Nursing Home Abuse and the State Ombudsman

nursing home abuse and beglect ombudsman in new jerseyBy definition, an ombudsman is a government official who hears and investigates complaints by private citizens against other officials or government agencies.

In the state of NJ, an ombudsman works on behalf of the elderly in nursing homes and long term care facilities through the The Office of the Ombudsman for the Institutionalized Elderly.
This office accepts reports and complaints of nursing home abuse, negligence, inadequacy, theft, fraud, and other issues concerning the care residents receive in nursing homes and long term care facilities. The office invesitigates these reports of abuse and neglect from a neutral, third party stand-point, and takes the proper steps in the event that abuse is taking place.

I am a Victim of Nursing Home Abuse, What Should I Do?

If you or someone you know have been abused or neglected in a nursing home, the first thing you should do is contact the Elder Ombudsman’s Office. They will document the complaint, and take further steps to investigate it. Your next step is to contact a nursing home abuse attorney.

The NJ and PA nursing home abuse attorneys at the Mininno Law Office are dedicated to eradicating the disturbing trends of abuse and neglect in our nations nursing homes and long term care facilities.
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, and (215) 567-2380 in Philadephia.

New Jersey Office of the Ombudsman for the Institutionalized Elderly
To file a complaint:
Call 24-Hour Toll Free Hotline: 1-877-582-6995
Email: ombudsman@advocate.state.nj.us
Write: The Office of the Ombudsman
P.O. Box 852
Trenton, NJ 08625-0852
Fax: 609-943-3479

Pennsylvania Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman
Pennsylvania Department of Aging
555 Walnut Street, 5th floor
Harrisburg, Pa. 17101-1919
(717) 783-8975

Tort Reform: How Does it Affect You?

You may have heard or read the term “tort reform” recently, regarding litigation and verdicts awarded to victims of nursing home abuse, medical malpractice and negligence, or defective products.
If you were unclear as to what it meant, read on.

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What is Tort Reform?

Tort reform is an effort to take away the average consumer’s rights to fair compensation for substantial losses brought on by negligent manufacturers, doctors, nurses, or caregivers. Tort reform allows big businesses and other power players to get away with negligence, fraud, or other acts of harm.
These corporations, insurance companies, and their political counterparts promote an aggressive campaign of propaganda, boasting the economic benefits of tort reform, so that companies will not have to rightly compensate the people they injure. It pushes for caps on recoveries that judges and juries can award in litigation.

Who is in Favor of Tort Reform?

Tort reform advocates are a coalition of insurance companies, HMO groups, pharmaceutical companies, big businesses, and other interests who want to protect companies from liability when they harm their own consumers.

Who is NOT in Favor of Tort Reform?

Civil rights advocates, consumer advocate groups, plaintiffs attorneys, labor groups, state prosecutors, legal scholars, and more. Some of these entities include The Public Citizen, The Committee for Justice for All, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), The Center for Justice and Democracy, and The American Association for Justice.

Who is Harmed by Tort Reform?

Consumers are the victims of tort reform. Tort reform takes away your right to a fair case, in which an impartial judge or jury looks at the facts of your case to determine liability, if you are eligible for compensation, and what that compensation should be.
We trust juries every day to determine if people are guilty of capital crimes and other serious offenses, but tort reformists claim that we shouldn’t we be able to count on them to determine fair compensation for someone whose life has been negatively affected by the negligence of another.

Particularly in the case of medical malpractice, doctors are made to appear the victims of the tort system. However, most of the damages paid to those harmed by medical malpractice comes from the deep pockets of the insurance industry.
When tort reform measures are passed and the insurance companies are shielded from paying for the mistakes of their insured, they do not pass those savings down to doctors who are charged outrageous premiums to obtain medical malpractice insurance. Our doctors are simply being used as pawns in an effort by insurance companies to pay out less in damages, and raise premiums anyway.

NJ and PA Attorneys at the Mininno Law Office

The Attorneys at the Mininno Law Office are dedicated to protecting the rights of consumers. If you have been affected by the negligence of a manufacturer, a doctor, a nurse, or a caregiver at a nursing home, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation.
We are here to work for you, and earn you the compensation that you DESERVE!

