Law Firm Resources & News

1. Know your rights. If a hospital tells you your loved one must be discharged within 24 hours, you have appeal rights under Medicare that can extend your relative’s stay by two days and give you time to research nursing homes. Ask the hospital for a copy of “An Important Message from Medicare,” or call…

I have written here before about the dangers of signing an arbitration agreement when you admit your family member to a nursing home. The effect of this legal document is that the home can sue the resident for non-payment of fees, etc. but the resident (or resident’s family if they died as a result of…

According to the Richmond Times Dispatch newspaper, when state officials learned a Hampton Roads physician was convicted of felony child-pornography charges, the Board of Medicine suspended the doctor’s medical license right away. The doctor, Lawrence Brielman Ryan, was in the U.S. Naval Reserve medical corps when he was court-martialed in 2004 for possessing and distributing…

This week has been very enlightening, and not in a good way. I have learned a great deal about some aspects of the healthcare profession. Now, I preface my comments with the following statement: I know that not all health care providers operate this way, and that many, go to great lengths to make sure…

We posted an article several months ago that bad nursing home administrators should go to jail! Not surprisingly, we received a private email from a nursing home administrator who believed our comments were outrageous. Well… maybe not as it seems that nursing home administrators are continuing to find themselves facing criminal charges for their outrageous…

You may know more about the TV or DVD player you want to buy than the hospital where you are about to be admitted for surgery. That just doesn’t seem right to me! A relatively new advocacy group is out to change the situation. The Leapfrog Group is a voluntary program aimed at mobilizing employer…

Has your doctor changed your medications recently? What about prescribing a new drug altogether? If so, did your doctor tell you all you need to know about that drug? Probably not according to a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. An observational study conducted by Dr. Derjung Tarn from the School of…

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/13/AR2007021301132.html More bad news from the FDA… a vaccine, 3.5 million in production, may harm infants and children. Check out this article.

If bedridden or immobile with diabetes, circulation problems, incontinence, or mental disabilities, you should be checked for pressure sores every day. Look for reddened areas that, when pressed, do not turn white. Also look for blisters, sores, or craters. The following steps are crucial in preventing the development of decubitus ulcers: · Change position at…

We have all heard these terms discussed by nurses, family members and in the media. Is there a difference? The answer is no. All of these terms refer to the same condition which occurs when pressure is exerted on the skin, soft tissue, muscle, and bone by the weight of an individual against a surface…

Investigators have alleged that a web of companies that oversaw nursing homes was part of a plan to cheat the government out of millions. The list of allegations includes tax evasion, healthcare fraud, money laundering, and lying to the government. Critics say the industry is ripe for abuse because regulators are kept in the dark.…