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Brennan & Kavouklis, P.A. Newsletter Archive |
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SPRING 2004 ISSUE
NURSING HOME ABUSE AND NEGLECT
Brennan & Kavouklis, P.A. Injury
Law Alert Newsletter
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With people living longer than ever, more
and more of our family members and loved ones will spend time
in a nursing home. Although most nursing homes and other long-term
care facilities are reputable and provide good care for their
residents, a few do not. Reported cases of abuse and neglect
are rising as the number of nursing home residents rise, and
the elderly and infirm are often the least able to help themselves.
Although nursing homes are regulated by
government agencies that investigate and punish cases of abuse
and neglect every year, officials cannot be everywhere at once.
Everyone with a friend or relative in a nursing home should be
aware of certain danger signs and be ready to act if they appear.
In nursing homes, the most common cause
of neglect is the lack of sufficiently trained staff. With an
eye on the bottom line, some facilities do not hire enough staff
to properly care for their residents. Staffing shortages lead
to overwork, and overwork and inexperience can lead to a breakdown
in care. Neglect attributable to a lack of staff can include
improper medication, failure to assist the residents with their
hygiene, failure to turn the residents (leading to bedsores),
and failure to adequately provide for the residents' safety and
comfort.
More disturbingly, some nursing home employees
take advantage of the elderly under their care. Cases of theft,
assault, and even sexual assault of nursing home residents have
been reported. Although such examples of outright abuse are rare,
they are serious and you should be alert for signs of trouble.
If you suspect that the residents of a
nursing home may be abused or neglected, follow up. A good checkup
is the surprise visit, when the nursing home is not expecting
you. This allows you to see how the home operates on a daily
basis, rather than just the days when someone is coming to visit.
When visiting, get to know the staff. Staff members can be an
excellent source of information about the happenings in the home.
If you do not like what you see, complain. Often, potential problems
can be avoided if the nursing home is told clearly what is expected.
If you suspect a serious problem at a nursing home, report it
to the appropriate authorities immediately. In addition, if you
believe that a loved one is being abused or neglected in a nursing
home, call us. You may need an attorney to represent you. We
will help you investigate the matter and take the legal action
necessary to protect your loved one and to recover any damages
that you deserve.
SIGNS OF ABUSE AND
NEGLECT
What are the signs of nursing home abuse or neglect to look out
for? Although a number of things might indicate that there are
problems, common signs of possible trouble include:
Bedsores;
Soiled bed linen or the smell of feces or urine;
Unexplained bruises or cuts;
Use of physical or chemical restraints;
Changes in mood or disorientation, often due to improper medication;
Weight loss; and
Unexplained fear or anxiety.
Trust your feelings. People can often sense trouble before they
can identify a specific problem. Don't ignore your instincts.
UMBRELLA INSURANCE
POLICIES
As insurance prices continue to rise, many people are looking
for more and better insurance coverage for less money, and "umbrella
policies" are often a good option for increasing coverage.
Umbrella policies get their name from the coverage they offer:
Like an umbrella, they provide expansive coverage for you and
your assets. Umbrella policies act as a kind of backup for your
primary insurance and can provide a cost-effective way of increasing
your insurance coverage.
Most of us carry several kinds of liability insurance policies:
car insurance, homeowner's insurance, renter's insurance, etc.
All of these different policies do essentially the same thing.
They cover you for the different careless acts you might commit.
However, the coverage available under these different policies
varies, and their cost is often very expensive compared with
the coverage they provide.
Umbrella policies begin where other insurance
ends. They provide additional coverage--coverage that is only
available after the underlying liability policy has been exhausted.
Umbrella policies are often surprisingly inexpensive, given that
they can provide additional coverage in amounts up to $1 million
or more. The reason umbrella policies are relatively inexpensive
is because they are only asked to cover the largest of claims.
Because of this, the number of claims brought against umbrella
policies is lower than the number of claims brought against "regular"
policies.
As with any kind of insurance, the coverage
offered by umbrella policies and the rates charged for them can
vary greatly. Consider the possibility of buying an umbrella
policy. You may find that it is right for you.
STOP TAKING EPHEDRA
The Food and Drug Administration recently issued an alert advising
consumers to immediately stop using products that contain ephedra.
According to the FDA, dietary supplements that contain ephedra
present an unreasonable risk of illness or injury.
Ephedra is a Chinese herb that is a common
ingredient in many over-the-counter weight-loss and dietary supplements.
Reports of adverse reactions suffered by people taking products
containing ephedra led the FDA to conduct an exhaustive examination
of the benefits and risks of ephedra. The conclusion? Ephedra
showed little evidence of effectiveness for weight loss, but
it does have the potential to raise blood pressure and stress
the circulatory system of users. These dangerous side effects
can lead to heart trouble, strokes, and convulsions. Many have
called for ephedra to be banned, and the FDA intends to do so
with a final rule prohibiting its sale.
