Over the past few years, I begun to notice a trend in nursing home litigation– more lawsuits getting filed against particular facilities. Sure, an incident can occur during a momentary lapse of judgment– at any facility — at any time, but is there reason to be concerned when we see multiple lawsuits piling up against… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: falls
Nursing Home Injury Laws: Illinois
Posted in Nursing Home Injury, Wrongful DeathHard to believe, but since we initiated Nursing Home Injury Laws last year, we have helped many families get the resources they need following an injury or death of a loved one in a nursing home or medical facility. Nursing Home Injury Laws, has links and resources related to some of the most commonly… Continue Reading
New Medicare Report On Medical Errors In Hospitals Reinforces Ongoing Problems
Posted in Medical MalpracticeThere’s some saying that has been jumbled back-and-forth about how many patients were feeling fine until they went to the hospital and got sick. Well, as corny as the saying may be, a trip to the hospital may be one of that last places you want to go— particularly when you look at data released… Continue Reading
Dialysis Related Injuries Can Be Prevented With Basic Precautions
Posted in Nursing Home InjuryWhen a person’s kidneys no longer work properly, dialysis can filter waste products from their blood. Your kidneys keep your blood clean and balanced. They filter 200 quarts of blood every day, filtering out waste and excess water, which becomes urine. Diabetes and high blood pressure are the two most common causes of kidney disease. … Continue Reading
Hospital Errors: Study Finds Preventable Errors Continue To Harm Patients At Alarming Rate
Posted in Medical Malpractice“Don’t go to the hospital if you don’t want to get sick” is frequently said in jest by many of my colleagues who represent people who have been harmed by mistakes made in hospitals. Now, a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine regarding errors made at North Carolina hospitals reinforces this… Continue Reading
Contractures In Nursing Home Patients Put Them At Risk For Developing Decubitus Ulcers & Other Injuries
Posted in Bed Sores, Pressure Sores, Decubitus Ulcers & Pressure Ulcers, ContracturesAfter working on many cases involving the development of pressure sores in a nursing home or other long term care settings, I am convinced that contractures are a tremendously under-appreciated threat to patient health. Like many ailments, we are now learning that getting older should not necessarily mean developing disabling conditions such as contractures- with… Continue Reading
Nursing Home Spotlight: Warren Barr Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois
Posted in Illinois Nursing HomesWarren Barr Pavilion is a large 221 bed nursing home facility located in the near north side of Chicago. According to the government’s Medicare website , the facility received only two out of five stars, which is a below average rating. This is in large part to the facility’s high number of health deficiencies. In the… Continue Reading
Spotlight On Palos Hills Extended Care Nursing Home
Posted in Illinois Nursing HomesIf you suspect poor care in a nursing home, one of the most important things to do is to document the mistreatment. Obviously, this can be a difficult—if not impossible– for an individual who may not be familiar with the system. Perhaps the easiest way to document poor care is to file a complaint with… Continue Reading
A Recipe For Danger: Nursing Shortage Could Reach 1M By 2020
Posted in Medication Errors, Neglect, Nursing Home StaffAn aging nursing population, the growing need for nursing services and an insufficient number of facilities to train new nurses are coming together to create a ‘nursing crisis’, according to a recent article in The Iowa Independent. The congruence of factors will lead to dramatic shortages of nurses both in Iowa and on a national… Continue Reading
Maryland Nursing Home Fined For Neglecting Patients
Posted in National Nursing Home IssuesRarely do nursing homes have isolated problems. Rather, problems with patient care usually stem from a culture of poor staff training and under-staffing. Case in point– The Summerville at Potomac nursing facility in Maryland. Following a routine inspection, state and county nursing home surveyors discovered numerous violations governing patient care in nursing homes. Among the… Continue Reading
Indiana Hospital Errors Increase 24% In The Past Year
Posted in Medical MalpracticeAccording to the Indiana Department of Health, the number of reported hospital errors rose from 85 in 2006 to 105 in 2007. Indiana hospitals and surgury centers must report any of the 27 avoidable medical errors from a list compiled by National Quality Forum, a non-profit group dedicated to improving health care. Some of the… Continue Reading
The Correlation Between Staff Satisfaction And Resident Care
Posted in Nursing Home StaffIt makes sense. If members of the nursing home staff are satisfied with their job, treated appropriately, receive good job benefits, they will be happier and their happiness will likely be translated to better patient care. On the other hand, look closely into the eyes of any employee at struggling company– you can sense their… Continue Reading
Study Links Medication Use With Falls
Posted in Nursing Home FallsHow many medications do you take? If you can’t count the number of medications on one hand, studies suggest you should sit down. Researchers at the University of North Carolina have determined that seniors who take four or more prescription medications have two to three times the risk of falling as seniors who take fewer… Continue Reading
Falling Like A Parachutist May Prevent Hip Fractures
Posted in Nursing Home FallsHip fractures are the most common type of fractures amongst people over 65. Moreover hip fractures amongst the elderly require 320,000 hospitalizations. How can the injuries associated with these falls be reduced? Researchers have determined that teaching seniors to fall like a parachutist may reduce their odds of sustaining a hip fracture by 70%. Computer… Continue Reading