You may also call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Nursing Home Negligence Earns Stepdaughter Large Verdict

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Nursing Home Abuse claimed the life of a 93 year old man, after a horrid accident involving a bed lift.
In 2005, John Donahue was a patient at the Embassy House nursing home, owned by Kindred Nursing Care, in Brockton, Massachusetts. It was there that a negligent nursing home staff member caused an accident that would claim Donahue’s life. The caregiver was using a machine called a Hoyer Lift to lift Donahue from his bed. The machine was to be operated by two people, but this caregiver acted alone. A metal safety hook attached to the lift gouged Donahue’s left eye. The eye was removed, but Donahue died 46 days later, at 93 years of age. His official cause of death was sepsis, which occurs when the immune system overreacts to an infection.

Donahue’s stepdaughter, Marlene Owens, has been fighting for years to hold Embassy House and Kindred Nursing Care accountable for her stepfather’s death. Two weeks ago, a jury awarded Owens $400,000 , agreeing that Donahue’s death was caused by nursing home abuse and negligence at the Embassy House nursing home.
Owens was lucky to have recovered any monies at all, as Donahue signed an arbitration agreement two years prior to his death saying that he could not sue the facility should he die or be injured while a resident. A Massachusetts judge invalidated this arbitration agreement, which allowed litigation to proceed.

Kindred owns over 40 nursing homes in the state of Massachusetts. Embassy House is no longer one of them.

The Mininno Law Office and Nursing Home Abuse

If you or a loved one have suffered due to nursing home negligence or abuse, you’ll need a NJ or PA nursing home abuse attorney to help fight for your rights. Contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation.
You can also call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Our nursing home abuse attorneys will work hard to get you the compensation you deserve.

Enormous Nursing Home Abuse Verdict in California; Will the Long Term Care Industry Finally See Reform?

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Nursing home abuse and negligence are claiming the lives of the ill and elderly all over the country. Changes must be made to hault the disturbing trends of indifference towards our elderly loved ones.
A San Francisco, CA jury slammed the Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. last month with a $677 million dollar verdict for a routine failure to keep any of its nursing homes or long term care facilities properly staffed.
Cindy Cools, in an interview with The Associated Press, told of her experiences with Eureka Healthcare and Rehabilitation, the facility, owned by Skilled Healthcare Group Inc., that “cared” for her father before his death in 2006. She would often visit her father, who suffered from Alzheimer’s, and find him in urine-soaked clothing. She also reported that it would take staff members upwards of 20 minutes to respond to a distress call. “A lot of times I walked out of there crying because of the things I saw,” she said.

The nursing home abuse lawsuit brought against the group claimed that the company failed to maintain a California State required 3.2 hours of nursing per patient, per day.
Pat Mcginnis, executive director and founder of the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, said in the article published by the AP that that time should have been easy to maintain, considering that the federal recommendation is 4.1 hours per patient, per day. The $677 million verdict is currently thought to be the largest of it’s kind in the country, and suprised even plaintiff’s attorneys. Of course, tort reformers are already pointing the case out as litigation abuse.

Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. is a publicly traded company, and it’s thought by some that their care became sub-par when Wall Street Investment Firms started buying up nursing home companies and cutting their staff numbers to spike stock prices.
This is just further proof that long term care facilities being run by money hungry mongrels are not serving the purposes of caring for the ill and elderly, but rather putting luxury SUV’s into winding drive-ways, and in-ground swimming pools into oversized backyards.

Since the verdict, stock prices have fallen due to fear of the group’s seemingly imminent bankruptcy. It is likely that the verdict will be reduced during settlement negotiations, but hopefully the verdict will serve as a wake-up call to other companies running long term care facilities without regard to the care they are providing.

