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Nursing Home Abuse Report Leads to Closure

David Rowell — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 13:19:16 GMT

Following recent reports of an increase in nursing home abuse and neglect, state and Federal agencies may be increasing their surveilance and inspection efforts. A round of such surveys by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration and the federal Department of Health and Human Services found widespread abuse at the Key West Convalescent Center, and led to an order for closure of the facility.

Reports called the survey results "damning," and the responsible agency stated that a "system failure jepoardized all the residents in the facility."

Nursing home abuse or neglect is a serious problem, one that is likely to grow worse as the American population ages. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of Americans 65 and older is expected to reach almost 90 million people by the year 2050.

Nursing home abuse or neglect can occur in various ways: physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and others. Signs of abuse or neglect can be obvious or subtle, including bed sores, bruises, welts and other skin damages, anxiety, agitation or emotional withdrawal, weight loss and other signs of poor nutrition or poor hydration, and many others.

Like other victims of abuse, abused nursing home residents may be reluctant to speak out, and this problem can be worsened by the potential for retaliation by the abusive staff member.

If you suspect that your loved one has been the victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, you should first ensure that your loved one receives prompt medical attention. You should consider contacting the State agency charged with nursing home oversight; you may want to contact a lawyer who is familiar with this area of law.

For more information about nursing home abuse and neglect, check the InjuryBoard Help Center on this topic.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Rowell

Fresno Car Accident Kills One Woman

Shannon Weidemann — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 10:21:27 GMT

A car accident in Fresno County over the weekend killed a woman from Sanger. She was a passenger in an SUV that hit a semi-truck on Kings Canyon Road.

The California Highway Patrol says the woman was a passenger when driver of the SUV tried to pass the truck, but had to swerve back into the right lane when another car approached.
The SUV hit the semi, the driver lost control and the SUV rolled several times.

The victim died at the scene. The California Highway Patrol is still investigating the accident and deciding if any citations will be issued. No other injuries were reported.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Two Chowchilla Teens Killed In Fiery Crash

Chrissie Cole — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 21:01:00 GMT

A tragic car accident claimed two teens driving on a rural road in Madera County on Tuesday.

The car accident happened when the driver failed to heed a stop sign at the intersection of Road 9 and Avenue 23 ½ in Chowchilla and struck a PG&E service truck.

Upon impact, the vehicle burst into flames and the driver and one of the passengers were killed.

One survivor of the crash was airlifted to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno. He suffered burns to more than 50 percent of his body. His current condition is unknown.

According to reports, the teens live in the area and are most likely students from Chowchilla High School.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Salmonella Danger from Dry Pet Food

David Rowell — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 11:10:58 GMT

The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that, despite reports and recalls in 2007, eight new cases of Salmonella poisoning in humans from contaminated pet food were identified in 2008.

Salmonella, as many people know by now, is a microorganism, a "germ," that can infect food products. When humans eat the contaminated food, they can get sick; in some cases, very sick. Symptoms can be flu-like, including bloody diarrhea. The most common victims are young children, who may handle dry pet food or put dry pet food in their mouths.

According to the CDC, it identified 79 cases, mostly children, of Salmonella poisoning in 2006-2007, in 21 stataes. All the cases were linked to dry pet food produced by one manufacturer, Mars Petcare US, in a plant in Everson, Pennsylvania. Although the manufacturer closed the plant in 2007 to clean and disinfect, these new cases, linked to the same plant, have resulted in the facility's permanent closure.

In 2007 the manufacturer recalled all petfood suspected to be contaminated with Salmonella. In September 2008, following the latest cases, another recall was conducted, involving approximately 23,109 tons of dry pet food, representing 105 brands. However, since not all supplies were returned and, since dry pet food has a shelf life of 1 year, the CDC says stocks could still be in homes, creating a danger to consumers. The CDC requests that consumers who have these products discard them or return them to the place of purchase.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Rowell

Lawsuit Upheld Over Missed Cancer Diagnosis

David Rowell — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 07:00:00 GMT

Pamela Rock sued her doctors and others claiming that, through their negligence, her breast cancer was not diagnosed in a timely fashion and worsened and spread into her lymph nodes, a much more serious condition.

The defendants didn't argue that Ms. Rock was not injured or that they hadn't made any mistakes. Instead they argued that Ms. Rock didn't file her claim in a timely fashion, that she had missed the "statute of limitations," and that her claim had to be dismissed.

The trial court agreed, and dismissed her suit. When she appealed, the Court of Appeals agreed and upheld the dismissal. Ms. Rock and her lawyer persisted, however and, on Friday, the Iowa Supreme Court overruled the dismissal, ruling that Ms. Rock's claim was not barred; the Court sent the case back for trial.

These events have several important implications for consumers. One is that consumers MUST be actively involved in their own health care. Although we hate to think it, doctors, nurses and other health care providers DO make mistakes. A recent report by the Institute of Medicine (a part of The National Academies) indicates that "44,000 [and maybe as many as] 98,000 . . . Americans die each year from medical errors." Indeed, says the report, "more people die in a given year as a result of medical errors than from motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer or AIDS."

