FAQs

Yes. Under HIPAA and Virginia law, a resident (or their authorized representative) has the right to access and obtain copies of their medical records. The facility must respond to a written request and may charge a reasonable copying fee.

If the facility is slow to respond, obstructs access, or produces incomplete records, document every communication and contact us immediately. Spoliation of evidence — the destruction or concealment of records — carries significant legal consequences and is an issue we address aggressively.

No. Virginia law does not permit a nursing home to contractually cap its liability for negligence or abuse as a condition of admission. Any such provision in an admission agreement is against public policy and unenforceable.

Admission agreements can be lengthy and deliberately confusing. If you are unsure what you signed, we can review it at no charge.

Virginia does not require a certificate of merit as a filing prerequisite in the same manner as some other states. However, expert testimony is essential in virtually every nursing home negligence case to establish (1) the applicable standard of care, (2) the deviation from that standard, and (3) causation of the injury.

We work with experienced nursing experts, wound care specialists, geriatricians, and other clinicians depending on the nature of each case.

We handle nursing home negligence cases on a contingency fee basis. You pay nothing upfront and owe no attorney fee unless we recover money for you. Our fee is a percentage of the recovery, agreed upon in writing before we begin.

This means we share the risk with you. If we do not recover, you do not owe us a fee. Case expenses — expert witness fees, deposition costs, filing fees — are also advanced by the firm and recouped only from a successful recovery.

There is no charge for an initial consultation.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) maintains Care Compare (medicare.gov/care-compare), a publicly searchable database of nursing home inspection results, deficiency histories, staffing data, and quality measures. Virginia Department of Health inspection reports are also publicly available.

A facility with a pattern of repeated deficiencies — especially in the same categories (pressure ulcers, falls, staffing, medication management) — is a significant indicator in evaluating a claim. We review this history as a standard part of our intake process.

Possibly. Mandatory pre-dispute arbitration clauses in nursing home admission agreements are aggressively challenged and, in many circumstances, unenforceable.

Federal regulations implemented in 2023 prohibit nursing homes participating in Medicare and Medicaid from requiring arbitration as a condition of admission. Facilities that violated this rule may not be able to enforce the clause.

Beyond the regulatory issue, arbitration clauses in nursing home agreements are frequently challenged on grounds of: lack of capacity (the resident was cognitively impaired at signing), lack of knowing and voluntary waiver, failure of the facility to explain the agreement, or unconscionability.

Do not assume a signed arbitration agreement closes the courthouse door. Bring the admission paperwork to your consultation and we will evaluate it.

Not automatically — but it is a serious red flag that demands immediate scrutiny of the facility’s documentation and practices.

Stage II pressure ulcers (skin breakdown with partial thickness loss) that develop in a nursing home are, in the overwhelming majority of cases, preventable. Stage III and IV ulcers — involving full-thickness tissue loss, exposed bone, or necrosis — should almost never develop in a properly staffed and supervised facility.

The critical questions are: (1) Was the resident assessed on admission for pressure ulcer risk? (2) Was a written prevention plan developed and followed? (3) Were turning and repositioning schedules documented? (4) Was the ulcer identified early and reported to the physician? (5) Was wound care timely and appropriate?

If the answers are absent from the record, or if the documented care does not match the physical condition of the wound, that gap is your case.

Yes — with strategy. You have the right to file a complaint with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), which licenses and inspects nursing homes, and with the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program. Substantiated complaints can result in deficiency citations, fines, directed plans of correction, or in egregious cases, loss of licensure.

The practical benefit for litigation: state inspection records, deficiency histories, and prior complaints are public records and often powerful evidence of a facility’s systemic failures — patterns that go beyond a single incident.

File complaints strategically, ideally with guidance from your attorney. Statements you make in a regulatory complaint can be used in litigation.

Recoverable damages fall into two broad categories:

Compensatory damages — designed to make the injured resident whole — include:

• Medical expenses for treatment of the injury caused by the neglect (wound care, hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation)
• Pain and suffering — physical pain, emotional distress, and loss of dignity
• Disfigurement from severe pressure ulcers or other permanent injury
• Wrongful death damages, including sorrow and mental anguish suffered by surviving family members under Virginia’s wrongful death statute

In cases involving intentional abuse or reckless conduct, punitive damages may also be available.

That is the most common defense in nursing home cases, and it deserves a direct answer: the existence of an underlying condition that creates risk is not a license to ignore that risk.

A resident with diabetes, vascular disease, or immobility is exactly the resident for whom aggressive preventive protocols — frequent repositioning, hydration management, nutrition assessment, skin checks — are mandatory. The facility’s job is to manage known risks, not to invoke them as an excuse after the fact.

If the facility cannot produce documentation showing it identified the risk and took specific steps to address it, the “expected outcome” defense typically fails under scrutiny from a qualified nursing expert.

Nursing home negligence is a form of civil liability that arises when a long-term care facility — or its staff — fails to meet the standard of care owed to a resident, and that failure causes injury or death.

The standard of care is not aspirational. It is the minimum level of attentiveness, supervision, hygiene, nutrition, and medical oversight that a reasonably competent facility would provide to a resident with similar needs. When a facility cuts corners, understaffs its floors, ignores warning signs, or fails to follow its own care plan — and a resident is harmed as a result — that is actionable negligence.

Common forms include:

• Pressure ulcers (bedsores) from inadequate repositioning and skin assessments
• Falls from failure to implement fall-prevention protocols
• Medication errors — wrong drug, wrong dose, missed doses
• Dehydration and malnutrition from neglected feeding assistance
• Unreported elopement or wandering by cognitively impaired residents
• Delayed response to acute medical deterioration
• Physical, verbal, or sexual abuse by staff or other residents

A typical case moves through several stages:

• Initial consultation and case evaluation — we review records and assess liability and damages
• Medical records and incident report collection — including nursing notes, MAR/TAR, wound documentation, and staffing records
• Expert review — a qualified nursing or medical expert reviews the standard of care and causation
• Filing suit and serving the defendant facility and any individual defendants
• Discovery — depositions, document requests, interrogatories, and inspection of the facility’s policies
• Expert designations and reports
• Mediation or settlement negotiations
• Trial, if the case does not resolve

Most nursing home negligence cases resolve before trial. However, we prepare every case as though it will go to a jury, because facilities and their insurers respond to demonstrated readiness.

In Virginia, the general statute of limitations for personal injury claims — including nursing home negligence — is two years from the date of the injury. For wrongful death claims arising from nursing home negligence, the deadline is also two years from the date of death.

There are limited exceptions, including cases involving fraud or concealment of the injury, but these are narrowly construed. The single most common reason potentially valid cases cannot be filed is that the family waited too long to consult an attorney.

Do not assume time remains. Contact us as soon as you suspect neglect or abuse.