Nursing home negligence and abuse are all too common due in part to overworked nurses, under-trained staff, and/or a simple lack of interest by nursing home staff. Negligence takes many forms, including ulcers, bedsores, urinary tract infections, sepsis infections, lack of proper nutrition, dehydration, and more. This is a very specialized legal area and requires an experienced nursing home neglect and abuse attorney. Choosing the right attorney is a vitally important decision. If you do not know an attorney who specializes in nursing home abuse, Litigation Funding Corporation has excellent legal referral sources all over the country to assist you; this is a free service for injury victims and their family members.

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A nursing home has an obligation to care for their residents and provide the necessary medical attention. Unfortunately, this responsibility is often shirked, usually as a consequence of understaffing, under-trained employees, and other cost-cutting measures. When that happens, nursing home residents can suffer significant injuries, including death. When abuse or neglect occurs in the nursing home setting, the facility can be held liable. Consulting an experienced attorney is an important first step.

A woman has filed a lawsuit against Princeton Memorial Company d/b/a Princeton Health Care Center, a nursing home operator, alleging insufficient measures were taken to provide a safe environment. According to the lawsuit, during the period of time that the plaintiff was a resident at the defendant’s facility, she suffered from multiple falls, hematomas and rib fractures that resulted in needless pain and suffering. The complaint states that the defendant failed to provide adequate supervision and safety devices to prevent accidents, and failed to monitor and assess her condition. The plaintiff is seeking an undisclosed amount.

The litigation process is typically a financial and emotional roller coaster, especially when money is tight and the bills keep coming in. Victims do not want to conduct settlement negotiations when they are struggling, financially. If they do, they will, almost always, accept an offer that is less than full case value. Instead, plaintiffs may wish to apply for a lawsuit cash advance from Litigation Funding Corporation.

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Sylvia Burwell, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, said that the proposed changes set high standards for safety and quality in nursing homes. The proposals were announced as part of the White House Conference on Aging.

Some of the proposals address nursing home abuse. Nurses would be required to be trained in dementia care and preventing elder abuse. There will also be a requirement that nursing homes report staffing levels, which Medicare officials will review to determine whether they are adequate. This stops short of requiring a federal nurse-to-resident ratio, which many advocates had pushed for. Dr. Shari Ling, the deputy chief medical officer for Medicare, said the administration’s approach focused on competency rather than “a numbers game.”

The proposed changes include measures to ensure that families are more involved in the care of their loved ones, as well as rules to promote more individualized care. For instance, residents would be able to choose their own roommates, and requests for meals and snacks at non-traditional times would be accommodated. The proposed rules also address reducing hospital readmissions, minimizing the use of antipsychotic drugs and antibiotics, and strengthening infection control.

If you suspect that a loved one has been abused or neglected at a nursing home, contact Joyce & Reyes for a free consultation to learn more about your rights.

If you need to speak with a Tampa nursing home abuse lawyer, Call Joyce & Reyes at 1.888.771.1529 or visit more of http://www.joyceandreyespa.com/.

The legislation is important for all plaintiffs, but particularly so for victims of nursing home abuse. When an elderly or disabled person is abused or neglected in a nursing home, the family needs funds as soon as possible to pay for a higher-quality facility or in-home health care.

Unfortunately, plaintiffs who have suffered all kinds of injuries frequently find that defendants use stall tactics to delay payment as long as possible, even once a settlement has been agreed to.

Under the proposed legislation, after a settlement has been reached in any civil matter, the defendant must tender to the plaintiff a release within 14 days. Then the defendant has 21 days from execution of the release to make all payments due the plaintiff. If the defendant fails to make such payments, interest will accrue from the date of the release.

Senate Bill 1912 has passed both houses of the state legislature and now awaits Governor Pat Quinn’s signature. If the bill becomes law, it will ensure that plaintiffs receive settlement payments in a timely manner, allowing them to pay for crucial medical and living expenses.

Paul Greenberg is a medical malpractice lawyer in Chicago and malpractice attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

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The cause of the problem does not appear to be mismanagement or excessive cost-cutting on the part of those who run nursing homes. Rather, jobs at nursing homes tend to be seen as undesirable. The fact that these positions are going unfilled is made all the more significant by three employment trends one might otherwise expect to alleviate the problem. Those trends: high national unemployment; lengthy average unemployment, begetting desperate job-seekers; and a strong growth trend in America’s health care sector.

It is not hard to see why staff shortages can lead to nursing home neglect and even nursing home abuse. If a facility is short-staffed, its patients are bound to receive less care and attention. Their health may deteriorate more quickly, their recoveries may lengthen, and any problems they have may go unnoticed longer. And an overworked staffer is more likely to take out his or her frustrations on defenseless seniors who do not deserve it.