Mininno Law Office and Nursing Home Abuse

If you or a loved one have suffered due to inadequate, negligent, or abusive care at a nursing home or long term care facility, contact the Mininno Law Office. We are here to get you the compensation that you deserve.
We offer free case evaluations, or free consultations by phone at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Medical Malpractice Tragically Takes the Life of a 7 Month Old

new jersey philadelphia medical malpractice negligence attorneys tressel meinardi cincinatti children hospitalSeven month old Tressel was the only child to Scott and Emilie Meinardi. The baby had been living with heart issues since birth, and was to undergo a procedure at the Cincinatti Children’s Hospital that would correct one of the issues. During the procedure, however, a technician made a heart breaking mistake. Instead of flushing the infant’s system with saline solution, the medical staff member used alcohol. Obviously, sending alcohol through a tiny baby’s body had dire consequences. Tressel died that day.

This medical malpractice is not un-like an error that occured in a hospital not too long ago, when a baby was accidently given morphine. Errors like these are absolutely preventable, and staff members need to stop and look at what could be causing these tragedies. Simply confusing alcohol for saline has cost an infant their life, and parents their only child.

Medical Malpractice and the Mininno Law Office

It’s hard to imagine the kind of pain that Tressel’s family must now be dealing with. Medical Malpractice takes the lives of many patients, and something must be done to help prevent it. Doctors and hospitals must suffer consequences for the avoidable mistakes that are made.

If you have suffered loss due to medical malpractice, or are a victim of medical malpractice yourself, contact the Mininno Law Office. We offer a free case evaluation.
We also offer a free consultation if you call (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

While we help you get the compensation you deserve, you can help motivate doctors and hospital adminstrators to work harder to prevent mistakes like these.

New Legislation Will Finally Hold Foreign Manufacturers Accountable

new jersey philadelphia defective products attorneys liability taishan gypsum foreign manufacturersThere are currently no laws in place protecting the rights of consumers agaisnt foreign manufacturers. Foreign companies are free to manufacture defective and dangerous products, sell them in America, and suffer no consequences for their actions. But the House Energy and Commerce Committee has recently approved legislation that will finally allow the U.S. to hold foreign manufacturers accountable.
The legislation, called the Foreign Manufacturers Accountability Act, will require that foreign companies have “agents” in at least one state in the U.S. in which the company does business that will accept service of process for civil or regulatory claims. That agent will serve as a sort of liason between foreign corporations and U.S. regulators.

The approval of this legislation is a huge step for product safety in America. As of now, companies like Taishan Gypsum, a Chinese manufacturer of drywall, could produce defective products, sell them in bulk in America, and turn around and never look back. Taishan Gypsum was recently sued by homeowners from the southern United States for drywall that was emitting sulfuric acid. The emissions caused such damage that affected homes had to be demolished and re-erected.
The health implications have not even been addressed yet. Unfortunately, the ruling made against Taishan Gypsum, in the amount of 2.6 million dollars, doesn’t even matter. They are not legally bound to pay that money, nor were they legally responsible to even respond to the suit. Taishan Gypsum was 100% absent during proceedings.

NJ and PA Defective Product Attorneys at the Mininno Law Office

The approval of this legislation will make it much easier to hold foreign manufactures liable for their defective products, and will make consumers affected by defective, foreign products able to receive their due compensation.

If you or a loved one have been negatively affected by a defective product, regardless of where it was made, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free consultation. Our New Jersey and Philadelphia Defective Product Attorneys will work to get you the compensation you deserve.
You can also call at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Wrongful Death Suit Gets BP in Trouble Again

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Julius Provost died at 6 months old for 'undetermined' causes. His mother Sharon believes the cause was the benzene emissions for the BP refinery a mile away from their home.
In the wake of the biggest oil-spill our nation has ever seen, and the most devestating environmental catastrophe most of us will see in a lifetime, BP, who hoped to be out of the spotlight once wells were capped, finds themselves in hot water yet again. BP’s Texas city oil refinery is guilty of a 40 day release of Benzene in April and May that has allegedly claimed the life of 6 month old Julius Provost.
His mother, Sharon, is suing BP for Wrongful Death, explaining that that in his short life, Julius suffered. Doctors couldn’t explain or cure his ongoing symptoms; nausea, runny nose, mucus in his eyes, and difficulty breathing.

