Category: blog

ATV Safety Tips that may Save Your Life

These days ATVs have become very popular especially among young teens and young adults. Unfortunately, if you do not know how to properly operate one or drive one, injuries can and will happen. Many people get injured in ATV accidents every day. It is important to have the proper training and know how to drive an ATV before using it to help you and your loved ones avoid serious injuries or accidents.

Here are some safety tips for riding and driving ATVs from U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

  • Wear a helmet and protective gear and clothing
  • Do not ride tandem (or two on one ATV)
  • Do not ride on the payment
  • Do not let children ride on adult ATVs
  • Do not drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs

Many injuries caused on ATVs are head injuries. Wearing a helmet that is certified by the U.S. Department of Transportation may help prevent serious head or other injuries. Wearing protective gear and clothing will help protect against burns or abrasions to the skin.  Most ATVs were only made for one rider. Having more than one rider causes the weight to be off balance which makes it harder to control an ATV. It is best to ride with no passengers for overall safety. Other injuries and even deaths have occurred when riders drive ATVs on paved roads, they were not designed for this kind of pavement and they can collide with other vehicles easily.  Children have been involved in many deaths and injuries when riding on adult ATVs and more likely to get injured on an adult ATV if they are less than sixteen years of age, than on an ATV made for youth.  As with driving any vehicle or operating machinery, ATVs should not be driven while under the influence of alcohol or drugs because timing and judgment can be impaired causing more injuries and accidents.

For these reasons and for the safety of yourself, your loved ones and other drivers, it is important to follow these ATV safety tips. They really just might save your life.

If you or a loved one has been injured in ATV accident and would like your rights heard for your medical needs and other expenses, please contact a personal injury attorney right away. They will help you advocate for the rights of you and your loved one.

For additional information on ATV safety, you may visit: this link.

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

September 11, 2001 Friend Remembered

Today is September 11, 2009. The United States will never forget this day.  In West Chester, Pennsylvania, not far from where I went to College at West Chester University, there will be a special gathering.   For the second straight year, people will gather to honor Mike Horrocks, a friend, Marine, United Airlines colleague and football teammate.  Mike was a person of principle and integrity whose life ended too soon on September 11, 2001.  Many of us from West Chester remember Mike as a tremendous athlete, competitor and leader from his playing days at West Chester from 1981 to 1984 when he was our quarterback.  Mike’s leadership and sheer determination was the catalyst leading to one of the biggest upsets wins in West Chester football history – the 1983 upset over the heavily favored Delaware Blue Hens in Mike’s first career start.Each year thousands of students, athletes and faculty attend various events at West Chester University.  However there is presently an absence of anything tangible at West Chester to connect those people with Mike’s story and its tragic ending on 9/11/2001.  Sadly, with the passing of time, it will only be a few short years until Mike’s name and the legacy of those he represents is completely forgotten at West Chester.

To ensure that Mike’s name and legacy are never forgotten at West Chester University, we have conducted fundraise the last two 9/11 anniversaries.   We plan to construct a permanent memorial and establish a perpetual scholarship in Mike’s honor at West Chester University.

This memorial and scholarship will serve many purposes – but two come quickly to mind:

1) To the thousands who will attend events at West Chester in the coming years and decades to come, it will serve as an important reminder of the senseless loss of Mike and nearly 3,000 others who tragically died on 9/11/2001; and

2) For those of us who knew Mike as a teammate, friend, Marine and colleague, it will be a place for us and our families to come and remember him and the short time we spent with him in our lives.

We have had tremendous suppport for this memorial.  But, we are still short of our fundraising goal.

All generous donations will make certain we “Never Forget.”  Information regarding donations is available at tonight’s donation tables.  Make Donation checks Payable to “Mike Horrocks Scholarship Endowment” and return to the donation table or mail to:

 West Chester University Athletics

Sturzebecker, HSC

West Chester, PA 19383

Credit card donations may also be made by calling 610 436-2557.  Donations may be made in a single installment or in equal monthly installments charged to credit card. 

