neglect Archives - Page 7 of 25 - New Jersey Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Nursing Home Neglect Lawyers Warn of Facility Cleanliness

Nursing homes and long term care facilities are responsible for the daily medical, physical, and emotional needs of their elderly and disabled residents. As nursing home neglect lawyers we see all forms of neglect, including the failure to administer medications, failure to keep patients clean and hygienic, and ignorance of obvious red flags. Nursing homes are also required to keep their facilities clean and up to code. When these requirements are not met, facilities are guilty of nursing home abuse and neglect.

Bedbugs Found in Ohio Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center

According to NBC4 in Ohio, two current employees of the Circleville Care and Rehabilitation Center called the news station to anonymously report a bedbug infestation in the facility. They also claimed that the management failed to inform any patient families of the infestation and threatened to terminate anyone who went to the media. The director of the Pickaway County Health Department did confirm that the nursing home had a bedbug problem, but since the bugs did not carry any diseases there was nothing they could do.

In a statement from Circleville Care and Rehabilitation Center’s parent company Sunbridge Healthcare, Regional Vice President Angela McCoy said:

“Our nursing center maintains specific policies and procedures when addressing the center’s environment. When the center became aware of this situation they immediately contacted a pest control company with the expertise to assist us and who has been on site daily to appropriately treat resident rooms. The process can take 48 hours to sanitize several rooms and we are following the recommendation and instruction of the pest control company as to any additional actions that might be taken.

Our first priority is to ensure that the delivery of care to our residents and patients is not disrupted throughout this process. Our medical director, medical staff, staff and families have been informed of the situation and we appreciate the support they have shown. I also have informed the state department of health who are aware and supportive of our process. I want to assure our families and our community that our caring team is committed to providing a safe environment for our residents and I encourage any family members of our residents to contact me with any questions or concerns.”

Nursing Home Neglect Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia

If you have witnessed any unsanitary conditions, physical or mental abuse of your loved one, or negligent care within a nursing home, our professional nursing home neglect lawyers can address your questions and concerns. 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.

Medical Malpractice Attorneys Discuss the Force of Lawsuits

Professional malpractice typically refers to negligence by a professional and it has been applied to many professions such as engineers, art experts, social workers, and pilots. However, it’s most common application is with healthcare providers such as doctors, nurses, surgeons, etc. A lawsuit involving a single patient and a single healthcare provider may have a narrow impact on society, meaning it may only have consequential value to the parties involved. The litigation process will determine how an injured patient will be compensated but medical malpractice attorneys have also found that the outcome of a lawsuit may mold how the profession will engage in its practice.

Broad Impact of Medical Malpractice Cases

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Consider the case of medical professionals. How courts in a particular jurisdiction rule on different matters of liability and standards of care will undoubtedly affect how other doctors and nurses act in similar situations. Situations such as communicating with patients regarding treatment and procedures, undertaking surgery and diagnosis, avoiding negligence and malpractice liability, and safeguarding patients from clearly foreseeable injury and even more remote potential outcomes all will be molded by how courts have ruled in previous cases. When other doctors or nurses are found liable for medical negligence, lawyers believe that this does not merely deter those individuals from acting in a particular way. Medical malpractice attorneys believe that the profession as a whole, both within and outside of that jurisdiction, will alter the ways in which they practice. When patients are hurt due to alleged negligence or malpractice, a courts ruling sends a message to the community as a whole that certain behavior and activity will not be tolerated.

Medical Malpractice Attorneys in New Jersey and Philadelphia

If you or a family member have recently been the victim of medical negligence, it is possible that you would like to speak with our professionals. Please 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.

Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers: Administrator Steals $300,000 from Home

As nursing home abuse lawyers, we see some of the worst kinds of abuse and neglect that the elderly unfortunately have to endure. We continue to fight against this horrible injustice but the problem is not going away. Most of the physical and emotional abuse is the result of frustrated direct care workers, but another growing problem is the financial abuse from administrators and other nursing home officials. They are taking advantage of their power and access to the facility’s finances in order to steal from the home. They are not only stealing from an organization, but from the elderly and disabled residents who need that money in order to keep up their standard of care.

