NURSING HOME CASES ARE DIFFERENT

Our firm has a long history of handling medical malpractice cases, both on the defense side and representing patients and families. We had some experience with nursing home matters, but it was not extensive. Then, about a year and a half ago, Peter Anderson joined us. Peter has experience in these cases, and we now have a decent inventory of them.

Before Pete joined us, I thought of nursing home cases as just another subset of medical malpractice matters. Some cases involve orthopedic surgeons, others involve cancer care, and some relate to nursing home issues, and so on. Every area has its twists and quirks, but all such cases were just part of the genre of medical malpractice cases – more alike than they were different. If you could handle a GYN case, you could handle a nursing home matter.

Now, having interacted on these cases for almost 18 months, I must admit that my earlier thinking was just wrong. Very wrong.

Nursing home cases are different.

Of course, there is overlap. The medicine involving bedsores, for example, is not alien to someone like me. However, the regulation, management and record keeping for these cases is something else entirely – and you can’t work up these matters without a keen understanding of those issues.

To add another layer of complication, those issues are not simple. There is an interplay of federal and state issues that is not always easy to figure out. I am pretty smart and I have certainly handled a lot of cases, but I have found that the learning curve is a steep one.

With Pete on board, we can handle such matters effectively and efficiently. He’s working closely with other lawyers and training our staff. Literally, he has conducted internal classes.

We are looking forward to expanding our volume of these cases.

As a rule, when you have a particular type of case, you want a lawyer with experience in that area of law. Beware of dabblers – especially in nursing home cases