Tag: neglect

The 10 Worst Nursing Homes in the Tri-County Area: #10

Nursing Home Abuse is a serious issue in today's long term care industry. It's time we started to attack the facilities that do not provide respectful and attentive care to our elderly citizens.

In a series of 10 blogs, the Mininno Law Firm will be revealing the 10 worst nursing homes in three of our surrounding counties- Camden, Gloucester, and Burlington. The ratings of these nursing homes were determined after inspection of health standards, staffing, and quality measures. Nursing homes can receive up to five stars. The facilities you will read about in the series have all received just one.

The Fountains at Cedar Park

The Fountains at Cedar Park is a long term care facility located in Atco, New Jersey. It participates in Medicare and Medicaid, has sixty certified beds, and is #10 in our list of the ten worst long term care facilities in the tri-county area. Based on the last two inspections the facility received, it’s failing on a large number of counts to provide services that meet professional standards. Inspection reports show isolated incidents of hazardous obstructions. They show patterns of drug regimens including unnecessary drugs (abuse), unsafe, unsanitary, and uncomfortable living conditions (negligence), improper housekeeping and maintenance (negligence), and regulations on meal frequencies not being met (abuse). The same reports show widespread instances of unsanitary conditions in food prep and service areas.

The Fountains at Cedar Park was found in their Quality Measures inspections to have higher than national and/or New Jersey percentage averages in the following areas:

• Long stay residents whose need for help with daily activities increased
• Long and short stay residents who have moderate to severe pain
• Long stay residents who are more depressed or anxious
• Low-risk long stay residents who lose control of their bowels or bladder
• Long stay residents whose physical independence became limited
• Long stay residents who developed urinary tract infections

Inspectors determined that the facility failed to give residents care and services to get or keep the highest quality of life, it failed to give professional services that met a professional standard of quality, and it failed to make sure the nursing home was free of dangers that could cause harm. A lot of these issues stem from the staff: negligent care takers who fail to spend appropriate amounts of time with each of their patients. Long-term care facility negligence and abuse run rampant throughout the industry.As you’ll see in future blogs, the amount of it is shocking.

Nursing Home Abuse and the Mininno Law Office

If you or a loved one has suffered injury or loss due to nursing home negligence or nursing home abuse, you’ll need proper representation. The Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers at the Mininno Law Firm are here to help you receive the compensation you are due.
Contact us to fill out a free case evaluation form, or call us for a free consultation: (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Note: Conclusions in this blog were formed from data provided by the State of New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services and Medicare.

Nursing Homes: A Cure For Incontinence?

Electronic Underpants could bring an end to incontince related complications in nursing homes.

We at the Mininno Law Firm are advocates for health and safety in nursing homes. We applaud any and all uses of technology that could improve the quality of life for patients in nursing homes and convalescent centers. Anything these facilities can employ that will help prevent bedsores, patient falls, and prolonged pain or discomfort , is something this firm stands behind. That is why we post this blog about a new technology that could potentially end patient complications due to incontinence.

The product, developed in Australia and focused on incontinence management, could change the way elderly citizens are cared for. Simavita, a “company established to develop solutions that improve quality of life across the global spectrum,” has been developing the product for the last ten years. Simavita’s “SIMsystem” is a new continence aid that will revolutionize the way caretakers handle patient continence. SIMsystem, or Smart Incontinence Management System, will work towards four separate goals:

1. To limit the time patients spend in soiled undergarments.
2. To limit the time caregivers spend on incontinence management.
3. To use the data collected by the SIMsystem to schedule bathroom visits to eventually prevent events on incontinence.
4. To limit costs for facilities on incontinence consumables.

How Does it Work?

The product is, in laymen’s terms, a pair of electronic underpants. Under a disposable pad lies a sensor strip that measures frequency and level of incontinence. Ultimately, the use of the sensor strip is imperative to prevention of incontinent events. The entire system works as a 4 step process through the SIMserver.

1. An incontinent event is read by the SIMbox.
2. The event is recorded on the computer at the time that it occurs.
3. The caregiver is notified over the facilities paging system, or via SMS text message to a mobile phone or pager.
4. The caregiver tends to the patient implementing required procedure, and the intervention is recorded via the SIMbox.

