PKSD represents residents and families in abuse and neglect claims against nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Santa Fe and Santa Fe County. Our office is at 1701 Old Pecos Trail, Suite B, and our office contact phone number is 505-677-7777.
These claims are not ordinary injury cases. They may depend on staffing records, care plans, incident reports and inspection history, and on whether the facility can be made to answer in court at all rather than in private arbitration. Partner Jeff Pitman has practiced law for more than 32 years, has been certified as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy since 1999, and is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. He obtained an $11 million verdict in New Mexico in 2019 for the family of Esther Collado, a nursing home neglect case, and he argued Peavy v. Skilled Healthcare Group before the New Mexico Supreme Court, which is the controlling authority on when a nursing home arbitration agreement can be enforced in this state.
There is no charge for the initial consultation, no upfront cost, and no fee unless we recover for you.
PKSD New Mexico. Call us at 505-677-7777. Available 24/7
What Our Clients Are Saying
How Long Do You Have to File in New Mexico?
Most nursing home abuse and neglect claims in New Mexico must be filed within three years. For an injury to a living resident, the deadline runs from the date of the injury under NMSA § 37-1-8. Where the resident died, the wrongful death deadline is three years from the date of death under NMSA § 41-2-2.
Two shorter deadlines apply when the facility is owned or operated by a government body rather than a private company. In that situation the New Mexico Tort Claims Act applies, the filing deadline drops to two years under NMSA § 41-4-15, and written notice must be given to the relevant agency within 90 days of the incident under NMSA § 41-4-16. Missing that notice period can end a claim before it starts, which is why the facility’s ownership is one of the first things we check.
Deadlines can also be affected by the resident’s capacity, by when the harm was discovered, and by which parties are named. If you are close to any of these dates, or unsure which applies, call 505-677-7777 and we will tell you where you stand.
How We Build a Nursing Home Case in Santa Fe
Proving what happened to a resident means getting hold of records the facility controls. We request the full chart, the care plan and its revisions, staffing sheets for the shifts in question, incident and fall reports, wound care documentation, medication administration records and internal complaint logs. Where a facility has been cited by state surveyors, those inspection findings are public and form part of the picture.
The records commonly tell a different story from the one a family is given verbally. A care plan may require repositioning every two hours while the charting shows it was not done. Staffing sheets may show a single aide covering a wing overnight. Wound documentation may start at a stage that could not have developed in the timeframe the facility describes.
We also move early, because records are retained on a schedule and staff move between facilities. The sooner a claim is opened, the more of this material still exists.
Santa Fe County has a small number of Medicare-certified nursing facilities, and every one of them is inspected by state surveyors on a regular cycle. Those inspection results, including any deficiencies cited, are public. Medicare’s Care Compare tool publishes them, and we review a facility’s full survey history as part of assessing a claim. If you would like to check the facility your loved one is in, the records are there. If something in them concerns you, call 505-677-7777.
Nursing Home Residents’ Rights
Nursing home residents have rights under federal law. The Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 applies to every facility that accepts Medicare or Medicaid, which covers the great majority of nursing homes in Santa Fe County, and it sets the standard of care those facilities owe. New Mexico law provides residents with protections as well, and both can be relevant to a claim.
Those rights include the right to:
- Live free from physical, mental and verbal abuse
- Be free from physical or chemical restraints imposed for discipline or staff convenience
- Be treated with dignity and respect
- Privacy in care, treatment and communication
- Be informed of the plan of care and participate in decisions about it
- Voice complaints without fear of retaliation
- Manage personal finances
- Be fully informed of the terms of admission, including all fees
- Be free from discrimination
A violation of these rights does not automatically create a claim. What matters is whether the violation caused harm. If your loved one was injured and you believe their rights were disregarded, call 505-677-7777.
Can I File a Claim?
If you are concerned that your loved one has been neglected or abused at a Santa Fe nursing home, the question is not only whether something went wrong, but whether the facility’s conduct caused the harm and whether it can be proven from the records.
It is important to speak to an experienced attorney as soon as possible. These cases can be complex, and it is important to discuss the particulars with an attorney who is well-versed in how to validate a nursing home negligence claim.
