Author: Angela Leone

Nursing Home Abuse Exposé: Sterling Manor

As New Jersey and Philadelphia nursing home abuse lawyers, we have been randomly viewing the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services report cards for New Jersey nursing home. The State of New Jersey publishes these reports for each nursing home and long term residential facility in New Jersey. We have been reviewing the inspection summary reports for different nursing homes and reporting on those that have a large number of citations. It is important to review these reports to be aware of any signs of possible nursing home abuse.

Sterling Manor in Maple Shade, NJ

new jersey philadelphia nursing home abuse lawyers exposé sterling manorToday we are posting on Sterling Manor. Sterling Manor is a nursing home that has 124 long term patient beds under its care. It is located in Maple Shade, New Jersey in Burlington County. Sterling Manor had 3 routine inspections over the two year period from November 2008 until October 2010. It also had 14 complaint inspections during that same time period. The Sterling Manor nursing home was cited for physician visit issues relating to care/notes/orders etc., as well as residential record issues, life safety code violations, and bed sores. (As we have posted on many occasions, bed sores, themselves, are signs or nursing home abuse.)

Problems relating to the treatment and prevention of bed sores is also one of the reasons the facility received a complaint inspection as recently as July 2010. Another complaint inspection occurred due to food sanitation and preparation issues. These types of issues are what can lead to claims of nursing home abuse. It is important if you plan on having your loved one cared for in any nursing home, including Sterling Manor in Maple Shade, that you review these State of New Jersey Licensing and Evaluation inspections, to make sure it is a safe environment free from abuse.

Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia

If your loved one is a resident at a nursing home and you believe that the care they are receiving may be negligent or abusive, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation. You may also call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia. Our team can work to earn you the compensation you deserve.

Medical Malpractice and Sleep Deprivation; Should Surgeons Disclose to Patients When They Haven’t Slept?

As a New Jersey and Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney, I found a recent article published in the New England Journal of Medicine quite interesting. It posed a question regarding surgeons and their often wearisome schedules; Should a surgeon who has been deprived sleep in the past 24 hours be obligated to do disclose such to his/her patient?

Surgeons and Surgery Schedules

new jersey philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers disclosure lack sleepSleep deprivation can affect a surgeon or physician’s clinical and physical performances as severely as alcohol intoxication, and therefore increase risk of medical malpractice. But for a hospital, the task of ensuring that it’s surgeons are not suffering from fatigue has proven quite a challenge. Hospitals are in need of 24/7 coverage of clinical procedures, and must provide continuous care. Hospital trainees currently have work regulations set forth by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education that restrict them to a maximum of 16 consecutive working hours followed by a minimum of 8 hours off-duty. These types of regulations do not currently exist for fully trained physicians, who work multiple on-call and overnight shifts a week, strategically placing elective surgical procedures in between.

Furthermore, continuous sleep deprivation can lead to more serious problems, creating a larger concern regarding it’s effect on patients. Surveys show that patients would be very concerned if they were told that their physicians had gone 24 hours without sleep, and 80% of those surveyed said they would request new providers. Considering how important this is to so many patients, it seems informed consent should be demanded in these situations.

The Sleep Research Society has proposed legislation that would require medical providers who have been awake for 22 of the last 24 hours to:

“inform their patients of the extent and potential safety impact of their sleep deprivation and to obtain consent from such patients prior to providing clinical care or performing any medical or surgical procedures.”

Patients should be informed of the impairments sleep deprivation and fatigue can cause, as well as the increased risk of complications associated with proceeding. Patients should then be given the opportunity to proceed, re-schedule, or proceed with a different physician. Until hospitals can staff their facilities accordingly, patients will have to play a more active role in their medical care in order to protect themselves from medical malpractice and negligence.

Medical Malpractice Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia

If you or a loved one have suffered at the hands of a negligent medical provider, please contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation. You may also call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia. The medical malpractice lawyers at the Mininno Law Office are experienced and skilled in earning victims their full and fair compensation.