Sharon’s lawsuit is just one in a string of lawsuits resulting from the Benzene release. The suits call for BP to pay $10 million in punitive damages. Sharon’s wrongful death suit claims that the case demonstrates “the human suffering caused when the drive for corporate profits is more valued than the safety and lives of people.”

Just last week, BP agreed to pay a $50 million fine for not correcting safety hazards at the Texes refinery that caused in explosion in 2005 which took the lived of 15 workers. They are contesting another $30 million in additional penalties.

Mininno Law Office Wrongful Death Attorneys in NJ and PA

Sharon lost the joy of being a mother, and Julius lost his life, due to BP’s alleged negligence and indifference towards citizens surrounding their plant. If you are suffering the loss of a loved one, and you believe their death could have been avoided, contact the Mininno Law Office.

Our NJ and PA Wrongful Death Attorneys are here to help you through this difficult time, and to recover any necessary damages. Let us get you the compensation you deserve. 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 in St. Paul, Minnesota Sends Man onto Operating Room Floor

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Max DeVries died after complications arose from a fall off of the operating table during a routine procedure in a Minnesota hospital.
Max DeVries, 61, had a stroke and was admittied to St. Joseph’s Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. Days later he was scheduled for a lumbar drain replacement. While under anesthesia, Max rolled off of the operating table, hitting his head on an area where doctors had previously removed part of his skull to relieve inflammation of his brain.
The fall resulted in severe bleeding on the brain. Mr. DeVries was taken to have a CT scan of the brain, and died on April 13th of a massive stroke. DeVries’ family believes that his death was caused by the fall in the operating room. When hospital staff alerted DeVries family of the accident, they said that the restraints used to hold him in were not strong enough to hold an obese man. Max DeVries was 5’5 and weighed around 300lbs.

The DeVries family and their medical malpractice attorney assert that St. Joseph’s Hospital was not equipped or properly prepared to safely handle someone of Max’s size. Their medical malpractice lawsuit also states that Max DeVries’ weight and stature were not uncommon among stroke victims.

St. Joseph’s released a statement explaining that they take very seriousley what happened in that operating room, and express their sincerest condolences to the family. They go on to speak of their immaculate record concerning patient safety, and their practices to constantly implement new ways to improve patient safety.

Medical Malpractice in NJ or PA: Mininno Law Office

In the end, St. Joseph’s Hospital failed Mr. DeVries. He went into the OR for a routine procedure and lost his life due to severe negligence. Failing restraints and an unsuitably sized bed should never be the reason someone dies inside a hospital. Max DeVries and his family trusted that establishment to improve his health and send him home.
This type of medical malpractice and negligence can not go unnoticed. Hospitals are meant to care for us to the best of their abilities. It seems that while the doctors at St. Joseph’s are very able, the establishment itself was ill-equipped.

If you or a loved one have suffered due to medical malpractice or medical negligence, do not be silent. Seek out the help of a Medical Malpractice attorney immediately. Waiting can only hurt you, as your statue of limitations is running out. Contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation, or call us for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.
Let us help you get the compensation that you deserve.

Bedsores in NJ Nursing Homes are a Sign of Abuse and Neglect

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Bedsores are a sure sign of nursing home abuse and neglect in a long term care facility.
A Bedsore, also known as a pressure sore or pressure ulcer, is defined by the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel as a localized injury to the skin and/or underlying tissue, usually over a bony prominence, as a result of pressure, or pressure in combination with shear and/or friction.
In laymen’s terms, it’s a wound that forms when someone spends too much time in a bed without moving or changing position.

Bedsores or Pressure Sores are often located on bony prominences because these places suffer the most from oxygen deprivation due to lack of blood flow. Think of when your leg falls asleep after you’ve been sitting on it for a while. You move your leg to allow the blood to return to it.
But a bedridden patient that is unable to move themselves must be cared for meticulously, being moved and turned every two hours, to keep areas like the lower back, heels, and elbows, from becoming oxygen deprived.

Bedsores are a sure sign of nursing home abuse and negligence. Residents that are bedridden are automatically high risk bedsore patients. Care plans must be developed that include the routine 2 hour repositioning of these high risk, bedridden patients.

