Law Firm Resources & News

The federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has just released a list of over 4,000 U.S. nursing homes which are providing substandard care as it relates to pressure sores/decubitus ulcers and the over-use of physical restraints. I live in Virginia and many of our nursing homes are on the list, including nursing homes…

We are using today’s blog to announce an excellent conference, open to all, on medical care issues and the elderly. The conference will be held in Charlottesville, Virginia on February 26 and 27. The official announcement follows: First Annual Conference on Geriatric CareJointly Sponsored by the University of Virginia, VCU Center on Aging, UVA Institute…

EVEN FAMOUS PEOPLE CAN GET BAD MEDICAL CARE: “A civil trial into whether doctors erred in diagnosing a heart abnormality that led to the death of actor John Ritter is set to begin this week in Los Angeles. Ritter’s family contends that the actor would have survived if doctors had properly treated him for the…

Friendship Retirement Community in Roanoke, Virginia is currently dealing with 13 cases of the norovirus illness and 89 of their residents have contracted this highly contagious stomach bug since mid December of 2007. My law firm handled several infectious disease cases against this nursing home and each case revealed a lack of knowledge by the…

Yes Nancy, I know that is your phrase… but I think it can be applied to pharmaceuticals as well. Merck loses a patent for Fosomax today – which means now the generic can be made. Is that good for the average 45 year old woman concerned about bone density? Not sure. Full page ad in…

Nursing homes will say to us “we didn’t have to provide that kind of care for Mrs. Smith – look at the contract she signed,” or “you can’t sue us – look where you agreed to arbitration.” Well we have done a great deal to expose the dangers of nursing home contracts – now, we…

The number of nursing homes in the U.S. that were cited for placing residents in “immediate jeopardy” rose 22% from 2000 to 2006, according to a study by USA Today. The newspaper, in an analysis of data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said inspectors in 2006 identified nearly 2,000 violations that…

Rape is a terrible crime under any circumstances but when an elderly nursing home resident is the victim…it is even worse! How can one human being be so evil as to take sexual advantage of an elderly and infirm person? It is the worst type of elder abuse! Well, this very crime is alleged to…

I live in Virginia and our state does a fairly good job investigating complaints of neglect and abuse in Virginia nursing homes. I do believe the office which investigates these complaints is under-staffed and over-worked but acknowledge they do the best they can. While Virginia may get a passing grade for taking complaints seriously and…

We had a series of cases last year, regarding infection and handwashing. The argument was – “we couldn’t have spread the infection to the patients, we use anti-bacteria hand sanitizer after every patient contact.” My response was – “yah – right.” Well, this morning, my response can be “So what?” Hand gels alone may not…

Told you – recalls everywhere! Syringe Recall:FDA has announced a nationwide recall of all lots of heparin and saline pre-filled flush syringes manufactured by AM2 PAT, Inc. under the brand names Sierra Pre-filled, Inc. and B. Braun. Two lots have been found to be contaminated with Serratia marcescens, a bacterium that can cause serious injury…

One glance at the Wall Street Journal yesterday – recalls, recalls, recalls. Johnson & Johnson recalls a catheter; Baxter, drug company, recalls their anti-coagulation shot, Heparin over allergic reactions; Merck is denied application to sell their new “Mevacor” over the counter…. There is a lesson here. Medicine is not exact. Drugs are not perfect. Medications…