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Philadelphia, PA 19102
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Westmont, NJ 08108
856.858.9499
Disclaimer
 SB & V Attorneys Lead the Way in Protecting Nursing Homes from Wilkes Claims In a series of decisions blazing new law in the defense of nursing homes, SB & V attorneys Lawrence M. Silverman and Jonathan J. Bart have successfully asserted that nursing homes cannot be sued for allegedly violating regulations promulgated under the federal Medicaid and Medicare statutes. This is an area of great concern for nursing homes, which have come under sustained attack from a plaintiffs' bar (led by a Florida attorney named Wilkes) that has attempted to correlate alleged deviations from regulations concerning nursing home staffing, clerical and other administrative requirements to deaths and illnesses of patients. This is an extremely dangerous situation for nursing homes, because if they may be held liable to patients for minute deviations from the plethora of federal regulations governing participation in the Medicaid and Medicare programs, they virtually become the guarantors of the health of the elderly and frail patients they accept for treatment. In two such cases, Andrusichen v. Extendicare Health Services, (No. 02-cv-674, E.D. PA., July 23, 2002) and Smith v. Elkins Park Hospital, (Phila, Common Pleas, Oct. Term 2001 No. 4728), the firm has successfully obtained orders dismissing Wilkes style cases and has obtained rulings that the Medicaid and Medicare regulations do not create a private cause of action for patients nor do they establish a standard of care which can be the basis of a negligence claim. These decisions are the leading Pennsylvania decisions in this area of the law, and establish a body of law protecting nursing homes from an epidemic of lawsuits that attempt to blame nursing homes for deaths and injuries related to aging regardless of any fault in treatment. SB & V attorneys Silverman and Bart represent nursing homes, hospitals and physicians in the defense of medical malpractice claims and represent the insurance industry in the areas of both defense and coverage disputes. BACK TO INDEX |
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