The Chief Executive of Simavita, Phillipa Lewis, says:

“Incontinence Management is a key area in which innovative technologies can benefit aged care. We developed SIMsystem to provide greater comfort and dignity to the elderly while aiming to significantly lower costs for aged care facilities.”

When asked about the safety of the product, Lewis called the product “completely safe,” using very low power as well as the accepted form of wireless technology for body worn products. Some naysayers have commented on the ethics of the new invention, claiming that the tracking portion of the system is an invasion of privacy that may work to diminish dignity, rather than the opposite.
In the end, however, it seems that removing patients from incontinence pads and gaining them some form of freedom does much more to build dignity than the tracking does to take it away.

Incontinence is a very time consuming aspect of a nurse or caregivers job. It’s often necessary to for caretakers to check for incontinence upwards of ten times a day. The SIMsystem will potentially cut the time spent on incontinence management in half, freeing up time to pay attention to other dire needs of patients.
With this new technology, currently being used only in care facilities in Australia, the quality of life for elderly patients in nursing homes and convalescent centers will gradually and greatly improve.It’s not really clear how long it will be before the SIMsystem is being used world wide, but hopefully, it will be soon. Far too many of our elderly citizens are being victimized by their own incontinence, and by nursing home attendants not providing the proper care and attention.

Has Your Loved One Been Victimized by Nursing Home Abuse?

If you or a loved one have suffered from this kind of negligence at a nursing home or care facility, you need help. A New Jersey trial attorney will help you receive the compensation you deserve. Contact us to fill out a free case evaluation form, or call us at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia for a free consultation.

Consumer Product Safety Commission Concerned about Off Road Vehicle Safety

The Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association was created to help promote the safety and proper use of off road vehicles and better conditions for everyone. ROVs are a new type of off road or Highway vehicle and they are best suited for outdoor recreational activities and one or more passengers. However, due to the rising death toll and serious injuries related to these modes of transportation, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has voted on October 22, 2009, to push for advance notice of new rules being made for these ROVs. The CPSC believes that the rules that are in place right now for these products, do not adequate address the problems and injuries or collisions facing the consumer. These vehicles may be inadequate for lateral stability, steering ability, and finally in protection for people during a crash. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is in charge of protecting the public from unreasonable risk or serious injury and by making sure people are aware of this problem, they are showing commitment to the safety of all consumers.

For additional information on ROVs and other off road vehicles and safety, you may visit:

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10020.html

http://www.rohva.org/

If you or a loved one has been injured due to an off road vehicle accident, please contact a personal injury attorney right away. They will help make sure your case is heard and you get the care you need and deserve.

Lasik Eye Surgery may help you see more clearly, but how safe is it really?

The Food and Drug Administration announced on Thursday October 15, 2009 that it will start looking into the negative effects associated with corrective laser eye surgery. Some of these negative effects may include blurred vision and dry eyes. The FDA is going to work with the National Eye Institute and the Department of Defense to investigate the amount of people that experience negative side effects after having this corrective eye surgery. This research will include patient questionnaires and clinical trials to help keep track of patients who have had the surgery. These procedures by the FDA will hopefully help in be able to better understand the effects of laser eye surgery and its long term safety, because it is still unknown. Approximately six million Americans have had this Lasik eye corrective surgery which reshapes the cornea, but the long term safety has been unknown. It is good that the FDA is investigating the negative side effects that people could experience, but it may have been better if they would have done this before six million people have had the surgery. There were years of complaints from patients and the FDA just now decided to step in and look at the problems. Part of this reason seems to be because these types of surgeries cost between a thousand to five thousand dollars to perform. It seems like yet again, money is put before patient care and safety. This is not the way it should be. Maybe the FDA should take a better look at its policies too. Patients should always come first.

For additional information on the effects of corrective laser eye surgery you may visit: http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/SurgeryandLifeSupport/LASIK/default.htm

If you or a loved one has experienced negative side effects due to laser corrective eye surgery, contact a medical malpractice attorney right away. They will help you advocate for the medical care you deserve.