Nursing Home Abuse Exposé: ManorCare Health Services, West Deptford, NJ

Once again today we are here to discuss another local nursing home that has been cited with a number of deficiencies in the past two years. As nursing home abuse lawyers, it is important for us to educate the public on the need to investigate whether appropriate standards of care are being met in the New Jersey and Philadelphia nursing homes. Numerous violations can be a sign of nursing home abuse.

Gloucester County Nursing Home Cited With Violations

new jersey philadelphia nursing home abuse lawyers manorcare health servicesToday’s post takes a look at a nursing home facility in Gloucester County. The name of the facility is Manorcare Health Services. It is located on West Deptford and has 156 long term care beds.

The Manorcare facility was inspected two times from November 2008 through October 2010. During these two inspections, 25 different deficiencies were cited. The scope and severity of these citations ranged from isolated to widespread. One of the citations was for a level 3 offense, which is one considered to have caused actual harm to one or more residents. In this particular instance it referred to not maintaining the proper nutritional status. There were also instances of life safety code violations and violations regarding the sanitary and comfortable environment, as well as bed sore prevention and treatment failings.

Twenty-five violations in only two inspections over a two-year period seems to be quite a concern. These types of failings are the things that can lead to patient safety concerns, including the acquiring of bed sores. During this time period, four complaints were also inspected and detailed at ManorCare. One of these complaints did in fact concern bed sores, and although it was isolated in this case, it was found to have had a potential for more than minimal harm. Of course, both acquiring a bed sore and the improper treatment of that bedsore are indeed nursing home abuse. Any of these issues should be discussed with a New Jersey nursing home abuse lawyer immediately. It is important to be an advocate for your loved one, and when abuse has occurred it is important to have an attorney advocating with you.

New Jersey and Philadelphia Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers

If your loved one is a resident at a nursing home or long term care facility and you are seeing signs that you attribute to possible negligence or abuse, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation. You may also call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Let the Mininno Law Office team work hard to earn you the compensation you and your loved one deserve.

Medical Malpractice Lawyers Keep Debunking Tort Reform Myths!

new jersey philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers debunking tort reform myths A key issue in the tort reform debate involves “defensive medicine.” Supporters of medical malpractice litigation reform claim that “defensive medicine,” usually in the form unnecessary and preemptive testing, is largely due to a widespread physician fear of lawsuits. They claim that these tests drive up the costs of health care, and that reducing a doctor’s chances of being sued would simultaneously reduce the occurrences of defensive medicine, and thus reduce the costs of health care. However, a recent study performed out of the University of Iowa and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted to public health) found that in states where tort reform legislation was passed, defensive medicine is still being practiced and doctors are still just as fearful of being sued.

Study Finds that Tort Reform Allegations are Simply Propoganda

Researchers achieved their results by ranking lawsuit risk on a state-by-state basis by the amount of claims actually paid by medical malpractice insurance companies. Research found that doctors who practiced in low-risk states (states that have passed their own tort reform legislation) had essentially the same amount of anxiety about being sued as doctors in high risk states (states that have not passed any type of malpractice reform). Defensive medicine is still being practiced, and therefore tort reform did not lower health care costs. The study stated:

“Overall, the study suggests that current tort reform efforts aimed at reducing malpractice risk would be relatively ineffective in alleviating physicians’ concern about lawsuits and therefore may not alter defensive medicine practices.”

Tort Reformists Ignoring Real Issue

What is alarming is that recent studies have shown that medical malpractice is not decreasing, despite defensive medicine and other efforts. A study of 10 North Carolina hospitals published in the New England Journal of Medicine (read our blog regarding this study) assessed 2,300 random patient files. Of those 2,300 patients, 39%endured some sort of medical error or patient harm. Seventeen errors resulted in permanent injury, and fourteen resulted in death.

It seems that more time and effort should be spent on correcting the horrid rate of medical errors, rather than saving HMO’s and negligent medical providers money. While tort reformists and insurance lobbyists push to limit liability and cap damages for injured patients, doctors and hospitals continue to harm patients at an unacceptable rate. It looks like priorities in this matter have been seriously skewed.

