By definition, an ombudsman is a government official who hears and investigates complaints by private citizens against other officials or government agencies. In the state of NJ, an ombudsman works on behalf of the elderly in nursing homes and long term care facilities through the The Office of the Ombudsman for the Institutionalized Elderly. This office accepts reports and complaints of nursing home abuse, negligence, inadequacy, theft, fraud, and other issues concerning the care residents … [Read more...]
Tort Reform: How Does it Affect You?
09/03/2010
You may have heard or read the term "tort reform" recently, regarding litigation and verdicts awarded to victims of nursing home abuse, medical malpractice and negligence, or defective products. If you were unclear as to what it meant, read on. What is Tort Reform? Tort reform is an effort to take away the average consumer's rights to fair compensation for substantial losses brought on by negligent manufacturers, doctors, nurses, or caregivers. Tort reform allows big businesses and other … [Read more...]
Nursing Home Negligence Earns Stepdaughter Large Verdict
09/02/2010
In 2005, John Donahue was a patient at the Embassy House nursing home, owned by Kindred Nursing Care, in Brockton, Massachusetts. It was there that a negligent nursing home staff member caused an accident that would claim Donahue's life. The caregiver was using a machine called a Hoyer Lift to lift Donahue from his bed. The machine was to be operated by two people, but this caregiver acted alone. A metal safety hook attached to the lift gouged Donahue's left eye. The eye was removed, but Donahue … [Read more...]
Enormous Nursing Home Abuse Verdict in California; Will the Long Term Care Industry Finally See Reform?
09/01/2010
A San Francisco, CA jury slammed the Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. last month with a $677 million dollar verdict for a routine failure to keep any of its nursing homes or long term care facilities properly staffed. Cindy Cools, in an interview with The Associated Press, told of her experiences with Eureka Healthcare and Rehabilitation, the facility, owned by Skilled Healthcare Group Inc., that "cared" for her father before his death in 2006. She would often visit her father, who suffered from Alzheimer's, … [Read more...]
Medical Malpractice Tragically Takes the Life of a 7 Month Old
08/31/2010
Seven month old Tressel was the only child to Scott and Emilie Meinardi. The baby had been living with heart issues since birth, and was to undergo a procedure at the Cincinatti Children's Hospital that would correct one of the issues. During the procedure, however, a technician made a heart breaking mistake. Instead of flushing the infant's system with saline solution, the medical staff member used alcohol. Obviously, sending alcohol through a tiny baby's body had dire consequences. Tressel died … [Read more...]
New Legislation Will Finally Hold Foreign Manufacturers Accountable
08/30/2010
There are currently no laws in place protecting the rights of consumers agaisnt foreign manufacturers. Foreign companies are free to manufacture defective and dangerous products, sell them in America, and suffer no consequences for their actions. But the House Energy and Commerce Committee has recently approved legislation that will finally allow the U.S. to hold foreign manufacturers accountable. The legislation, called the Foreign Manufacturers Accountability Act, will require that foreign companies … [Read more...]
Wrongful Death Suit Gets BP in Trouble Again
08/26/2010
In the wake of the biggest oil-spill our nation has ever seen, and the most devestating environmental catastrophe most of us will see in a lifetime, BP, who hoped to be out of the spotlight once wells were capped, finds themselves in hot water yet again. BP's Texas city oil refinery is guilty of a 40 day release of Benzene in April and May that has allegedly claimed the life of 6 month old Julius Provost. His mother, Sharon, is suing BP for Wrongful Death, explaining that that in his short life, … [Read more...]
Medical Malpractice in St. Paul, Minnesota Sends Man onto Operating Room Floor
08/25/2010
Max DeVries, 61, had a stroke and was admittied to St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. Days later he was scheduled for a lumbar drain replacement. While under anesthesia, Max rolled off of the operating table, hitting his head on an area where doctors had previously removed part of his skull to relieve inflammation of his brain. The fall resulted in severe bleeding on the brain. Mr. DeVries was taken to have a CT scan of the brain, and died on April 13th of a massive stroke. DeVries' … [Read more...]
Bedsores in NJ Nursing Homes are a Sign of Abuse and Neglect
08/19/2010
A Bedsore, also known as a pressure sore or pressure ulcer, is defined by the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel as a localized injury to the skin and/or underlying tissue, usually over a bony prominence, as a result of pressure, or pressure in combination with shear and/or friction. In laymen's terms, it's a wound that forms when someone spends too much time in a bed without moving or changing position. Bedsores or Pressure Sores are often located on bony prominences because these places … [Read more...]
Products Liability at McDonald’s
08/13/2010
We've all heard about Liebeck v. McDonald's, more commonly known as the "McDonald's Coffee Case" of 1994. It was a products liability case that became, as ABC News called it, the "poster child of excessive lawsuits." It's easy, without knowing the facts of the case, to scoff at someone who would sue for being burnt by hot coffee. Coffee is coffee, it's supposed to be hot! But, is it supposed to be hot enough to cause third degree burns? Stella Liebeck was 79 when she was in the passenger seat … [Read more...]
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