If you suspect that you or a loved one
have suffered from an ephedra-related injury, contact us. Remember,
just because something is natural does not mean it is necessarily
good for you.
CASE BY CASE
Dangerous Products
Companies that make and sell products have a duty to make sure
that their products do not present an unreasonable risk of harm
to people who use them. If a certain product turns out to be
dangerous or defective, an injured consumer may have a products
liability claim.
A worker in a manufacturing plant was seriously
injured when he was pulled into the machine he was operating.
The machine did not have an instruction manual, nor was there
a safety guard or an emergency shut-off switch. The worker, whose
right arm was crushed by the accident, was awarded $16 million
from the company that manufactured the dangerous piece of equipment.
DIALING FOR DISASTER
Your daughter has a flat. She calls you to come help her. It's
dark and you're lost somewhere not too pleasant. You call for
directions. You want to wish your son a happy birthday, but he's
gone camping with friends. You can't reach him because he turned
off his phone so he could have a bit of peace and quiet. Well,
two out of three isn't bad.
Cellular phones are perfect for emergencies
and for staying in touch whenever and wherever we need to be
in touch. But there is growing evidence that phones and driving
don't mix. With roads more crowded than ever and drivers seemingly
more aggressive by the day, any distraction can lead to an accident,
and cellular phones definitely are a distraction.
Consider also that young drivers (16-18)
are among the least safe drivers on our roads. The crash rate
for 16-year-old drivers is 5 times higher than for over-25 drivers!
Parents naturally want their youngsters to have cellular phones
to use in case of emergencies, but using cellular phones while
driving is an added danger for these inexperienced drivers--and
for the rest of us who are out on the roads with them.
Americans will continue to use phones in
cars, just as we play our stereos, drink our breakfast coffee,
adjust our appearance, dictate into recorders, shout at the kids
in the back seat, and daydream about vacations and winning the
lottery. We spend a lot of time in our cars, and we have begun
to treat them as the second homes they have become. We will continue
to use our phones, but a few common-sense safety rules maybe
can save our lives.
If traffic is heavy, turn off your phone.
Pull off the road before phoning.
Try to use a hands-free type
of phone.
Save stressful, intense calls
for home or office.
Monitor phone use by your young
driver.
If you must phone while driving,
do so only when you can easily respond to traffic conditions.
The best advice about phoning and driving probably is the simplest:
USE YOUR HEAD before you use your phone.
WHY YOU NEED A PERSONAL
INJURY LAWYER
Although many of us enjoy being handy around the house, there
is one time when it does not pay to "do it yourself"
-- when you or a loved one has been injured. Rather than trying
to handle a personal injury claim yourself, you should seek the
assistance of a personal injury lawyer for several reasons:
EXPERIENCE:
By hiring a personal injury lawyer, you can take advantage of
the lawyer's experience. This experience helps evaluate your
case and helps determine what you are legally entitled to recover.
LEVEL PLAYING FIELD: You can be sure that the wrongdoer's insurance
company is going to have experienced adjustors and lawyers working
against you. Often, an insurance company will delay settling
claims and even deny valid claims altogether. Even when it does
offer to settle the case, the settlement offer may be unfairly
low. It pays to have a lawyer on your side to prevent the wrongdoer
from paying you less than you deserve.
PAY ONLY IF YOU WIN: Most personal injury lawyers work for what is
called a "contingent fee," which does not require money
up front. Contingent fees allow injured persons with valid claims
but little money to get good legal representation. Also, most
contingent fee agreements provide that you only have to pay the
lawyer's fee if you win.
OTHER ISSUES:
In addition to the injury claim itself, your lawyer can help
you resolve matters arising when someone has been injured, such
as providing referrals to competent doctors and repair shops.
So if you have been injured, don't do it yourself. Seek the help
of an experienced professional to insure you get what you are
due.
THEY SAID IT
The following exchanges actually took place in courtrooms across
the country.
Q: What is your date of birth?
A: July 15th
Q: What year?
A: Every year.
Q: Can you describe the individual?
A: He was about medium height and had a beard.
Q: Was this a male or female?
WE PREFER YOU TO
REFER!
The period of time following
an accident is one of confusion and uncertainty. There are many
things to take care of. Hiring a good lawyer is one of them.
Many times people don't know where to
go when they need legal help. If you or a loved one has been
injured in an accident, call us. We will vigorously represent
you and make sure that you are justly compensated for your injuries.
That's our job.
If you are interested in receiving help on your potential
case, please click
here for free (secure online) Case Evaluation. Any initial
consultation with Brennan & Kavouklis, P.A. is free. For more information,
contact us at 813-254-7770, or by e-mail
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