Animal Safety Tips to help protect your Children

Animals are a wonderful thing and can be very good for children. They can teach them how to be responsible, how to be gentle, how to be calmer and not yell around the animals or scare them. Finally, it can be a really rewarding learning experience for the whole family. Too often though, children do not know to behave around animals and they end up getting diseases or bites from animals. Due to these problems the Center for Disease Control or CDC has recommended some basic safety tips for parents and children for good animal care for them and the animals. These tips include:

  • Children under five years need to always be supervised while with animals
  • Do not allow children to kiss animals or put their hands near their mouth or eyes after touching animals
  • Make sure children wash their hands well with soap and water after touching animals
  • Animals such as snakes, lizards, turtles, frogs and other similar animals should be handled with special care around children due to the spread of disease

So many children and other family members get bite by animals and get other diseases due to lack of knowledge about animal safety. These simple tips can help prevent these situations now and in the future.

For more information on animal safety tips and recommendations, you may visit: http://www.cdc.gov/HEALTHYPETS/child.htm

If you or a loved one has suffered an injury due to an animal, please contact a personal injury attorney right away. They can help you get the medical care you and your family deserve.

Bayer Warned by FDA for YAZ Testing Problems

The birth control Yasmin or Yaz has caused much controversy and concerns since it was first brought on the market back in March. Many people are concerned about the serious side effects of the pill and how Bayer seemed to have made these side effects not seem as serious as they are. Another thing that Bayer was warned about by the Food and Drug Administration or the FDA that they did not think was a serious problem was the testing of the quality of the pills. It measured the quality of its ingredients based on an average of several samples instead of reporting the individual test results of each sample like they should. Bayer then continued to ship eight batches of pills tested using this unapproved method to the U.S. The drug patches were reviewed after the FDA’s warning to Bayer, but Bayer says the batches shipped between 2007-2009 were not affected by this unapproved testing method. Since this warning, the FDA now requires that Bayer provide a full list of the shipments to the U.S. that may have used this average testing method and to require Bayer to come up with a plan to prevent the problem from happening again.  Bayer has produced many important medications that many people use and depend on daily. Maybe this method has not caused any real problems, but when it comes to the medicines we give ourselves as well as those we love, double checking does not hurt. It seems like this time Bayer may have gotten overwhelmed by the money they were making that they overlooked some safety measures. Safety however always needs to and should come first each and every time.

For more information on the Bayer testing methods for Yasmin, you may visit: http://www.app.com/article/20090915/NEWS/90915067/FDA+warns+Yaz++Yasmin+manufacturer+over+testing+problems or www.fda.gov

 

If you or a loved one has suffered possibility due to the side effects of Yaz or Yasmin, please contact a personal injury attorney right away. They will help get your case heard and help you get the care you need and deserve.

Chamber of Commerce Attacking Legal System through Radio Ads

In this country, we all have the right to hold another person or party, or even corporation responsible for their acts of negligence, malpractice and other cases of harm. Recently, the Chamber of Commerce has entered the radio advertisement arena in an attempt to protect its high standing members from these lawsuits and claims of negligence. They claim that this is to protect people from meaningless lawsuits, but these ad campaigns are supported by the same people that the Chamber of Commerce is trying to protect, including oil, tobacco, and insurance companies. It seems to like the Chamber of Commerce does not really care about proper care and practices for individuals and Americans, it seems like they care more about protecting their highest paying and loyal supporters. Once again money is put before rights and in this country people have fought for those rights and they deserve the chance to exercise them when the situation calls for it. People’s rights and needs should come first before money, but once again, this is not the case. If people listen to the ads of the Chamber of Commerce than people will not be able to sue for neglect or abuse of a loved one in a nursing home, or a injury due to a product defect or the injuries that can error due to improper label of products. If the members of the Chamber of Commerce were injured due to malpractice they would want to have the right to sue, so other people deserve this right as well.

For additional information on the Chamber of Commerce radio campaigns, you may visit:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28211.html

 

If you or a loved one feels you have been injured due to medical negligence, please contact a malpractice attorney right away. They will help you get your voice heard and your rights protected.