 

Donations will be received by a 501(c)3 organization and earmarked for a special fund in honor of Mike Horrocks and will be tax deductible.

For additional Information call 610-436-2557.

For additional information on Mike Horrocks and the statue, you may visit:

This link.

No Such thing as a "nice bike ride in the park," with Dangerous Bike Chain

On Tuesday September 8th 2009, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and SRAM of Chicago, IL recalled defective bicycle chains and chain connectors because they can crack while in use and cause a fall hazard to the rider of the defective bicycle. One incident has been reported in the U.S. and three incidents outside of the U.S. with these Powerlock connector links, but no injuries have been reported. The recall is specifically on defective SRAM PowerLock connector links on 10 speed bicycle chains sold individually and on some bicycles as part of the original equipment.

If you may have one of these defective chains, play it safe and stop riding your bike and contact SRAM for a free replacement PowerLock connector link.

If you feel that you may have been injured or your rights have not been protected due to this defective consumer product, contact a defective product attorney right away. They can help you get your voice heard and make sure your rights as a consumer are protected.

For additional information concerning this product you may visit the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the SRAM website at: http://www. sram.com.

Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers Fight Scheme

Did you know that nursing home abuse can be lucrative? Insurance companies do! The economy is struggling. You and I, our families and friends, even big companies are struggling to stay alive in a toxic economic climate. The difference is, these insurance companies have corporate shareholders to keep at bay. Their answer? Cash in on nursing home residents’ insurance policies of course!

Nursing home abuse against scheme to make death profit

nursing home abuse attorneys new jersey philadelphia Fight Scheme
Greedy Scrooge McDuck in the 1983 Disney animated feature

Remember when Ebenezer Scrooge died and his house cleaner sold his stuff to cash in? Well, insurance companies and nursing homes are now scheming to do the same to residents. It involves encouraging patients in long term care and assisted institutions to sell their policies for a discounted cash amount. The patients get a pittance of a return – which they can spend at the home for “care.” In exchange, the nursing homes and the insurance carriers get the insurance policies from the patients. These policies are then packaged and sold to Wall Street as future bonds. When the patient dies, Wall Street or the care facilities gets the payout. Talk about a conflict of interest! The longer the patient lives, the greater the cost to the nursing home and the smaller the profit on the policy. Conversly, if the patient dies just after the purchase, the care center reaps the profits.

Nursing home abuse and the “profits over people”

We believe that these institutions should be in the business of caring for our elderly loved ones, not stealing from them. They should not be in the business of leveraging a patient’s health and life as a commodity to be traded on the market. Such practices are depraved. But, this nursing home business IS big business, and as is often the case, “profits over people” is business as usual. Every day, we read about how nursing home abuse and negligence take the place of adequate and compassionate care, only to make an easier and quicker profit. People and their medical care should come first. We understand this and are ready to help you.

Nursing home abuse lawyers in NJ and PA

If you feel that your rights are being violated or that a loved one has not received proper care or may be a victim of nursing home abuse, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation. The nursing home abuse lawyers at the Mininno Law Office will make sure that your loved ones’ voices are heard and their rights protected. You may also call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Make sure that care is put before profits and advocate for these rights. Let the Mininno Law Office team earn you the compensation you deserve.

Full NY Times article, Wall Street Pursues Profit in Bundles of Life Insurance

New Jersey’s Medicare Project

According to the Star Ledger as reported on August 18, 2009, there has been a difference in the amount of money that doctors receive when treating Medicare patients and what hospitals receive. Hospitals only receive a large amount of money, while doctors receive money based on the services they provide to Medicare patients. Some New Jersey hospitals have decided to try and change this by having doctors and hospitals share the profits received. They are hoping this will cut costs by cutting patient stays, lowering rates and improving discharge plans. They are hoping that by saving these costs, hospitals and doctors can work together to help improve medical care for Medicare patients due to sharing financial incentives. Medicare services are significantly more in New Jersey, then the payments that hospitals actually receive. There are currently twelve New Jersey Hospitals participating in this “Medicare Project.”