Former Administrator Plead Guilty to Stealing from Facility and Residents

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The Golden Years Rest Home in Jenkins, KY is facing problems after their former administrator James F. Tackett, 69, entered a guilty plea in court for stealing thousands of dollars in funds from the home and from the residents. He admitted to stealing more than $300,000 from the home that was meant to be used for the care of the patients. He also admitted to stealing more than $60,000 from one resident. Tackett used the money to buy himself cars and other personal vehicles including a GMC Hummer, a Chevrolet Silverado, a Ford F-150, and a Suzuki XL-7. He is also in trouble for not reporting any of the funds on his state income tax returns for the past five years.

This started after a complaint was filed in 2009 by the local ombudsman office that multiple residents of the home were not receiving their $250 stimulus check from the American Economic Recovery Act, The Attorney General’s Department of Criminal Investigations started looking into the home. This is not the first strike for Tackett, he plead guilty in 2009 to physical abuse of a resident and in October to charges of theft of federal Social Security funds received on behalf of the personal care home residents. He faces up to 10 years in prison for the state charges.

Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia

If your loved one is missing money or you have witnessed any questionable or abusive behavior in a nursing home facility directed towards them or even another resident and you are worried that the care they are receiving is negligent, abusive, or inadequate, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation. You may also call for a free consultation with one of our nursing home abuse lawyers at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Medical Malpractice Lawyers Support FDA Surgical Fire-Safety Initiative

Medical malpractice attorneys represent patients each year that suffer the often lasting effects of surgical fires. Sometimes, they represent the family members of patients who did not live through the harrowing tragedy. It is important to discuss with your surgeon the risks and dangers associated with surgical room fires.

Operating Room Fires Rare but Relevant

nj and pa medical malpractice lawyers Dr. Nancy Perrier speaks of her first encounter with an operating room blaze;

“The flames were at least 6 to 8 feet high and the correct actions were unknown to everyone in the operating room. The patient survived the operation, but died about 30 days later from complications of a significant pulmonary injury.”

Doctors and the FDA alike know that these events are nearly 100% preventable. That is why they are pushing for increased oversight on the education of surgical fires for operating room personnel.

Just last month, the FDA hosted a special workshop to looks for ways to stop fires from happening, as well as to offer pertinent medical professionals the tools and knowledge to deal with those that occur.
Experts have estimated that about 650 operating room fires are sparked nationwide every year. As previously stated, many of the victims of those fires will walk away scarred or marginally scathed. Others, however, will lose their lives.

Dr. David Cowles, an anesthesiologist who previously spent 14 years as a firefighter and paramedic, knows well the need for FDA intervention when it comes to establishing a medical standard concerning surgical room fires:

“As a firefighter you’re concerned about what’s going to be the safest way to do a dangerous job and that’s not unlike what it is in the operating room, where every day we perform procedures that could be dangerous and we need to explore the safest way to do that.”

Medical Malpractice Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia

If you or a family member have been victimized by medical errors due to negligent or inadequate medical providers, please contact the Mininno Law Office to speak with a medical malpractice attorney. You may also call for a free case evaluation and consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey and (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Let our professionals earn you your just and due compensation.

Medical Malpractice Attorneys: Survival and Wrongful Death Actions

In the past, under the common law, if either the plaintiff or defendant of a tort claim died, the action would be ended. This is because one of the parties, who either deserved compensation or who was liable, would no longer be around. A simple example would be if a patient was injured by a doctor due to medical negligence, the action would end if either party passed away. Also, historically there was no right to recovery for survivors of a patient who was negligently killed by a doctor’s medical malpractice (and the patient’s family could not recovery pecuniary losses or for the loss of companionship). Today, every state has altered these rules by statute which allows medical malpractice attorneys to bring lawsuits in search of compensation, even if their client or the defendant has passed away.

The Types of Actions

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The first types of laws that have been implemented are generally referred to as “survival” statutes. Under these statutes, a lawsuit will not come to a halt simply because one of the parties has passed away prior to the litigation. This means that lawsuits, including those for medical malpractice, will survive the death of either party. Alternatively, there are also laws in place known as “wrongful death” statutes. These statutes create a cause of action for the family who has been left behind following the death of a plaintiff. An example of a wrongful death situation may be if a doctor’s tortious activity, such as negligence or malpractice, leads to the death of a patient. In that case, the family of the patient may still bring a lawsuit against the doctor even though the true victim of the tort, the deceased patient, is no longer around. Lawyers have found that although some states have elected to combine the two types of actions into a single statute, every state provides this type of protection for patients and their loved ones.

