An appeals court held that an agreement to apply for Medicaid benefits for a nursing home resident made by the resident’s guardian or family members may be legally enforceable by the nursing facility in which the resident resides. Pine Brook Care Center v. D’Alessandro, Docket No. A-3197-18T1 (NJ Appellate Division, November 23, 2020) In April.. read more →

Involuntary Transfers Or Evictions To Another Care Facility “Difficult” residents are often subjected to involuntary eviction on the basis of the resident’s welfare, and that the resident’s needs cannot be met at the current nursing facility. As one commentator notes, “This type of argument is misplaced, however, because it only applies if the resident’s needs.. read more →

On November 20, 2019, I presented at the 2019 “The Medical Side of Elder Law” seminar given by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education at the Hilton/Doubletree Hotel in Fairfield, New Jersey. I presented an overview of the rights of residents of nursing homes and other care facilities under federal and state laws.. read more →

A New Jersey appeals court held that a nursing home is not entitled to summary judgment in a case alleging breach of the admissions agreement against a resident’s son based solely on the fact that Medicaid denied the resident’s application due to excess resources. Meridian Nursing and Rehabilitation Inc. v. Skwara (N.J. Super. Ct., App. Div., No… read more →

The following blog post is adapted from an article on NJ.com: A few years ago, Tracey Mitchell’s dad needed to go into a nursing home. Mitchell had no complaints about the care he received, but three months before he died, a surprise arrived via regular mail. It was a lawsuit alleging Mitchell owed $49,000 to the.. read more →

A Superior Court judge in Ocean County dismissed a lawsuit filed by a nursing home for unpaid bills against a power of attorney appointed by a former resident, and ordered the nursing home to pay legal fees incurred by the power of attorney, ruling that the law prohibited the nursing home from requiring the power.. read more →

Nancy Gimenez-Watson was a resident of Brighton Gardens of Edison, an assisted living facility (ALF) operated by Sunrise Senior Living and its parent company. Mrs. Watson was in the “Reminiscence Plus” program for residents diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. In April 2008, Mrs. Watson choked on her food. After a Brighton Gardens nurse administered.. read more →

Plaintiff Wilson Bermudez was a patient at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation’s West Facility for five weeks, during which his treatment included 24-hour rehabilitative nursing “to address complex medical, nursing, and rehabilitative needs.” When Bermudez later sued Kessler for injuries he allegedly sustained, he included claims under the New Jersey Nursing Home Responsibilities and Rights of.. read more →

A United States District Court recently ruled that a nursing home resident does not have a private right to assert a lawsuit against a nursing home for involuntary discharge under the Nursing Home Reform Act. Schwerdtfeger v. Alden Long Grove Rehabilitation and Health Care Center (U.S. Dist. Ct., N.D. Ill., No. 13 C 8316, May.. read more →