For additional information on this “Medicare Project” and hospitals involved you may go to:

This link.

Patients should not have to Choose

Health care reform and what rights will be given and which ones will be pushed aside has been the subject of much public debate for many months now. One of the most recent concerns is that the Obama Administration may push aside malpractice reform and rights in order to push for other health care reform that may be more favorable to more people. This does not seem right. People should not have to choose between one of their rights to make room for another.

They should have their voices heard and their rights protected no matter where they are or who they are. There are millions of people that suffer each day in nursing homes from malpractice, abuse, neglect, and much more. They deserve to have their voices heard and rights protected as much as anyone else. If we choose to take away one very necessary right to make room for another, what are we saying to those nursing home patients and their loved ones?
Is this country saying that it does in fact care more about profits than people? If so, then something must be done to change this and make more voices heard. This is America where the rights of the people are supposed to come first before profits.

If you feel that health care reform is pushing malpractice rights aside to make room for other rights and want to do something about it, take action and write a letter to Congress and make your voice heard. Tell them that patient care and rights should not take second place to other rights. Speak up for your loved ones suffering from nursing home abuse and neglect.

If your loved ones have suffered from nursing home abuse and neglect and you want their rights to be protected and heard, contact a nursing home lawyer right away and let them help you get your voice heard for your loved one.

For additional information about health care reform and malpractice reform and to take action, you may go to this site.

Is Your Computer Chair Really Safe?

Each day millions of people sit down on their computer chair to check their email, have conversations with people and even to do business. We also let our children sit at the computer to play computer games, learn or do homework. We all assume that our trusty computer chair in our home is safe; we never consider that to could possibly injury or harm us.  This assumption is wrong.  Each day, millions of products are recalled because they are unsafe and may cause injury. One of these recent product recalls was on the OfficeMax Office Chairs which was found to cause serious injuries to user because it was a fall hazard.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission the chairs were recalled on September 1, 2009 because the back and base were defective and could break during routine use causing a serious personal injury.  The OfficeMax Company has received thirty-six reports of these chairs bases or backs breaking while in use, resulting in fifteen reported personal injuries including lacerations, muscle strains, contusions, and concussions.

The specific office chairs being recalled are the OfficeMax Task Chairs with the model number OM182 and OM96614. The chairs are also charcoal in color and have plastic arms and a plastic and metal base.

If you have one of these office chairs, you should stop using it right away and go to an OfficeMax location for a full refund or a gift card.

If you have been injured or hurt by a defective product like this office chairs or know someone that may have been, you should contact a defective products lawyer right away. They can help you fight for your consumer product safety rights and be your advocate to make sure your rights are protected the way they should be.

For additional information regarding Consumer Safety Product Recalls you may go to the U.S. Product Safety Commission  located here: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prerelsep09.html  and for additional information concerning this specific product recall you may visit: www.officemax.com

Nursing Home Training Tips to Prevent Abuse

Every day millions of nursing home patients face abuse because many nursing home put profits over patients.  As a result, many nursing homes are understaffed and have overworked, underpaid and unqualified employees. In particular, many nursing home employees are not trained to properly care for and treat bed sores due to incontinence, poor nutrition, and immobility. Many goverment agencies and organizations, including the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, have studied and evaluated ways to better train employees at nursing homes and other assisted living facilities to help prevent bed sores and pressure ulcer, as well as many other types of nursing home abuse faced by millions of patients every day. Although, the first concern should be patient care, unfortunately money usually comes before the care of a patient.  Clearly, with proper training and care of nursing home employees, much of the abuse we see can easily be prevented.