Medical Malpractice Attorneys in New Jersey and Philadelphia

If you or a loved one have suffered at the hands of a negligent medical provider, please contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation. You may also call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.
Let the team at the Mininno Law Office earn you the compensation you need and deserve.

DePuy Hip Recall: What About the FDA?

As New Jersey and Pennsylvania Depuy hip recall attorneys, we have been posting various bits of information regarding the Depuy hip recall and its effect on recipients of the implant. We hope these posts have been helpful to not only patients who have experienced implant failure, but to all Depuy hip recall patients, regardless of whether or not they have experienced pain or symptoms associated with the DePuy hip implant failure.

Did the FDA Have Anything to Do With the Recall?

Recently a Depuy hip implant patient asked us, “What does the federal government have to say about the Depuy hip implant recall?” As many know, medical devices, such as artificial hips, prosthesis, knee joint replacements, and other implants, are supposed to be regulated by the Food and Drug administration (FDA). According to its website, the FDA is charged with responsibility for:

“protecting the public health by assuring the safety, efficacy and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation.”

new jersey philadelphia depuy hip recall attorneys examine fda approach Despite this responsibility, the FDA has not done much regarding the recall since July 17, 2010, the date they posted information on specific recalled devices. The recall contained DePuy technical data that listed all of the various sized component parts of the DePuy ASR hip replacement system. As for the reason for the recall, the FDA quoted Depuy, stating that the recall was caused by “notification to clinicians of new revision rate data/information regarding use of the device.” What does that mean? It means that DePuy and the FDA were receiving complaints that the hip implant was failing at an alarming rate, causing the necessity for revision surgeries to rise to a new and unacceptable level. These complaints started coming in shortly after DePuy was granted approval to market their device in the United States in 2003.

DePuy Hip Recall Attorneys in New Jersey and Philadelphia

Unfortunately, the FDA has not provided any additional information to patients about what to do next. In fact, the FDA website refers all inquiries back to Depuy’s home office in Indiana. As New Jersey Depuy hip recall attorneys, we urge the FDA to be more diligent in its reporting of consumer complaints regarding medical devices. The device was approved for use in 2003, and was on the market for 7 years before it was finally recalled. Had the complaints been investigated sooner, perhaps surgeons and potential Depuy hip implant patients would have thought twice about using this defective hip replacement product.

If you are the recipient of a DePuy ASR XL Acetabular hip implant system, or an ASR XL Hip Resurfacing System, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation. You may also call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia. Our defective product attorneys are skilled in earning full and fair compensation for victims of negligent and defective manufacturing.

Nursing Home Abuse Exposé: South Jersey Health Care Center

As New Jersey and Philadelphia attorneys with a focus on nursing home abuse, we are always concerned with the well being of nursing home patients housed in long term care facilities in New Jersey. We have recently been reviewing reports published by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services regarding the evaluation and licensing of nursing homes and other types of long term care facilities. It is a major concern of ours when we find reports that indicate various violations that are indicative of nursing home abuse.

South Jersey Health Care Center receives Unsatisfactory Ratings

new jersey philadelphia nursing home abuse lawyers south health care centerToday we are reporting about the South Jersey Health Care Center located in Camden, New Jersey. This is a nursing home that has 120 long term care patient beds. In a two year period, from November 2008 until October 2010, this nursing home was inspected on two separate occasions. During those inspections, the nursing home was cited for 16 separate violations. These violations included failure to meet proper safety code standards, lack of proper housekeeping and maintenance services, and food and nutritional issues. Many of the violations were found to occur often, and at least one of the violations was considered immediate jeopardy to residents’ health and safety.

