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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Personal Injury and Med Mal

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Thursday, March 20, 2025

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$197.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE course will provide medical malpractice and personal injury attorneys an in-depth analysis of the unique aspects of proving claims that a skilled care or nursing facility has failed to meet nurse staffing standards and has chronic understaffing and negligent hiring, training, and supervision problems. The program will consider the impact of the 2024 CMS staffing regulations and the use of daily payroll reports to document staffing levels and offer best practices and strategies for counsel when understaffing is alleged.

Faculty

Michael A. Brusca
Partner
Davis & Brusca

Mr. Brusca dedicates his practice to representing vulnerable individuals and their families in wrongful death, catastrophic injury, negligence and abuse claims arising in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, psychiatric facilities, hospitals, boarding and group homes. He is a frequent lecturer to lay organizations and fellow attorneys at the state and national level on topics such as facility selection, resident care, litigation, trial practice, and technology issues.

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Michael A. Prieto
Founder
Prieto Marigliano Holbert & Prieto, LLC

Mr. Prieto's litigation work focuses on representing patients and families against assisted living, skilled nursing, acute, sub acute and long-term care facilities. He advocates for fair compensation when wrongful acts and omissions are discovered, and through aggressive efforts tries to assure that the same thing will never happen to another innocent victim.

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Description

Federal law requires skilled nursing facilities to hire trained staff to attain and maintain "the highest practicable, physical, mental and psychosocial well-being of each resident as determined by resident assessments and individual plans of care." 42 CFR 483.35. When litigation ensues from a resident's injury, claims assert that most nursing homes and skilled care facilities dangerously understaff and inadequately train and supervise employees.

Proving understaffing, high turnover, or inadequately trained employees presents unique challenges entirely different than proving or defending traditional medical malpractice. The plaintiffs must anticipate the "rogue-employee" defense, and defendants must stand firm if the injury is an isolated incident.

These cases require more discovery than medical malpractice cases and a thorough understanding of relevant federal regulations and exceptions. Counsel should expect numerous evidentiary battles over the admissibility of violations of regulations, internal policies and procedures, and other incidents at the subject facility and others managed or owned by the same entities.

Listen as our experienced panel discusses how to investigate understaffing cases, identify all applicable defendants, and discover factual staffing levels, as well as handle the admissibility of regulations and internal policies and procedures.

Outline

  1. Federal and state staffing requirements and patient ratios
    1. 2024 CMS final rule on staffing requirements
    2. Causes of understaffing
    3. Exceptions to staffing requirements
  2. Investigating and documenting staffing, training, and turnover
    1. Daily payroll records
    2. Use of hidden cameras
  3. Identifying all proper defendants
  4. Role of nursing home administration experts
  5. Admissibility issues
    1. Federal and state regulations
    2. Internal policies and procedures
    3. Best practices for resolving pre-trial motions
  6. Damages

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • What makes understaffing cases unique?
  • Are there exceptions to staffing regulations?
  • Are there any types of state or federal immunity statutes that impact liability?
  • What types of claims and defenses are most likely to succeed?
  • Who are the right experts and what are their proper roles?