New Health Legislation may not provide Coverage for Everyone

The health legislation concerns still keep going and going. The Democrats have celebrated that the bill created in the Senate Finance Committee would not increase the deficit, but it may not actually provide coverage for every American as previously promised. Yes, the bill will cover the expensive and possibility the sickest patients, but it will pose an insurance risk to other people by making them pay even more in health care coverage. This will lead to people once again not being able to afford coverage and then again having not everyone receiving health insurance coverage. The health care reform was supposed to provide health care coverage for as many if not all Americans. This does not seem to be the case since health insurance will increase their costs for those with insurance making those with insurance unable to afford it. This means less injuries and health problems for those that are covered by the new health care reform and unaffordable insurance and more injuries and problems for people that already had health insurance. This seems like the bill will not actually be able to deliver what was once promised. Patients and proper health care should come first, but yet again, money and profits are still being put first. When will our system get up to speed to places like Europe where if you have an ehic card, that’s probably all you are going to need for coverage. We need to make sure that not only is every American able to afford coverage but that this coverage will provide proper medical care and less malpractice and injuries for patients.

For more information on the new health reform debate, you may visit: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/08/AR2009100801732.html

 

If you or someone you love feels like you have not received proper medical care, please contact a malpractice lawyer right away. They will help you advocate for your rights to receive proper medical care.

Good Actions Speak Louder Than Words for Trial Lawyers

In our society, we have been taught through tort reform and other actions to fear and hate trial lawyers. Many people have come to believe that lawyers do not really care if their client has been injured or if their rights have been violated because it means more money for the lawyer. Many people have come to believe that lawyers do not really care about the health care and well being of their loved ones because the money they get will help them take care of their own loved ones. Every time a lawyer has tried to say that they care about people’s rights, someone else has always been there to say they really do not. People and tort reform have done a good job to make lawyers seem greedy and selfish and given the good ones and the ones that work hard for our rights a bad reputation. This means that lawyers have to stop speaking about what good they will do and actually do it. They have to start persuading juries and the people that their acts are purely selfless by doing selfless good work just for the people. The only way people will begin to see that lawyers are not just all about the money and power but that they care for people and their rights is by showing them through their actions. Supporting people over profits and other similar organizations and groups and being out there in the community with people that are being abused, injured and neglected will help trial lawyers that are for the people gain trust and respect from the people they work  for to help and protect.

People learn by example. If they continue to see trial lawyers performing selfless acts for the people, then they will slowly learn again not to fear and hate lawyers and they will know that lawyers are truly are on their side and fighting for their rights.

For more information on what trial lawyers are doing for the people, you may visit:

This link.

More info.

Health Care Reform versus Medical Malpractice Rights

There continues to be much debate about health care reform and how to achieve it for everyone. There have been people talking about and trying to push aside medical malpractice rights in favor of other medical rights and reform. The truth is that is two different topics and should be given two seperate debates. Health care reforms main goals are to make sure every person in this country has affordable health care coverage. That is great and even wonderful if it can happen, but it should not come at the expense of taking away other much needed rights of the same Americans we are trying to get medical coverage. If we get medical coverage for every person, but then take away their rights to file a complaint if injured while receiving  that medical care what are we as a country saying? Are we saying you can go to any hospital or doctor you want now because you are covered with insurance but we do not care if you are injured or we do not care how good that medical care is? This country needs medical coverage for everyone, we really do, but we also need to keep protecting the rights of those injured by medical errors and malpractice every year. Thousands of people with medical coverage still not receive proper medical care, due to errors, injuries, malpractice, and abuse. We as a country need good medical care, but we also need to protect our rights to voice our opinions and let them be heard if we are injured by a medical error. If health care reform pushes aside medical malpractice rights then we will just have yet another crisis on our hands. We need to think of people first and foremost and profits second. Medical coverage will not matter if the medical care is not good. This is why medical malpractice rights are still very important and cannot be pushed aside.

If you want to do your part to protect medical malpractice rights, write a letter to your congressmen or your editor and get the word out about how we still need these rights and they should not be taken away.

For more information on the health care reform and medical malpractice rights you may visit: www.peopleoverprofits.org