One of the violations concerned the neglect that causes initial acquisition and later worsening of bed sores or pressure ulcers. As indicated in some of our earlier posts, the procurement of a bed sore is nursing home neglect and should not occur if the nursing home staff is properly trained and fulfilling their jobs at the proper level. In the case of the South Jersey Health Care Center located in Camden, there are enough violations to warrant a family’s close monitoring while a loved one remains in the home’s care. As always, it is important to review any nursing home that you may have in mind before your loved one is entered as a resident, and to monitor the nursing home for abuses during their residency.

Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia

If your loved one is currently a resident at a nursing home or long term care facility and you feel that the care they are receiving may be negligent or abusive, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation. You may also call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia. Don’t let your loved one become another victim of negligent and inadequate nursing homes.

Let the Mininno Law Office team earn you the compensation you deserve.

DePuy Hip Recall Lawyers Discuss MDL Chief – Judge Katz

As New Jersey and Pennsylvania DePuy hip recall lawyers, we posted many times regarding the ongoing multi-district litigation pending in federal court in Ohio. As you know from previous posts, this multi-district litigation (“MDL”) has consolidated all the DePuy hip recall lawsuits which were filed in federal courts. In this post, we are going to give some background about Judge David Katz, the federal judge who now is presiding over these federal cases.

Judge Katz Highly Experienced with MDL

new jersey philadelphia depuy hip recall lawyers discuss MDL chief judge katzJudge Katz will be a welcome addition to the multi-district litigation of DePuy hip recalls. This is not the first time that he has handled a complex MDL. In the past, Judge Katz presided over litigation involving the contraceptive Ortho Evra. In that matter, the Judge received favorable approval ratings from both the defendants and the plaintiffs who brought the claim. In addition, Judge Katz’ background makes him an ideal candidate for DePuy hip recall litigation.

According to his bio, Judge Katz, an Ohio native, graduated from the Buckeye School of Ohio State University with a Bachelor’s Degree and also received his JED Degree in 1957. After law school, Judge Katz worked mostly in private practice in the city of Toledo, before being appointed to the bench by Judge Clinton in 1994. All DePuy hip recall litigants should welcome Judge Katz as the presiding judge for this litigation. By all counts, he is fair-minded and will give all recall victims an opportunity to seek justice in federal court.

As New Jersey and Philadelphia DePuy hip recall lawyers, we will continue to provide updates on the MDL and any state court DePuy hip recall litigation.

DePuy Hip Recall Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia

If you or a loved one are the recipients of a defective DePuy hip implant, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation, or call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia. Let the DePuy hip recall lawyers at the Mininno Law Office work to earn you the full and fair compensation you need and deserve.

Qui Tam: What Is It?

The term qui tam is actually an abbreviated form of the latin phrase “qui tam pro domino rege quam pro seipse,” which means “he who sues for the king as for himself.” Whistleblower is another term used to describe the same type of claim. When an employee gets wind of their employer’s illegal business practices, they have the opportunity to file a qui tam claim against them, and are usually awarded a large portion of the settlement that the government receives.

Whistleblower vs. Qui Tam Claims – Is There a Difference?

new jersey philadelphia qui tam whistleblower lawyers explanationWhistleblower and qui tam claims do essentially the same thing; they allow employees to file lawsuits against their employers for fraud or other illegal practices. Many times, especially in the healthcare industry, companies engage in fraudulent advertising to increase popularity of a product. Pharmaceutical companies are largely guilty of committing this type of fraud. Creating false or untested uses for a certain drug, or offering physicians large amounts of money (kickbacks) to recommend and prescribe certain drugs is very much illegal, and equally as dangerous.

Fraudulent billing is another problem for health programs such as Medicare. It is estimated that close to 10% of all medicare charges are indeed fradulent. Commonly, this fraud occurs in the form of :

  • Billing multiple times for one service
  • Charging for treatment that was never performed
  • Charging for expensive equipment when cheaper equipment was purchased
  • Charging for services that are actually free

Qui Tam Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia

If you currently work for a company that you believe is defrauding it’s employees, customers, and/or government, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation. The qui tam lawyers at the Mininno Law Office are specifically focused on earning significant compensation for whistelblowers who aim to end their associates illegal and potentially harmful business practices.

