New Jersey lawyers Archives - New Jersey Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys Thrilled by American Nursing Homes Making Moves to Change Care

new jersey nursing home abuse attorneys, philadelphia nursing home abuse lawyers Our nations’ nursing homes are in dire need of help. Every day, nursing home abuse attorneys of Messa & Associates, P.C. are contacted by individuals regarding some form of abuse or negligence that a loved one endured in a nursing home. The importance of patient care seems to have dissipated and its priority replaced by money and business related needs.

However, it seems there is has been a push for betterment in the nursing home industry. Advancing Excellence, NH Quality Campaign – a campaign created to encourage, assist, and empower nursing homes to improve the quality of life, prevent bed sores and pressure ulcers, and care for residents – is prepared to change the nursing homes of America.

Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys Support goals of Advancing Excellence Campaign

The coalition, which is the first of its kind, is made up of long term care providers, medical professionals, consumers, employees, and state and federal agencies. It has 8 major goals:

To minimize staff turnover; a stable workforce will improve patient care.
To employ a “Constant Assignment” plan so that patients are regularly cared for by the same caregiver.
To reduce the time residents spend restrained. Independence will improve quality of life.
To prevent bed sores and pressure ulcers, and to provide appropriate treatment of those that do develop.
To prevent unnecessary or prolonged episodes of severe pain.
To include residents in advanced care planning prior to the completion of their stay
To use assessments of resident and family experience of care to improve future quality of care for patient safety.
To use assessment of staff satisfaction of work environment to improve future quality of care.

Many nursing home establishments have joined forces with Advancing Excellence in efforts to improve the quality of care they provide. Obviously, these establishments are aware and agree that they are not providing top notch care. It’s good news to those who have suffered from nursing abuse, neglect, and inadequacy.

All nursing homes in New Jersey are in fact either participants in or charter members of the Advancing Excellence campaign. We should be proud that caregivers in the state are willing to step up and begin providing the kind of care our elderly citizens deserve.

New Jersey and Philadelphia Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys

If you are someone who has seen first-hand the effects of nursing home abuse, negligence, and inadequacy, it’s time to contact a nursing home abuse attorney. The team at Messa & Associates is dedicated to earning justice and compensation for those injured or worse by negligence and abuse in nursing homes and long term care facilities.

Call, toll-free, 1-800-MessaLaw, or submit a free online inquiry. If you would like immediate assistance, click the CHAT LIVE icon to the right. A representative is present right now to answer your questions.

DePuy Hip Implants Cause Osteolysis

depuy hip implant recall new jersey philadelphia attorneys osteolysis In the United States, hip replacement surgery is one of the most common orthopaedic surgeries that occurs each year. In fact, since 1997, there have been approximately 300,000 hip replacement surgeries performed in the United States. Without question, the development of prosthetic hip joint replacements, and the development of cement or “glue” to securely place these implant parts into the human skeleton, has been one of the most major advancements in orthopaedic surgery during the last several decades.

Notwithstanding the numbers, as was detailed on our articles about hip implants, hip replacement surgery is not a cure for hip pain and should only be considered after all other medical treatments have failed. The failure of any manufacturer’s hip implant is something that is inevitable and something all potential hip implant patients should consider.

Why are Hip Implant Failures Almost Always Inevitable?

One of the major reasons for hip implant failure is because of the loosening of the bond (i.e., the cement or glue) which holds hip implant prosthetics to the bone. The loosening of this bond between the hip implant parts and the bone causes an increase in pain and reduces the range of motion for the patient.
In addition, because of the “imperfect fit,” natural friction is increased, as is the wearing down of areas in and around the hip implant. While this wear occurs in all hip implants, DePuy ASR hip implants have been recalled because medical research has shown that the recalled DePuy hip implant has an increased wear rate caused by the friction between the chromium and cobalt metals used in the ASR implant system. The combination of the loosening of the bond between the implant parts and the increased friction wear in the DePuy hip implant patient has been theorized to be the main cause of it’s premature wear and tear.

Finally, the byproduct of the chromium and cobalt friction in the replacment has been shown to result in a greater immune response to the release of these metal particles in the blood system. The immune system response not only attacks the foreign metallic matter in the blood stream, but also attacks the surrounding hip and femur bone, as well as other connective structures. This attack further damages the bond between the DePuy hip implants and the bone. This process, called osteolysis, is one of the most common causes of the accelerated failure of any DePuy hip implant.

