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Nursing Home Neglect Brings Criminal Charges to Facility Owner and Employee

In a shocking and rare turn of events, nursing home abuse has put an assisted living facility caretaker in jail for 31 months following the death of a resident.

Nursing Home Neglect in a Washington State Facility

new jersey philadelphia elder abuse attorney nursing home neglect jean rudolph houghton lakeview
Jean Rudolph died in 2008 at age 87 due to infection caused by three stage 4 bedsores that went untreated.
Jean Rudolph, 87, was a resident at the Houghton Lakeview adult home in Kirkland, Washington. She suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease, as well as varied heart problems. She was virtually bedridden and had extreme difficulty verbalizing any complaints she may have had regarding pain or discomfort.

When Jean died, she weighed 68 lbs, and was being ravaged by infections caused by three untreated, stage 4 bedsores that had burrowed to her bones. A pressure ulcer on her hip revealed a hip joint jutting out of her body.
When her son was notified of the bedsores, after almost a month of severe neglect, he rushed his mother to the hospital where she died three weeks later.

Her caretaker, Effie Tutor, was sentenced to 31 months in jail for a felony count of first-degree criminal mistreatment. Nursing Home owner, Patricia Goodwill, plead guilty to second-degree criminal mistreatment. Prosecutor Page Ulrey has asked for a one year jail sentence.

Unbeknownst to Rudolph or her family, the Washington Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) had previously cited Houghton Lakeview with a number of serious health and safety violations. After Rudolph’s death, the facility was closed down. Investigators are looking into another nursing facility that Goodwill owns in Washington. The DSHS is currently reviewing her conviction to determine whether or not she should be stripped of her license to run the other facility.

Are You a Victim of Elder Abuse or Nursing Home Neglect?

Elder Abuse and Nursing Home Neglect are a serious epidemic in today’s long term care industry. It’s a good thing that law enforcement and juries are seeing these as criminal offenses, and forcing punishments upon offenders.
If you or a loved one have suffered in any way due to elder abuse and/or nursing home neglect in a nursing home or long term care facility, 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.

Let the Mininno Law Office team earn you the compensation you deserve.

DePuy Hip Implants Release Toxic Metallic Debris Into Bloodstream

Recently, there has been a lot of news surrounding the recall of the DePuy Orthopaedics defective hip implant system. The product recall occurred after a medical study in Great Britain revealed that this hip implant had up to a 13% failure rate within the first five years of surgery.
And, as if early hip replacement failure and the necessity of additonal surgery wasn’t bad enough, the wear and tear from these defective hip implants is resulting in the flow of metallic debris throughout the bloodstream.

What are these metals?

depuy hip implant recall new jersey mininno law officeChromium and Cobalt. These metals are not found in your local vitamin store: Chromium is a chemical element found on the periodic table under atomic number 24. It is used to make stainless steel and all of the shiny parts called “chrome” on automobiles.
While it may look pretty on a “tricked out” automobile, when it circulates in the bloodstream, it has been associated with numerous health problems.

depuy hip implant recall nj and pa attorneys mininno law officeSimilarly, Cobalt is also a chemical element found on the periodic table under atomic number 27. Since ancient times, it has been used as a blue pigment to tint glass, jewelry, and furniture.
However, when it is released into your bloodstream as a result of wear and tear of a defective hip implant, it can also cause serious health problems. It is considered a carcinogen by healthcare professionals. It is definately not a substance that a patient wants circulating through his or her bloodstream.

In selecting these metals, especially with the knowledge of their potential side effects, DePuy Orthopaedics, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, was hoping to create a better hip implant. Instead, the research is starting to show that they have in fact created a defective product which not only results in pain, suffering, and additional surgery, but exposes patients to harmful chemical elements in the bloodstream.

Have a DePuy Implant? NJ and PA DePuy Recall Attorneys

If you have a DePuy Orthopaedics hip implant, you should be aware that these implants have been recalled. You should consult with your family doctor and orthopaedist to determine whether or not you have been exposed to chromium or cobalt metals, and whether you have any symptoms associated with these chemicals.
If you would like more information about the recall, please 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.

DePuy Orthopaedics Hip Implant Recalled Due to Metal on Metal Complications

The recent DePuy Orthapaedics Hip Implant recall should not come as any surprise to most people. Within the last several years, DePuy hip implants, employing a metal on metal function, were used in about 90,000 hip replacements performed in the United States.

click on the image to enlarge:
depuy orthopaedics hip replacement implants recall metal complications

DePuy Orthopaedics Hip Implant Complications

DePuy hip implants mimic our traditional bone structure by creating a ball and socket joint out of metal; specifically, chromium and cobalt. DePuy Orthopaedics hip implant manufacturers believed the elements would be stronger and last longer than conventional hip implant materials.
The problems with the hip implants arise from friction in between the head at the top of the thigh bone and the cup which is placed into the hip socket. These two metals rub together and ultimately cause wear and tear on the materials. Friction on a car tire, results in rubber particles being slowly dispersed on our roadyways. Friction on a metal implant results in metal particles being dispersed inside a human body. These particles and metallic debris can cause signifcant damage to tissue and bone surrounding the hip joint.

Some of these particles even enter the blood stream and can become lodged in other parts of the body. Such patients will have high metal content in their blood streams which can be diagnosed using standard radiological studies that will show the metal dispersed throughout the body.
Unfortunately, orthopaedic surgeons using DePuy hip implants were not alerted of these complications until recently. In the meantime, it appears that nearly 95,000 of these defective hip implants could be in the population today.

NJ and PA DePuy Hip Implant Recall Attorneys

If you have a DePuy Orthopaedics hip implant, do not wait until you are experiencing signs or symptoms of metallic debris in your body. You should immediately consult with your family doctor and orthopaedic surgeon to get properly tested and continue to be tested for any problems associated with this defective implant.
If you wish to know your legal rights, please contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation. We will be happy to answer any questions you may have. You may also call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.