You may also call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia. Let the Mininno Law Office team work hard to earn you the full an fair compensation you deserve.

New Jersey Nursing Home Exposé: Stratord Nursing & Convalescent Center

As nursing home abuse lawyers practicing in Philadelphia and New Jersey, it is important that we help educate readers on nursing home abuse and the safety of the local nursing homes. Today we want to share the importance of researching and reviewing nursing home inspections. The Department of Health and Senior Service’s Division of Health Facilities Evaluation and Licensing” conduct routine inspections of New Jersey Nursing Homes. A review of these published reports can help identify care facilities with a pattern of abuse and neglect.

Stratford Nursing & Convalescent Center

new jersey philadelphia nursing home abuse lawyers Spotlight Abusive careToday, we are reporting on the Stratford Nursing & Convalescent Center located in Stratford, New Jersey. The latest published report shows all of the violations found during the routine inspections for the two year period between November 2008 and October 2010. The Stratford Nursing & Convalescent Center had 33 cited nursing home violations on the two combined inspection dates. The facility’s citations included safety code violations, life safety code standard violations, and others related to abuse and neglect. The level of violations were mainly rated as being pattern or widespread violations, with at least four considered to cause immediate jeopardy to the residents health or safety. Stratford’s ratings are a sure cause for concern, and it is quite clear that immediate corrective action needs to be taken. The facility’s noncompliance with one or more standards has caused, or is likely to cause, serious injury, harm, impairment, or death to a patient or resident.

These reports are a very effective tool when evaluating which long term nursing home a loved one should be placed in. It is also important to review these reports periodically to make sure the facility is not showing signs of abuse or neglect. Facilities that show a widespread pattern of safety violations are often the same nursing homes with patients that develop malnutrition and bed sores, and receive other neglectful and abusive treatment.

Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys in New Jersey and Philadelphia

If your loved one is a resident of a nursing home that provides negligent, abusive, or sub-standard care, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation. You may also call for a free consultation at (856)833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia. Do not let abusive treatment go unnoticed or unpunished.

Response to Republican Malpractice Bill

Last week, Republicans introduced tort reform legislation that would make serious changes to current medical malpractice liability and infringe upon the rights of patients nationwide. Malpractice liability has been a hot topic of debate for quite sometime, and after the introduction of this bill, many people have varying opinions on the issue.

HEALTH Act Unlikely to Pass

While the bill has a good chance of winning passage in the House, it most likely will face intense opposition in the Senate. Senate Judiciary chairman, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), has always opposed caps on damages and instead supports lifting anti-trust immunity for insurance companies in hopes of sparking competition within the industry and subsequently lowering premiums.

new jersey philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers Overwhelmingly Opposed Tort ReformWhite House aides have provided that President Obama is strongly opposed to placing caps on damages for injured patients, but would be open to utilizing other avenues of resolution, such as “health courts” or special arbitration systems.

Illinois and Georgia have recently struck down state-wide caps on liability, arguing that they violated their state constitutions. Liability caps are an unfair advantage to insurance companies and severely negligent medical providers, as it is in the worst cases that juries are inclined to offer large sums of money for pain and suffering.

California has been using a cap system since 1975 and claims that those caps are what keep insurance rates low. However, consumer groups in the state maintain that California’s regulations on insurance rates are what serve to keep premiums low, not their caps on liability.

Medical Malpractice Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadephia

If tort reform is a way to keep premiums low, why not skip the middle man and fix the actual problem; insurance companies charging astronomical amounts of money to protect their clients. Limiting the awards to an injured victim of malpractice may or may not change insurance premiums. Without regulations on the industry, insurance companies will remain free to charge whatever they like. The answer to our current healthcare problem cannot be found by limiting patient rights.

If you or a loved one have suffered at the hands of a neglient medical provider, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation. You may also call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia. Let the medical malpractice lawyers at the Mininno Law Office earn you the compensation you need and deserve.