NJ and PA DePuy Hip Implant Recall Attorneys

A DePuy hip implant recall lawyer in NJ o PA can answer your questions regarding a DePuy hip implant. If you think you may be the recipent of a recalled product, 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 team at the Mininno Law Office earn you the compensation you deserve.

After DePuy Recall, Patients Ask: “Did I really need that implant?”

Now that some 96,000 patients could potentially have a defective DePuy ASR hip implant, many patients are asking the question “Did I really need to have hip replacement surgery to begin with?” Many patients who elected to have the DePuy hip replacement surgery did so because they had hip pain and believed that this device would “cure” their pain. But, a hip implant is a treatment for the pain, not a cure.

Why isn’t a Hip Implant a Cure for Hip Joint Pain?

depuy hip implant asr recall attorneys new jersey philadelphia defective replacement The hip is a joint between the top of the leg bone (“femur“) and the pelvis bone (“acetabulum“). Hip pain is caused when there is damage to this joint. The main function of the hip joint is to support the weight of a body while standing, walking, or running. Damage can occur for a variety of reasons and cause pain, but, there is no “cure” for hip pain.

Hip replacement surgery was devised as one of the many treatment options which could help alleviate some of the pain by replacing, with a hip implant, what were believed to be the painful parts of the hip joint. In theory, a DePuy hip implant, or similar type implant, should provide a metal ball at the top of the femur and a new metal socket in the pelvis which would permit movement like the original hip joint.
The problem for DePuy hip implant manufacturers was attempting to reduce the friction between these hip implant parts which would, in theory, reduce the pain to a patient.

However, in trying to find this cure, doctors and patients may have minimized or downplayed the basic fact that hip implant surgery, in and of itself, is not a permanent cure, and causes significant post-operative pain to a patient.
In addition, because hip implants are not designed to last a lifetime, a patient must endure eventual pain when the hip implant begins to wear down and needs to be replaced.

Where did the DePuy Hip Implant Go Wrong?

The recalled DePuy hip implant was marketed as a new and revolutionary hip implant technology involving the metals chromium and cobalt which were supposed to produce near frictionless movement of the hip joint. No wonder many patients were eager to seek this “cure!”
However, recent studies have shown that DePuy’s ASR chromium on cobalt hip implant system actually causes more wear and tear and will not last as long as a traditional hip implants.

DePuy hip replacement patients now must endure additional pain and even additional surgery when, as studies suggest, their DePuy hip implant wears out prematurely and needs to be replaced. The pain and other medical risks associated with a worn out and defective DePuy ASR hip implant, is likely far greater than the pain patients would have faced had they elected not to undergo the DePuy ASR hip implant surgery in the first place.

Sadly, what we now know is that although DePuy Orthopeadics and other hip implant manufacturers marketed this product and surgery as safe, effective and a pseudo “cure,” medical research shows that hip implant surgery is never a cure for hip pain. All patients should consider all medical risks and get at least two independent opinions from orthopaedic surgeons.
If many of the 96,000 DePuy ASR hip implant patients that are subject to the DePuy recall had sought this medical advice and realized that hip replacement surgery is NOT a cure, perhaps some of them would have been spared the additional pain and damages which they now will face because of their recalled replacement.

DePuy Hip Implant Recall Attorneys in NJ and PA

If you have received a DePuy hip implant recall notice and would like more information on your rights and what you may be entitled to, 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.
The team at the Mininno Law Office is experienced with defective product cases and would hard to earn you the compensation from DePuy that you DESERVE.

Elder Abuse and Nursing Home Neglect: Is Any Resident Safe?

elder abuse new jersey philadelphia attorneys nursing home negligence prospect park residence A New York nursing home finds itself in the midst of nursing home abuse allegations after being accused of holding a frail Brooklyn judge prisoner by blocking his mail and visitors. The allegations are the latest twist in a case launched this year by the family of Judge John Phillips against Prospect Park Residence, the nursing home in which Phillips resided for eight months until he died at age 83 in 2008.

The family’s lawyer, John O’Hara, a long time friend of Judge Phillips, said of the tragedy:

The whole thing was surreal. It looked like a nice place, but it was a death house.

Elder Abuse and Nursing Home Negligence

Unfortunately, families are often led to believe that a nursing home that appears to be well maintained would provide care equal to the quality of the physical surroundings. There is often little correlation between how nice the home looks and how good the care is. In fact, a beautiful nursing home often gives the family a false sense of security about the care they expect their loved one will receive.

Court papers allege nursing home officials misled the former judge’s family and attorneys about the services they could provide for the diabetic. Nursing homes will make any promise necessary to gain residents. Families bring their loved ones to nursing homes because their conditions just become too fragile for these families to handle. This is why nursing homes exist – to take care of our loved ones when we no longer can.