Given these numbers, consumers simply cannot afford to be complacent about their own health care. Be involved, ask questions, look up your provider on HealthGrades. com. Consumers MUST take steps to ensure that they and their loved ones are not the next victims of medical errors.

The other point is that, although the Iowa Supreme Court gave Ms. Rock another chance to get justice, the rule followed by the trial court and the Court of Appeal IS the rule in every State. If your claim is not filed in a timely fashion, YOU HAVE NO REMEDY at law.

If you think you may have been injured due to a medical error, you must act NOW to get more information. If you have a lawyer, ask him or her for advice. If you don't, contact your State or county Bar Association, contact the local Trial Lawyers Association, GET MORE INFORMATION NOW.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Rowell

Tort Reform and Settlement

David Rowell — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:46:18 GMT

An article in yesterday's Daily Report illustrates a problem well-known by most trial lawyers; the insurance industry would rather spend money fighting claims than paying them.

The Daily Report article follows a study published in the Columbia Business Law Review, conducted by Jeffrey O'Connell of the University of Virginia School of Law and Patricia Born of California State University-Northridge. That study analyzed settlements of personal injury and defective product cases against companies between 1988 and 2004 in Texas and Florida.

Based on their analysis, the researchers found that, by early settlement, the defendants could have saved an average of $114,000 per claim, or $670,000 for sever injuries, plus $32,000 from lower legal expenses, or about $211,000 in cases with more severe injuries.

That totals$146,000.00 at the low end and $881,000 at the high end; that's a tremendous amount of money, money that could have gone to compensate injured people, but was instead spent on court costs and attorneys' fees.

Like many lawyers, I've had that experience all too often; a reasonable settlement offer before trial is rejected by the defendant's insurer, the case goes to trial and a jury finds the defendant liable for the plaintiff's injuries.If it's clear to 12 impartial jurors that the defendant was liable, surely the insurance company should have seen it before trial, before the money was spent, and settled the case.

Why would the insurer not settle? Why is the insurance industry's policy so often "collect the premiums and deny the claims"? There are probably several reasons, but I'm sure that one is because it discourages all claims, even meritorious claims, and that saves the insurance companies lots of money.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Rowell

Turlock Youth Injured in Auto Accident

David Rowell — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 16:21:55 GMT

Mauricio Alaniz, 19, of Turlock was critically injured in an auto addicent on Wednesday when 60-year-old Cherry Crawford, of Riverbank, swerved into his vehicle on McHenry Avenue in Modesto. Alaniz, a basketball player for Modesto Junior College, suffered severe brain injuries in the collision, and remains in critical condition at Memorial Medical Center.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Rowell

Wrongful Death claims

David Rowell — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:15:08 GMT

"Wrongful Death" is a term lawyers use; it means a claim, for money, against a person who has caused the death of a close family member, usually a spouse or parent or a child. In most states a wrongful death claim is statutory; that is, the State Legislature passed a law permitting such a claim; in California the claim is set out in Section 377.60 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Other states will have different provisions, of course.

A wrongful death claim may arise from many different circumstances; it may be as a result of the defendants carelessness, for instance, reckless driving; it may arise from the defendant's intentional act, like in the case of Robert Blake or Chaka Kahn. It may result from a manufacturer's release of a defective product which caused the death of a user.

The important thing for consumers to know is that the claim can only be pursued successfully if the terms of the state statute which governs the claim are complijed with; that means, only those allowed by the statute to bring the claim may do so, and it can only be brought during the period allowed by the statute, and on the grounds set out in the statute, and so on. A failure to comply will usually mean the claim is lost forever; that's why its so important to contact a lawyer who is familiar with this area of law.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Rowell

Fresno Man Dies in Auto Accident

David Rowell — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 13:00:43 GMT

Jesus Reyes of Fresno died Wednesday afternoon in a two-car automobile accident in Fresno County. Reyes was eastbound on Adams Avenue and failed to stop at the intersection with Cornelia Avenue. A Nissan pickup truck, southbound on Cornelia, struck Reyes' vehicle in the intersection. Reyes was ejected from his Ford Explorer and struck his head on a metal grapevine post. Reyes was declared dead at the scene.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Rowell

Dangerous Toys Recalled by CPSC

David Rowell — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 07:28:00 GMT

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a recall of "Swim 'N Score Dive Sticks." The toys, sold by Modell's Sporting Goods stores nationwide, are about 8" long and come in packs of 6 in various colors. The toys consist of weighted plastic tubes which stand upright when thrown into water. They pose a risk to children who might fall or land on the sticks in shallow water and suffer impalement or injury to eye or face.

The CPSC, which monitors and recalls dangerous and defective products, has banned these types of dive sticks silnce April 2001.

The CPSC advised consumers to return the product to any Modell's Sporting Goods for a rul lrefund. For more help, consumers should contact Modell's at 800-275-6633, or visit Modell's online at www.modells.com.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Rowell