The National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel: Four Stages of Bedsores.

– Stage I: Redness in a localized area, usually over a bony prominence. The area may be painful, and either firmer or softer, or warmer or cooler than the surrounding tissue.

– Stage II: A shallow, open ulcer that can be red or pink. This stage may also present itself as serum-filled blister.

– Stage III: Advanced tissue loss. Fat may be visible but bone, tendon or muscle are not exposed.

– Stage IV: Full thickness tissue loss with exposed bone, tendon or muscle.

Bedsores & Nursing Home Abuse in NJ or PA: Mininno Law Office

Bedsores are prone to infection can prove fatal for some patients. They can cause unwanted and unneccesary complications to a patients’ health, and are completely avoidable.
The New Jersey nursing abuse attorneys at the Mininno Law Office are here to get you the compensation you deserve.

If you or a loved one have suffered to the acquisition of a bedsore during a stay at a hospital or long term care facility, you’ll need to assistance of a nursing home abuse attorney. Contact the Mininno Law Officefor a free case evaluation or call at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Products Liability at McDonald’s

products liability defective products new jersey philadelphia attorneyWe’ve all heard about Liebeck v. McDonald’s, more commonly known as the “McDonald’s Coffee Case” of 1994. It was a products liability case that became, as ABC News called it, the “poster child of excessive lawsuits.” It’s easy, without knowing the facts of the case, to scoff at someone who would sue for being burnt by hot coffee.
Coffee is coffee, it’s supposed to be hot! But, is it supposed to be hot enough to cause third degree burns?

Stella Liebeck was 79 when she was in the passenger seat of her Ford Probe, as her grandson drove her through the drive thru of a Mcdonald’s Fast Food Restaurant in New Mexico. He pulled the car over so that Stella could add cream and sugar to her coffee. Stella put the cup between her knees and lifted the lid slightly. At that point, she spilled the entire cup of coffee on her lap. Her cotton sweatpants absorbed the coffee, holding it to her skin for over a minute and a half.
The coffee scalded her thighs, buttocks, and groin. At the hospital, it was determined that she had sustained third degree burns on 6% of her skin, and lesser burns on 16% of her skin. She remained in the hospital for 8 days and underwent skin grafting. In that time she lost 20% of her body weight, reducing her weight to 83 pounds, and causing an additional 2 years of treatment.

Liebeck sought to settle for $20,000 to cover her medical bills, which amounted to $11,000. McDonald’s offered $800. After McDonald’s refused her offer, Liebeck retained attorney Morgan Reed, who brought a case against McDonald’s, accusing them of “gross negligence” in making a product that was “unreasonably dangerous” and “defectively manufactured.”
Reed made a settlement offer of $90,000, which McDonald’s rejected. He made another offer of $300,000, followed by a mediator suggested offer of $225,000. McDonald’s rejected both of them, and the case went to trial.

In trial, Reed exposed that McDonald’s was serving coffee at temperatures of 180-190 degrees Farenheight. At this temperature, the coffee could cause third degree burns in 2-7 seconds. Reed also revealed during litigation that between 1982 and 1992, McDonald’s received over 700 reports of people being burned by coffee, and had settled claims for scalding injuries for over $500,000.
In the end, Liebeck was awarded just under $600,000 in punitive and compensatory damages.

Tort Reformists call this a “frivolous” lawsuit, and claim that it’s cases like this that are stressing the economy. But a case like this is far from frivolous. McDonald’s was serving coffee that had the potential to truly harm their customers. As we can see, it did. No labeled warning can replace a manufacturer’s responsibility to keep consumer safety a number one priority.

Product Liability Attorneys at the Mininno Law Office

Nowadays, we see more and more fault in our system regarding foreign manufacturers and their seeming exemption from U.S. regulations on product liability. But even native manufacturers are producing products that are defective and unsafe. Defective products are dangerous, and potentially harmful or fatal.

If you have been injured by a defective product, you may be entitle to compensation. Contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation, or call us for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.