The former judge’s family alleges that he didn’t get the diabetic meals or regular insulin shots he needed, which caused his health to quickly deteriorate. This is why it is important to maintain a primary care physician who is independent from the nursing home. It is also important to make sure the nursing home is communicating with the family and physician in a timely fashion about changes in the resident’s condition.

The suit charged that “Judge Phillips was confined against his will for approximately eight months by the defendants at their facility … denying [him] proper medical care.”

The nursing home’s executive director David Pomerantz declined to talk about the lawsuit. “On the advice of our attorney, I cannot comment,” he said. Phillips was in good shape when he arrived at the Prospect Park West facility, but quickly declined, friends said. “He was getting sicker and more miserable,” said O’Hara.

NJ and PA Nursing Home Negligence Attorneys

Is your loved one a victim of elder abuse or nursing home negligence in a nursing home or long term care facility? Donald Browne is an experienced Elder Abuse attorney at the Mininno Law Office. Donald has seen it all from the nursing home industry: avoidable bedsores, avoidable falls leading to fractures, medication errors, and physical and/or sexual assaults by staff members or other residents are amoung the most common.

Nursing homes make many promises, and lawyers like The Mininno Law Office’s Donald Browne hold them accountable when they put profits over people and do not follow through on these promises.
Please contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation, or simply call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Concussions in young athletes might be detectable by performing a simple test

Back in January, we wrote a blog on the Star-Ledger’s series on concussions in young athletes. We talked about how important our kids are to us and how much we want to see them succeed. Above all, we want to make sure our children are safe wherever they are.

The Star-Ledger series on concussions in young athletes covered the impact and dangers of head injuries, and what’s being done to protect our kids. If you haven’t read it yet and have kids who play sports, I highly recommend you to take a look. Meanwhile, a new report has been released that I’d like to tell you about.

What’s new with concussions in young athletes?

Research has just come out that shows a cheap, simple test may be able to detect a concussion in a young athlete. The idea for the study is based on reaction time: After a head injury, reaction time is usually slower. When it’s serious, reaction time can be slow for several days afterward. Until now, tests of reaction time have been computerized, which is usually not an option for a game situation. Dr. James T. Eckner of the University of Michigan and some of his associates have developed a simple test that evaluates reaction time.

What’s the test that can detect concussions in young athletes?

The test takes a rigid cylinder and attaches it to a weighted disk. The device is released and the player has to use reflexes to make the catch as quickly as he or she can. The test is still in experimental phases and will be presented in April.

Do you have questions? We can help

Although some head injuries are more serious than others, there is no such thing as a “little head injury.” The effects of even a small head injury can be severe, such as memory loss or depression. In some cases, head injuries can even lead to a wrongful death. New Jersey lawyers can answer your questions about personal injury and a number of other topics. At the Mininno Law Office, we have experienced NJ trial attorneys who have dealt with these cases all too often. We’d be happy to answer any questions you have or offer any help you need. Call (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey or (215) 567-2380 in Pennsylvania.

Series on concussions in kids in Star-Ledger teaches us all a very important lesson

All parents are their kids’ biggest fans. We watch, cheer and root for their teams. We worry about them getting hurt, but rarely do we even consider that they could suffer a long-term injury. Until now. With all the recent media attention, it is now beyond dispute: A kid’s concussion can be a lifelong injury.

Athletes are at a high risk simply because of the competitive, physical nature of the sports they play. It’s the reason many athletes have short careers and an unfortunate cause of brain problems later in life.

With concussions in kids, the danger is even bigger. A child’s brain is more fragile than an adult’s, and in the current day and age, youngsters are more competitive and daring. The stakes are higher.
In a three-day series by the New Jersey Star-Ledger, staff writers raised the issue of concussions in kids. The series took a thorough look at a serious problem. Here’s a breakdown.

Kids and Concussions: Part One

In the first part of the series, Mr. Matthew Stanmyre and Ms. Jackie Friedman of the New Jersey Star-Ledger tackled the impact of head injuries on young athletes, what’s being done to protect them and what else can be done to protect them.
Fact: More than 400,000 concussions occurred in high schools nationwide during the 2008-09 academic year.

Why does this happen? Some reasons might be coaches lacking medical experience, athletes playing through pain and parents rushing their children back onto the field too soon after an injury. If your child were injured, how soon would you bring him or her back into play?