Medical Malpractice Attorneys in New Jersey and Philadelphia

Medical Malpractice Attorneys: Pre-Natal Injuries

There are many forms of negligence, and other tortious conduct, that can lead to the injury of a baby while still in the mother’s womb. Many people’s first thoughts would be to look at the potential tortious conduct of a doctor, which may have caused injury to a baby due to medical negligence. Medical malpractice attorneys have found that most courts have allowed for the recovery of damages when a child is injured while “en ventre sa mere” (meaning “in the mother’s belly”) and is born alive. This is because the negligence of a defendant has caused some sort of injury to the young baby and damages are reasonable even though the child was not yet born. A minority of courts have actually denied the recovery of damages if the child was not yet born, even though the negligence will affect the baby for years down the road.

A Startling Approach by Defense Attorneys

medical malpractice attorneys in nj and pa Some lawyers who have represented defendants in these sorts of cases have come forth with surprising, if not shocking, legal arguments to avoid liability. Some attorneys in this situation have argued that there can not possibly be negligence because that tort requires a duty and a breach of duty. The argument follows that a defendant could not have possibly had a duty of care towards a being that is not yet born. This approach is very rarely accepted because it sets forth bad public policy and it tends to disregard the values we tend to hold as a society. Negligence that harms an unborn baby is just as undesirable as any negligence that could injure any one else. Thankfully, medical malpractice attorneys agree that today, recovery of damages is generally acceptable when a baby is injured prior to birth due to some act of negligence.

Medical Malpractice Attorneys in New Jersey and Philadelphia

If you or a family member have recently been the victim of medical negligence, it is possible that you would like to speak with our medical malpractice attorneys. Please 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.

Medical Malpractice Attorneys Explain Six General Rules of Malpractice

Medical malpractice attorneys , in preparing to file a lawsuit, generally look to a series of rules that have been set forth by numerous courts over the years. The rules refer to when a plaintiff may file a malpractice lawsuit and the types of proof that are necessary at trial. The Supreme Court of Arizona set forth a series of rules in 1938 in the case of Boyce v. Brown, that still hold true today.

A Historical Look at Medical Malpractice

new jersey philadelphia Medical Malpractice Attorneys six general rules

The Arizona Supreme Court listed these 6 general rules, these rules are adopted slightly differently in some states and may be the subject of objection yet they lay out a fairly succinct framework.
(1) An individual who is “licensed to practice medicine is presumed to possess the degree of skill and learning which is possessed by the average member of the medical profession in good standing in the community in which he practices.” These doctors are also expected to use ordinary and reasonable care when treating patients.
(2) Prior to a medical professional being held liable for medical malpractice, “he must have done something in his treatment . . . which the recognized standard of good medical practice in the community in which he is practicing forbids in such cases, or he must have neglected to do something which such standards require”.
(3) Medical malpractice attorneys must bring in affirmative evidence to prove the relevant standard of medical practice in the community, which is often shown through expert witnesses and other doctors.
(4) Medical malpractice attorneys must affirmatively prove that there was medical negligence. This rule means that a plaintiff can not just show that the treatment did not work, the best results were not achieved, or that there was a death or injury, there must have been some action or inaction on behalf of the treating doctor.
(5) In order to show that a doctor did not live up to the standard of care, expert medical testimony must be used. However, there may be no need for expert testimony if the negligence is so grossly apparent that a layperson would easily be able to recognize it.
(6)Simply showing that other medical professionals would have undertaken a different medical treatment is not enough to show medical malpractice. It is necessary to show that the course of treatment deviated from one of the methods of treatment approved by the medical community. This rule is in place because there are many acceptable forms of treatment in some cases, just because one doctor may have done it differently does not clearly show malpractice.