If you believe a loved one is not being cared for properly at a nursing home, speak with staff and supervisors. Be specific about the problem and how you expect it to be corrected. Take careful notes about what you tell staff and how they respond. If you cannot resolve the matter by communicating in good faith, you may need an attorney. An experienced nursing home abuse attorney knows the standards applicable and how to hold facilities accountable to them.

If you need to speak with a personal injury lawyer, Call Joyce & Reyes at 1.888.771.1529 or visit more of http://www.joyceandreyespa.com/.

Unfortunately, not all facilities are able to provide the care that patients require, either due to staffing issues, budget cuts, poor management, or a host of other issues. Nursing home abuse can be as overt as a patient who is physically or emotionally assaulted, or as subtle as when someone is neglected enough that they develop bedsores or dehydration.

Some red flags which may indicate further investigation is warranted:

• Has the patient developed bedsores?
• Does the patient have unexplained bruises?
• Has the patient fallen in the facility one or more times?
• Has the patient’s behavior changed? Has he or she suddenly become socially withdrawn, fearful or uncommunicative?
• Does the patient show signs of poor hygiene?
• Does the patient seem uncomfortable around or fearful of a staff member?
• Are you able to visit alone with the patient?
• Does the patient have any personal items missing?

Many clients are concerned about reporting suspected abuse; they want to believe it does not happen, or that they are overreacting. But the general rule is that if you suspect something, say something. Let the authorities decide if your concerns have merit. It is not your job to know for certain. It is your job to speak up as an attentive advocate for your loved one.

If you suspect nursing home abuse, Gilfix & La Poll can help.

Pioneers of Elder Law – For over 30 years, Gilfix & La Poll Associates LLP has innovated creative legal solutions to help you manage and plan the future of your estate.
To contact an estate planning lawyer visit http://www.gilfix.com/ or call 800.244.9424.

Federal authorities filed suit against Dr. Michael J. Reinstein, a Chicago psychiatrist, on November 15, alleging that in exchange for kickbacks from drug companies, he prescribed a potentially dangerous psychotropic drug to thousands of Chicago-area nursing home patients with mental illnesses.

In a statement, acting U.S. Attorney Gary Shapiro said the lawsuit is “the largest civil case alleging prescription medication fraud against an individual ever brought in Chicago.”

In a 2009 joint investigation, the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica found that Reinstein relied very heavily on clozapine, a risky and powerful psychotropic drug. In 2007, Reinstein prescribed the medicine more than all the doctors in Texas combined, according to the investigation.

The lawsuit, filed recently in U.S. District Court in Chicago, alleges that Reinstein made no less than 140,000 false Medicare and Medicaid claims for antipsychotic drugs he had prescribed based on kickbacks from the manufacturers of the drugs, without regard to his patients’ needs.

Authorities further allege that he submitted at least 50,000 Medicare and Medicaid claims falsely stating that he had monitored his patients at Chicago-area nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

Authorities are seeking triple damages under the False Claims Act, in addition to civil penalties for every alleged false claim. The total damages could quickly reach seven or even eight figures.

Novartis, the maker of Clozaril, a brand name for clozapine, had a longstanding agreement with Reinstein to pay him to promote the drug, according to authorities.

The lawsuit described Clozaril as a “drug of last resort” and claims that despite this fact Reinstein routinely had thousands of patients taking clozapine at any given time.

In 1998, the patent on Clozaril expired, and generic versions of clozapine hit the market. But Reinstein “resisted pharmacy and drug company efforts to switch his patients to generic clozapine and continued to be the largest prescriber of Novartis’s Clozaril to Medicaid recipients in the United States,” according to the lawsuit.

In the summer of 2003, Novartis stopped paying Reinstein to promote Clozaril. At that time, Florida-based IVAX Pharmaceuticals Inc. tried to persuade Reinstein to switch to the firm’s generic form of clozapine.

Reinstein agreed, and for the next several years, IVAX paid him $50,000 per year under a “consulting agreement,” the suit alleged.

“After reaching this kickback agreement with IVAX, Reinstein immediately began switching his patients from Clozaril to IVAX’s clozapine,” the suit said. He soon became “the largest prescriber of generic clozapine in the United States.”

The lawsuit alleged that IVAX and its eventual parent company, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, paid for at least three trips to Miami for Reinstein and several associates, including hotel, airfare, cruises, and dinners.

After the 2009 publication of the Tribune-ProPublica investigation into Reinstein, he told Teva to stop paying him, the suit says.

A spokeswoman for Teva released a statement saying the company was cooperating with investigators.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer and Chicago medical malpractice attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.