Virginia Beach Personal Injury Lawyer - Nursing Home & Elder Abuse

Nursing Home Abuse More Common than Statistics Indicate

John Cooper — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 22:35:00 GMT

Some people think nursing home abuse is a “once-in-a-blue-moon” event. Unfortunately, it’s much more common occurrence than one would expect. The official data indicates between one to two million citizens over the age of 65 have been injured, exploited, or mistreated by someone they rely on to take care of them, according to National Research Council Panel to Review Risk and Prevalence of Elder Abuse and Neglect.

These numbers don’t fully reflect the actual number of nursing home abuse and elder abuse cases since there is no uniform reporting system and no comprehensive national data. The definition of nursing home abuse is another grey area since it’s challenging to categorize what would be construed as abuse, according to the National Center on Elder Abuse.

Here’s a shocking video, and clear example, of elder abuse…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YEuivTYI64&feature=fvw

As a personal injury attorney with over 20 years of experience representing clients who’ve been the victims of nursing home abuse, I understand this area of law. For example, in 2004, the Adult Protective Services Act was enacted which expands the number of “mandatory reporters” (i.e. people who are legally obligated to report abuse if they suspect such abuse is occurring). All individuals licensed, certified, or registered by health regulatory boards, excluding the Board of Veterinary Medicine, are “mandated reporters.” This includes dentists, pharmacists, emergency service personnel, and guardians.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia (VA), near the NE North Carolina (NC) border and handles car,truck,railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. Our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper

Elderly at Higher Risk for Slip and Fall Injury

John Cooper — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:16:00 GMT

“Help, I’ve fall and I can’t get up!” We’ve all heard this joke before, but slip and fall injuries are a serious issue for elderly citizens.

The risk of sustaining an injury from a slip and fall increases as we get older and women are at a greater risk than men, according to a report by Colorado State University. A surprising fact is two-thirds of elderly individuals who fall will endure another fall within six months and one-third of slip and fall injuries are attributable to hazards within a home or assisted living facility.

This isn’t a minor issue. Fall-related injuries cost the health system more than any other trauma and estimates indicate the cost to be over $1 billion dollars a year, according to Straight Furrow. The number of people 65 and over requiring hospital care due to a slip and fall injury increased by 10 percent from 2004 to 2006.

As an injury lawyer with 20 years of experience representing clients who’ve been severely injured due to slip and fall injuries, I’m concerned about the safety and care of our elderly citizens. They should enjoy their golden years without the hassle and pain of recuperation and therapy associated with a slip and fall injury.

Something needs to be done regarding the one-third of injuries connected to household hazards. These hazards include items on the floor, loose rugs or carpet, poor lighting, etc. This is especially true of nursing homes and assisted living facilities. You’re entrusting these facilities with the well-being of your elderly loved ones. The least they can do is ensure the living area is devoid of random items on the floor and have proper carpeting and lighting.

Other steps nursing homes should take to prevent slip and fall injuries to their patients include making sure a clear pathway is available from the bed to the bathroom. Also, make sure there are few stairs and steep steps required for patients to walk to specific areas such as kitchens, communal areas, etc.

This is a video talking about preventative measures nursing homes need to take regarding slip and fall injuries…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfAnV64aVfg&feature=related

If you or a loved one endured a slip and fall injury in a nursing home or assisted living facility, seek medical treatment and then speak to an attorney.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Cooper

Remain Aware Of Nursing Home Abuse

Rick Shapiro — Tue, 26 May 2009 21:38:00 GMT

It’s been just over a year since Beacon Shores Nursing and Rehabilitation Center landed on the “worst nursing homes list” generated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Beacon Shores, which is located on Shore Drive in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), was one of the three nursing homes in the state to land on the infamous list.

The facilities listed did not provide proper care to their residents and numerous reports of negligence and even abuse were cited.

A common form of nursing home abuse our law firm has encountered is overmedication. This is when nursing home employees decide to gratuitously medicate a patient in order to prevent them from “causing trouble.” This is absolutely unacceptable and highly illegal.

There are even instances of physical abuse in nursing homes. Our firm has dealt with situations like this and it’s always infuriating. As a personal injury lawyer, I can’t stand it when nursing home employees physically harm citizens trying to enjoy their golden years.