Kids and Concussions: Part Two

In the second part, Mr. Stanmyre and Ms. Friedman looked at the dangers of competitive cheerleading. Do you think cheerleading is safe? Think again. It may seem like the safest kind of physical competition, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe.
Cheerleaders undergo a tremendous amount of training to be able to lift each other in the air and land safely, but accidents can happen.

Kids and Concussions: Part Three

In the third article, we learn the answer to the most important question: What is being done to protect our children, especially at the local level? The answer is that doctors and trainers are working endlessly on just that. The article points to a Rutgers S.A.F.E.T.Y. course that gives coaches basic teaching and safety knowledge.
In high schools, a neuropsychological exam called “ImPACT Testing” is given to athletes after a head injury.

Do you have questions? We can help

New Jersey lawyers can answer your questions about personal injuries and a number of other topics. At the Mininno Law Office, we have experienced NJ trial attorneys who have dealt with these cases all too often.
We’d be happy to answer any questions you have or offer any help you need. Call (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey or (215) 567-2380 in Pennsylvania.

The link between burnout and surgical errors should be taken seriously

We have all heard the term, “burnout.” It means exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration. It applies to teachers, pilots, coaches, lawyers and doctors.
When it comes to surgeons, burnout is a clear cause of surgical errors and mistakes. That shouldn’t surprise anyone.

A recent study acknowledges what we already know: As a group, surgeons work as hard as any other profession. What’s worse, the hours are often worked under very stressful situations. It’s natural for any human being to be tired from working grueling hours in stressful situations.
Therefore, it’s important for anyone working in those conditions to get the proper rest so they can perform at the highest level they possibly can.

We know burnout and surgical errors are linked, so what’s new?

Since 1885, the Annals of Surgery journal has been doing monthly reviews of medical issues like burnout and surgical errors. The objective of a surgery on burnout and surgical errors conducted by the Annals of Surgery was simple: figure out how burnout and surgical errors are linked.
Sounds pretty simple, right? There were 7,905 participating surgeons in the study to make sure there was a big enough sample size.

Here are the results on burnout and surgical errors: Nearly 9 percent of the survey’s participants said they had made a serious medical mistake during the previous three months. That’s 700 surgeons, and that’s scary.
More than 70 percent of surgeons attributed their mistake to something they personally did wrong or failed to do correctly. In other words, these surgeons took the blame for their own mistakes.

What did we learn about burnout and surgical errors?

If a surgeon is “burned out,” how more likely is it that he or she will make an error? Since the problem is known to exist, the next step is to find a solution.
What is the best way to reduce surgeon distress? Unfortunately, if a patient needs care, cutting back hours may not be the answer, but all options should be considered.

With that said, we’d like to hear from you. How do you think “burnout” should be reduced?

Do you have questions or answers about burnout and surgical errors?

Add a comment to our blog. New Jersey lawyers can answer your questions about surgical errors and complications.
At the Mininno Law Office, we have experienced NJ trial attorneys who have dealt with these cases all too often. We’d be happy to answer any questions you have or offer any help you need. Call (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey or (215) 567-2380 in Pennsylvania.

Spend time with loved ones and savor the time you have with them

Happy Holidays!

As we spend time with loved ones, we look back on the past year and look ahead to the next. This past year has been challenging, there’s no doubt about it. The struggling economy and nationwide recession brought us job losses and companies going out of business. It seems that things got harder for many people.

Looking back

While we spend time with loved ones, we think about families who have been through hard times. For families who have lost loved ones or who have faced their own illness, disability or injury because of medical negligence, 2009 has been a very difficult year. We have heard from hundreds of people this year who have suffered some kind of injury, illness or death from medical malpractice or nursing home neglect.
To those families, we again extend our sympathies. I am sure many in our community are glad to see the year end. Many people are looking forward to a new year and an opportunity to start over.

Moving forward

As we spend time with loved ones, we realize how much we still have. Despite everything we’ve been through, it’s important not to lose hope. No matter what we’ve been through in 2009, we can still look to 2010 to bring us happiness, prosperity and success.

Spend time with loved ones

The people we love the most never really leave us. They’re always in our hearts. But whether it’s your parents, your children, your brothers and sisters, or your best friends, take the time to tell people how much you care. Life is too short. It is in this time of giving and holiday cheer that we send this message to you. We hope you can share the holidays with someone special. If you have questions, we can help.

No matter what you’re going through, there are resources and people out there who can help you get through it. I can be one source of guidance. If you’re dealing with a wrongful death or a personal injury case, I know how hard it can be.