Medical Malpractice Attorneys in New Jersey and Philadelphia

Medical Malpractice Attorneys: Doctor Liability to 3rd Parties

In some states, there has been a trend to impose a duty on physicians regarding third parties who have not directly sought treatment from the doctor. A simple example may be a doctor who advises a patient, who is prone to seizures, that he can safely drive his care home from an appointment. Should that doctor be liable to a third party who was seriously injured in a car accident after the patient had a seizure driving home? How about a doctor who prescribes a medication, which a patient has an unfortunate reaction to, and injures pedestrians on the car ride home for the doctor’s office? Medical malpractice attorneys have found that different jurisdictions have attacked these issues in different ways, some imposing liability on physicians and others declining to do so.
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In Osborne v. United States, a case out of West Virginia, that court permitted a third party to bring a lawsuit against a doctor whose negligent treatment resulted in an injury. The court ruled that in cases where it should have been foreseeable to the healthcare provider, the third party has standing to sue. Lawyers also point to the New York case of Tenuto v. Lederle Labs. In that case, the court found that there was a duty to warn to parents of the risks to their own health, following the vaccination of their children. Finally, medical malpractice attorneys point to the Pennsylvania case of DiMarco v. Lynch Homes-Chester County, Inc. In that case, a doctor negligently advised a patient about a communicable disease. Since the third party was at risk to contract that disease, there was liability placed on the healthcare provider.

Medical Malpractice Attorneys in New Jersey and Philadelphia

Medical Malpractice Attorneys Define Negligence

Medical malpractice attorneys have found that negligence may be the most important form of any tort liability in our jurisprudence today. This is in part due to the flexible principles of negligence that enable liability to be applied to many types of conduct that cause accidental harm. The main difference between negligence and all other forms of torts (i.e. assault and battery) is that negligence is not concerned with the state of mind of the person who committed or neglected to commit the act. The main thing that is looked at by lawyers, and judges who oversee cases, is the conduct of a defendant (such as a doctor or nurse) and whether they should have known of the risks that were possible.

The Four Elements of Negligence

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The four elements of negligence, which are frequently referred to in medical malpractice cases, include duty, breach of duty, causation, and damage. In a medical malpractice framework, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers owe their clients a duty to live up to the relevant standard of care. A doctor who does something that is not in accord with the standard of care, or similarly, fails to do something that they should have, may breach their duty to the patient. Third, a plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit must show that because the doctor breached his duty of care that was owed to the plaintiff, the incident occurred. This is frequently referred to as causation. Had a doctor done or not done something, the patient would not have been harmed. Finally, to prove a negligence lawsuit, it is essential for a patient to prove that there were damages. It is not enough to show that the doctor did not live up to the standard of care if there were no ill effects from the incident. Once a plaintiff has shown these four elements of negligence, it is likely that they will prevail in a malpractice suit.

Medical Malpractice Attorneys in New Jersey and Philadelphia

Medical Malpractice Attorneys and the Locality Rule

Medical malpractice attorneys believe that lawsuits against physicians, as opposed to attorneys and other professionals, recognize the locality rule more frequently. The locality rule generally states that doctors and other healthcare professionals should live up to the acceptable standard of care as do other similarly situated professionals in the same vicinity and same community. There are many cases that refer and adopt the locality rule in similar and slightly differing ways depending on the jurisdiction.

The Rule Applied

new jersey philadelphia attorneys locality rule One important case regarding medical malpractice was Hickson v. Martinez from a Texas appellate court. That court held that doctors must act as prudent and reasonable doctors in the same or similar communities would. This ensures that no matter what healthcare provider a patient decides to go to for treatment, that treatment will be relatively similar. Another important case comes from Indiana and is cited as Vergara v. Doan. That court held that a doctor must exercise the degree of skill, care, and proficiency that would be exercised by reasonably careful, skillful, and prudent doctors who are placed under similar circumstances. That court said that the locality, different advances in the profession as a whole, the availability of facilities, and whether the healthcare provider was a specialist or a general practitioner are all to be considered. The final case that illustrates this aspect of the law comes from Mississippi. In Hall v. Hilbun, the court viewed the locality expansively, taking into consideration doctors across the United States who have similar facilities, services, equipment and options available to them. Medical malpractice attorneys have found that regardless of the technical criteria of a jurisdiction, doctors should hold themselves to the acceptable standards of other doctors in similar situations.

Medical Malpractice Attorneys in New Jersey and Philadelphia

If you or a family member have recently been the victim of medical negligence, it is possible that you would like to speak with our professionals. Please 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.