Washington County Receives Notice of Claim for Nursing Home Abuse

Shannon Weidemann

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A resident of a Pleasant Valley Nursing Home was assaulted by a nursing assistant in November. The employee was fired after an investigation, but the family of the victim is concerned that the nursing home and Washington County did not take proper action to keep the assault from happening in the first place. They have file a Notice of Claim against the county in prelude to filing a lawsuit.

A notice of claim is the precursor to a lawsuit. It is legally required before a lawsuit can be filed against a municipality.

Richard Vega said his family initially did not want to sue the county but said they were concerned the home's administrators may not have properly addressed the issues of patient abuse there.

Guilderland lawyer Paul Wein, who is representing the Vegas, said he believes Thompson had prior problems while working at another nursing home before he was hired by the county, and the county should have known that before hiring him. He did not elaborate.

The victim would not receive any monetary damages from a lawsuit because he is a Medicare patient. Any money would go to the federal government.