary.
  • A resident has a right to be protected from physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. No person found guilty of abuse or neglect will be employed by a nursing home.
  • The nursing home will provide an ongoing program of physical, mental, and social activities suitable to the resident.
  • The resident is entitled to nourishing and palatable meals and snacks that meet the resident's special dietary needs. Substitutes will be offered if the patient refuses meals.
  • Staff must respond promptly to residents' requests for help.
  • The nursing home environment should be clean, safe, comfortable, and homelike.

Reporting violations of nursing home residents' rights

Some situations can be resolved with the help of the New Jersey or Pennsylvania ombudsman (links below). If there has been a serious injury, or you fear a nursing home resident is being subjected to physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, contact an attorney with experience in nursing home claims and lawsuits as soon as possible to ensure the maximum protection possible.

At MCG Legal, our lawyers have recovered compensation for many residents when nursing home negligence resulted in illness, injury, or death. Attorney Saul Gruber, a noted speaker on nursing home negligence law, states that, "To ever allow a judge or jury to believe the value of the elderly is minimal is outrageous and unacceptable." Our firm has successfully recovered settlements, verdicts, and judgments for families who have lost loved ones through nursing home neglect or abuse. If you would like to speak with a member of the firm about a claim, please contact our Mount Laurel or Philadelphia office to arrange a free and confidential consultation.

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Our attorneys handle claims throughout New Jersey and in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, area. In most cases our services are contingency-based, meaning our client pays no attorney fees unless we recover damages on the client's behalf.