For example, nursing home employees should be trained to properly asses patients  with immobility problems such as those in a wheelchair or those who are bed bound. The evaluation of these patients should include plans for:

·a special diet plan

·Being repositioned or turned at night to reduce or prevent bed sores.

·A daily exercise routine

·Regular skin and hygiene evaluations

Regular bathing and cleansing of bed bound or wheelchair bound individuals can also help reduce or prevent bed sores and other types of abuse. Problems should be noted and written down on a weekly or monthly report. If a nursing home patient develops a malnutrition problem the first step that needs to taken is an evaluation of the food they have been eating and careful evaluation after adding more calories and nutrients.

Many times, the employees want training, but can not afford to do so.  Clearly, nursing homes and assisted living facilities should provide training classes to nursing home caregivers at little or no cost so that they can learn the proper ways to reposition, transfer and help a bed bound or wheelchair bound patient to help prevent bed sores or pressure ulcers.

Below are simple and general guidelines and training tips that can help to prevent nursing home abuse for millions of patients every day. Patients and their care should be priority number one; if not, patients need to have nursing home lawyer, someone fighting for their rights to proper medical care and abuse prevention.

If you feel that you or your loved ones rights have not been respected or you have been a victim of nursing home abuse, please contact a nursing home abuse attorney right away and let a nursing home lawyer help you fight for your rights and your loved ones.

To read additional information about the guidelines provided by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research and the National Libary of Medicine, you may visit the following website:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=hstat2.chapter.4409

New Jersey Governor Signs bill concerning Patient Safety

 

When a Patient goes in to the hospital, they expect and deserve to receive the proper medical care and attention. Most patients believe they will be better when they leave the hospital than when they came in to the hospital. Unfortunately, there have been many times where a patient comes in with one illness or problem and leaves with a new and different illness because of medical malpractice.  For example, otherwise healthy patients have been known to leave hospitals with factures, punctures, transfusion reactions, drama from birth and even surgery done in the wrong place. This has caused many patients much more worry and pain than before they entered a hospital.

 New Jersey is now one  of the first States to take action on this problem  In fact the Governor of New Jersey signed a bill yesterday, August 31, 2009 that will require the Department of Health and Human Services to report safety measures for patients on a hospital by hospital basis. This bill will also help protect patients from being charged for a hospital’s medical error.  This bill means that each hospital and all their procedures will be checked and reported on annually and then additional safety indicators may be regulated by the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services. The Department of Heath and Senior Services will include the following patient safety indicators in their reports:

  • forgein body left during a procedure
  • post operative hip facture (a facture after surgery)
  • latrogenic pneumothorax
  • postoperative hemorrhage or hematoma
  •  postoperative deep vein thrombosis or pulmnary embolism
  • postoperative sepsis
  • postoperative wound hiscence
  •  accidental pucture or laceration
  • transfusion reaction
  • birth injuries
  • Obstetric trauma- vaginal delivery with instrument
  • Obstetric trauma- vaginal delivery without instrument
  • air embolism
  • surgery on the wrong side, wrong body part, or wrong person, or wrong surgery performed on a patient

This list consists of concerns and conditions that can happen to a patient if the hospital is not following safety regulations. Some of these are minor and some of them are very serious. Never the less, they are all very important are things that should “never” happen in a hospital. They are called the “never events” for this reason.

 The Commissioner may consider recommendations from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, as well as the Commissioner requesting studies from the Quality Improvement Advisory Committee on how to get public reports on patient infections, bed sores,  ulcers, or falls by patients while in hospital care. 

This bill signed by the Governor yesterday on August 31, 2009 is another step towards better patient rights and patient care. After all, when you enter a hospital as a patient you should know that you are getting the best care possible. If you are not, you should be able to fight for your right to better patient care and services.

If you feel that your rights have been violated under this new bill, contact a New Jersey Malpractice lawyer,  right away for help regarding your rights.

 For more information regarding this bill and your rights you may visit:

New Jersey State Legislature