Our legal team consider many factors to determine if there may be a case, including:
- Severity of your loved one’s injuries
- How the injuries happened/what you know about what happened
- Whether the nursing home has a history of abuse or neglect claims
- Evidence you have obtained to help prove your claim
- What happened when you told the nursing home about what happened to your loved one
- If you have had problems with the facility in the past, such as with understaffing or being unable to find out what has been happening with your loved one
- Who owns and operates the facility
An initial consultation with one of our experienced attorneys is free of charge and there is no obligation to hire our firm. If we believe you have a valid case, there are no upfront costs and we are prepared to pursue maximum compensation for your loved one’s damages.
Types of Nursing Home Abuse/Negligence Cases
Our Santa Fe nursing home abuse lawyers are prepared to take on cases involving many forms of mistreatment of nursing home residents. This includes:
Neglect
This is a widespread problem at nursing homes in New Mexico and across the nation. This is often the result of understaffing. The entities that own nursing homes often care more about profits than providing the care residents need. One of the easiest ways to cut costs and preserve profits is to limit staff or have them work fewer hours.
Neglect can take many forms. For example, many residents need help getting out of bed, using the toilet, getting dressed or eating and drinking. When there aren’t enough staff members these residents’ needs can go unmet for a long time. Residents may get impatient and try to do things themselves, resulting in falls and other accidents that can cause serious injuries. Sometimes residents try to get out of bed or get out of a wheelchair on their own, with disastrous consequences.
Some residents spend much of their time in bed and cannot move on their own. They need to be moved at regular intervals to prevent pressure sores/bed sores from developing.
Loved ones of nursing home residents are often shocked at how residents have been neglected. For example, staff members often fail to help residents with personal hygiene. Their rooms may be a mess and may smell.
Physical Abuse
Sometimes staff members lash out at residents and inflict physical harm, such as by:
- Slapping
- Hitting
- Punching
- Shoving
- Biting
Overworked staff members may restrain residents in such a way that it causes physical injury. For example, residents could be tied to a wheelchair or tied down to their bed. Staff members may overmedicate residents so they will be sedated, which is also a form of abuse.
Abuse can also include force feeding a resident or even denying them food or water as some sort of punishment.
Psychological Abuse
This is a form of abuse that is meant to cause psychological trauma for residents. For example, residents might get screamed at or threatened. Sometimes residents are harassed or intentionally ignored or isolated. This can cause residents to get depressed. They might refuse to eat and become socially withdrawn.
Sexual Abuse
Sometimes residents suffer sexual abuse, which refers to unwanted sexual activity, such as molestation or different sex acts. Staff members might photograph or videotape residents when they are naked or not fully clothed. These pictures might get posted to the internet or social media.
Has your loved one been abused or neglected? Call today: 505-677-7777.
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What are the Common Signs of Abuse or Neglect in a Nursing Home?
There are a variety of signs that your loved one may have suffered some form of abuse or neglect. Physical abuse is going to leave things like cuts and bruises. If your loved one cannot explain a bruise, broken bone or other type of injury, it may mean abuse has occurred?
Other signs of abuse or neglect to watch for include:
- Bedsores, particularly ones that have progressed to the point where muscle and bone have been damaged
- Falls – especially repeated falls or one the facility cannot account for
- Bruising, fractures or injuries with no explanation, or an explanation that changes
- Residents being nervous around staff members
- Residents withdrawing from social activities
- Messy room with fall hazards or excessive amounts of trash
- Missing money, unexplained withdrawals, or new charges on an account
- Dehydration
- Poor nutrition
- Fear of being left alone
- Poor hygiene, particularly when the resident needs help with hygiene
- Lack of staff at the facility when you visit your loved one
If you notice any signs of abuse, talk to your loved one and those who work at the facility to try to find out what is going on. If you have questions about legal options, call PKSD today to find out how we may be able to assist you.
What is a Nursing Home Abuse Case Worth?
Every case is unique. What we can tell you is what goes into it.
Medical costs are often the starting point: hospital treatment, surgery, wound care, imaging, medication, therapy and rehabilitation, and any care your loved one needs going forward. Where the family paid privately for a move to a different facility, that can be recoverable too.