At the Mininno Law Office, our number one priority is our clients. Our New Jersey lawyers would be happy to answer any questions you have or offer any help they can give you. Call (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey or (215) 567-2380 in Pennsylvania.

How to find the best medical care for you and your loved ones

Best medical care: How can you find it?

Finding the best medical care is not easy. Why? Because how do you ever know whether you are or are not getting the “best.” Is “best” the most likeable, the most experienced, the best trained? How can you even begin to find the “best” medical care. As a trial lawyer, I have had the experience of seeing and learning about “poor” medical care from the people who call me every day with a potential medical malpractice case.
Usually, I only learn about what “great” medical care should be after I retain a well qualified expert to evaluate a potential medical malpractice case.

But, now there is a great resource that I want to share with you, a book on the best medical care is one great resource. It’s called “The Life You Save: Nine Steps to Finding the Best Medical Care and Avoiding the Worst.”Written by Patrick Malone, this book should be one of the primary resources to help you find the “best” medical care.
This book, written by one of the country’s great trial lawyer is one first reference books of its kind. In 296 pages, Malone answers the basic questions: what, when, where, why, and how. What questions should you ask your doctor? When do you have symptoms that need immediate attention? Where can you find the most experienced surgeons and safest hospitals? Malone answers all of these questions and more. Find out more about the book or purchase it by clicking here.

Another great guide is here. The site’s patient section covers all of the ways you can use the Internet to get the help you need. The guide covers search engines, online doctors, chat sessions, newsgroups, mailing lists and more.

If I don’t find the best medical care, what could happen?

That’s simple. You could become the victim of medical malpractice. The quality of medical care increases with the quality of the doctor or hospital giving that care. The risk of a bad outcome increases with the degree of inexperience of a doctor. So, the consequences of not having the most experienced doctor or the highest quality attention can be very severe.
A surgical error, for example, could lead to personal injury or death. There’s nothing more important than your health and the health of your loved ones, so getting the help you need isn’t an option. It’s a necessity.

What if I’ve been a victim of medical malpractice?

Talk to a medical malpractice attorney. At the Mininno Law Office, we have experienced New Jersey lawyers who have dealt with these cases all too often. We’d be happy to answer any questions you have or offer any help you need. Call (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey or (215) 567-2380 in Pennsylvania.

Medical malpractice data should be easily accessible for public viewing

Did you know that medical malpractice data about your local hospitals and doctors is being hidden from you? We’re not talking about a few little facts. We’re talking about 20 years worth of medical malpractice data, including 460,000 records of medical malpractice lawsuits.
This is data that the public SHOULD have access to but doesn’t. It doesn’t sound fair, does it? You’re right of course — it’s not fair.

Why is medical malpractice data being hidden from the public?

It may sound obvious to you, but medical malpractice data is being hidden because there are some people who don’t want you to see it. The American Medical Association is probably the biggest culprit here. Reported by Tulsa World, the AMA is telling us that the information in the database is inaccurate and unreliable. Do you believe that?

Let’s go back to the question at hand. This medical malpractice data contains information about doctors’ mistakes. Now can you see why an organization like the AMA would not want this information to get out? This data could hurt doctors’ reputation because if people found out that their particular doctors frequently made mistakes, they might just switch doctors.

Why is it important to publish medical malpractice data?

Medical malpractice data is incredibly important for any patient. If you knew which doctors have made mistakes and which haven’t, you would have an easier time picking a doctor for an operation, treatment or whatever your need may be.

Also, this data would help other doctors explain the risks and benefits of medical treatment. A doctor and a patient could each do their own research and make better, more informed decisions.

Finally, if a doctor knows that his or her mistakes will be on a public record, perhaps that doctor will be just a little more careful with a patient. We have all seen examples of how public scrutiny changes behavior and acts as a check and balance system on irresponsible conduct.

More than anything else, don’t you have the right to know? We pay for medical treatment. We are the customers. You deserve proper medical attention and care, and if your physician’s mistakes are being hidden, you do not have all of the information needed to make important medical decisions.
The best way to get information is to just ask questions. Ask your doctor, ask your friends. Do some research. Sooner or later, you’ll find what you’re looking for. If for some reason you can’t get the information you want on your doctor, it may be time to look for a new doctor. You should always know the quality of care you can expect to receive.

What if I’m not getting my questions answered?

Talk to a medical malpractice attorney. At the Mininno Law Office, we have experienced New Jersey lawyers who have dealt with these cases all too often. We’d be happy to answer any questions you have or offer any help you need.
Call (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey or (215) 567-2380 in Pennsylvania.