Tag: Inc.

Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers: New Owners Try to Fix Up Facility

The Central Coast Nursing Center, a Santa Barbara, California area nursing home, faces hard times after state officials have discovered an array of health and safety violations. Additionally, two former employees have been arrested on sexual battery and elder abuse charges. The facility has recently changed owners in an effort to fix old problems and rebuild their reputation as a quality facility. As nursing home abuse lawyers, we see facilities change ownership frequently. Sometimes, this causes crucial elements of care to slip through the cracks, allowing residents to suffer. But, as is often the case, change can also be for the best, and new owners committed to fixing the problems in a negligent nursing home is definitely for the best of the residents and their families.

Former CNAs Arrested for Sexual and Physical Abuse

nursing home abuse lawyers in NJ and PA Brian Watt, a 29-year-old sex offender and former certified nursing assistant at the facility, was arrested on September 9. He was charged with felony lewd act upon a dependent adult, felony sexual battery on an institutionalized victim, and misdemeanor dependent adult abuse for an incident that occurred on September 4, 2010. If he is convicted on all of these counts, he may face up to six years in jail. The other former employee of Central Coast facing charges is 32 year-old Hugo Rendon, who was arrested on October 6 and charged with four misdemeanor counts of battering an elder for two separate incidents that occurred on May 13 and May 17, 2011.

Compass Health, Inc. took over control of Central Coast Nursing Center on September 1, 2011. The new parent company operates six other nursing homes and has a very good record. Their challenge now is to clean up the facility’s problems and establish a new reputation through high quality service. Compass Health’s Chief Operating Officer Darren Smith explained that the problem with the old owner was that they were “not consistent” and there was “little experience or understanding” among the officials. “We want to create an atmosphere of respect and appreciation for the business that’s being operated here,” said Smith.

Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia

If you have witnessed any questionable conditions or abusive behavior in a nursing home, directed towards your loved one or even another resident, 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: 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.
new jersey philadelphia medical malpractice attorneys doctor liability third parties
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

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.