Beyond the bills, a claim accounts for what the resident actually went through. Pain, humiliation, fear, and the loss of the independence or comfort they had before. These are harder to put a figure on and they are commonly the larger part of the claim, which is why the records matter so much. Wound documentation showing a pressure sore progressing over weeks tells a different story to a jury than a single line in a chart.
If your loved one has passed, the claim is brought for the estate and surviving family under New Mexico’s wrongful death statute. Where the facility’s conduct was reckless rather than merely careless, punitive damages may be available. Those are not compensation for the family; they are imposed to punish the facility and deter others. In 2019 a New Mexico jury awarded $11 million in a nursing home neglect case brought by this firm, $6 million of it punitive.
Several things affect what a claim is worth beyond the harm itself. The facility’s insurance limits set a practical ceiling in some cases. Where a resident had significant pre-existing conditions, the facility will argue the outcome would have happened anyway, and the records have to show otherwise. And a delay in bringing the claim can cost you evidence, which costs value. None of these mean a case is not worth pursuing. They mean the file needs looking at properly.
Call 505-677-7777 and we will tell you what we think after we have seen the records, not before.
Reporting Abuse in New Mexico
If you believe a resident is being abused or neglected, you can report it to Adult Protective Services. You do not need proof, and you do not need to be related to the resident.
- 1-505-476-4912 for complaints about abuse perpetrated by employees or those under the supervision of the facility
- 1-866-654-3219 for complaints about abuse perpetrated by those not under the supervision of the facility
New Mexico law also places the duty to report on other people. Under NMSA § 27-7-30, any person who knows or has reasonable cause to believe that an incapacitated adult is being abused, neglected or exploited is required to report it immediately. That duty applies to the facility’s own staff, its administrators and the medical professionals treating the resident.
This matters to a claim as well as to the resident’s safety. Where staff knew and did not report, that failure is part of the record, and it speaks to whether the facility was managing the problem or containing it.
Reporting to APS and speaking to an attorney are separate steps, and one does not replace the other. APS investigates and can act to protect the resident. It does not recover compensation for the harm already done. Call 505-677-7777.
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Who Can Be Held Responsible
More than one party is commonly responsible when a resident is harmed.
The staff member involved can be liable for their own conduct, whether that is an aide who struck a resident or a nurse who failed to act on a change in condition.
The facility is liable for the conduct of its employees, and separately for its own failures as an employer and operator. That includes hiring someone it should not have hired, keeping someone on after complaints, failing to train, and running the building below safe staffing levels. Understaffing is the most common of these and the hardest for a facility to explain away, because the staffing sheets are its own records.
Contracted providers can also be liable. Facilities commonly bring in outside physicians, therapists, wound care services and staffing agencies, and those entities answer for their own conduct independently of the facility.
Identifying every responsible party early matters, because each one carries its own insurance and its own records. Call 505-677-7777.
Case Results
Verdict
$11,000,000
Wrongful Death
Verdict
$3,400,000
Nursing Home Wrongful Death
Settlement
$3,000,000
Wrongful Death
What Happens When You Call PKSD
Calling us costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Commonly in the first conversation with our team, you tell us what happened, we ask about the facility, the injury and when you learned of it, and we tell you whether it is something we can look at. If it is not, we say so on that call rather than leaving you waiting.
If we take it further, the next step is obtaining records. We request the chart, the care plan, staffing sheets and incident reports from the facility, and we pull the facility’s inspection and complaint history from state records. You do not need to gather anything yourself, though if you already have photographs, dates or correspondence with the facility, those help.
Once we have the file, we tell you what we think it shows and what we believe the claim is worth. You decide whether to proceed. If you do, there are no upfront costs and no fee unless we recover for you.
Nothing about this obligates you to file anything, and asking the question does not put your loved one at risk. Retaliation against a resident or a family member for raising a complaint is prohibited.
Call PKSD today at 505-677-7777. We are available 24/7.
Our Santa Fe Office:
PKSD
1701 Old Pecos Trail Ste b,
Santa Fe, NM 87505
505-677-7777