According to the Virginia Department of Health Regulation (12 VAC 5-371-10) nursing home abuse is defined as the “willful infliction of injury, unreasonable confinement, intimidation, or punishment with resulting physical harm, pain or mental anguish, or deprivation by an individual, including caretaker, of goods or services that are necessary to attain or maintain physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being to include verbal, sexual, physical or mental abuse.”

Nursing home neglect is defined as “a failure to provide timely and consistent services, treatment or care to a resident or residents’ health safety or comfort, or a failure to provide timely and consistent goods and services necessary to avoid physical harm, mental anguish or mental illness.”

If you, or a loved one, are in a nursing home, or looking into residing at a nursing home, take the time to properly research facilities. There are services which provide vital information about the facilities and service in nursing homes located throughout Virginia (VA) and other states. Be on the look out for these signs and more:

Cuts, bruises, broken bones, sprains, or other physical signs that they are being hit or neglected.
Poor hygiene - dirty hair or soiled sheets
Dirty rooms
Insect infestation
Malnutrition or dehydration, or lack of proper amounts of food when you visit during meal times.
Weight loss

If you feel abuse has taken place, or is currently taking place, seek legal counsel immediately.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rick Shapiro

Nursing Homes Hiding Assets To Avoid Victim Negligence Liability

Rick Shapiro — Mon, 05 May 2008 08:25:53 GMT

Note: see also Medical Malpractice category.

In a recent article in the American Bar Association Journal published in October 2006, written by Terry Carter, the article explores how Texas has passed massive tort reform of its medical malpractice laws. The massive overkill championed by President Bush when he was governor, Texas style, places a maximum of $250,000 recovery on non-economic damages (pain-and-suffering). As Carter notes, these caps on what is called non-economic damages affect the elderly and the poor esspecially hard, since they have a very difficult time showing lost earning power under economic damages, which are not capped under the Texas law.

Economic damages are lost wages, lost earning capacity, and projected medical expenses, for examples.

Given this massive Texas tort reform overkill, Carter discusses that many nursing homes inside Texas are only providing $250,000 insurance policies. If a senior citizen is the victim of massive nursing home malpractice, the nursing homes essentially insulate themselves against any major claims by keeping no assets in the company that owns the nursing home except for the insurance policy. If their gross negligence kills a senior citizen, and they are sued for a wrongful death claim, the nursing home company merely shrugs its shoulders and says sorry we don't have enough coverage, and by the way, our defense attorneys fees come out of that $250,000 policy also.

Not only is this Texas style tort reform only hurting victims, while ballooning the profits of insurance companies, it is sending the wrong message to the medical community because it is insulating hospitals, and in some cases, physicians, against the serious financial penalty associated with being sued for carelessness. Let's remember, even lawyers can be sued for malpractice without ceilings or caps, and one of the reasons for our civil justice system is to force all defendants (doctors or others) to make safety changes or improvements to avoid the financial penalties. We all know this is better than the old "eye for an eye" uncivilized form of justice that still prevails in many less civilized nations.

For example, the Commonwealth of Virginia has a medical malpractice ceiling, which is fairly restrictive. However, the Virginia law does not set a maximum on non-economic damages, which is the most discriminatory tort reform limitation because it hurts the poor and elderly who may not be working and may not have provable economic losses.

What is most stunning about public opinion, is that the insurance companies and big corporations have convinced a hug number of consumers and blue-collar workers that tort reform helps them! By planting false claims of big recoveries in the news media and on the Internet, the lobbying groups supporting insurance companies and large corporations influence public opinion because your typical consumer does not plan or conceive that they will have a medical malpractice claim or injury claims and end up being limited unfairly by the changes to the laws supported by the insurance companies and big companies. The truth of the matter is that your typical consumer and average "Joe" is not organized on any civil justice issues, but the insurance companies and big corporations are constantly lobbying their legislators for changes to the laws that will help their side. When a consumer wakes up, it's way too late, such as when their family member has a terrible accident and is told by a lawyer such as myself about the massive limitations on their recovery.

One of the legislative changes that many states need to enact is to require a minimum amount of insurance for all medical professionals, hospitals and nursing homes. It appears to me that the states are going to catch up fast with these nursing homes that are hiding all of their assets and keeping inadequate insurance limits. The bottom line is that the tort reform medical malpractice "crisis" has been a massive sham that has used falsehoods to influence the public.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rick Shapiro