Law Firm Resources & News

Ann Richards, the former Texas governor, recently died from complications arising from esophageal cancer. Esophageal cancer is one of the fastest-rising forms of cancer and, unfortunately, it is rarely diagnosed early. The form of cancer which killed Ann Richards, squamous cell, is often associated with a history of heavy tobacco and alcohol use – both…

In this article in the Senior Journal, you can find several tips on how to reduce the cost of your long term care insurance. A summary of the tips is as follows: The first suggestion is to choose a shorter benefit period. The majority of people will not need more than 5 years of coverage,…

In July, Dan wrote a quick blog about the Institute of Medicine’s report on medication errors. In sum, IOM disclosed that 1.5 million Americans are harmed every-year by medication errors. Are you ok with this? We are not talking about 1.5 million Americans who die of cancer because there is no cure – we are…

Want to know some interesting facts about the nursing home industry? How about these? – 16,995 nursing home facilities – 52 percent of these are owned by a chain, with multiple facilities owned by one company – 107 beds is the average size of a nursing home – 83 percent is the average occupancy rate…

A federal law (OBRA) enacted in 1987 established a survey and inspection process for nursing homes which required the facilities to meet certain standards of care. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has responsibility for enforcing these standards but delegates the inspection and survey process to the various states. The problem: states are…

Let’s assume you are in an automobile accident and you forgot to wear your seat belt and your chest struck the steering wheel at impact. Or, your seat belt was used but the abrupt front-end collision resulted in pain across your chest from the seat belt engaging. Either way, you are taken to your local…

Are you on any medications? Here is a great idea – look them up on the internet. Go to the manufacturer’s website – read not only the information for consumers/patients, but look at the links for physicians. Is the information on those two links different – you bet it is. So look at both, and…

I know, no one wants to sound like a whiny baby…. but maybe, there is a time and a place to let it all out. Where is that place? Your doctor’s office. Lets say you visit your doctor for knee pain – and tell her in September, “it hurts so bad I cannot sleep.” In…

Let’s say your family doctor tells you that you have torn a ligament in you knee when you fell off that ladder while painting the kitchen. Or, the chest pain which resulted in a trip to the local emergency room lead to the diagnosis of a clogged cardiac artery and the recommendation of a cardiac…

In Virginia, nursing homes are inspected by The Office of Licensure and Certification (OLC), a division of the Virginia Department of Health. The OLC investigates complaints and allegations lodged against nursing facilities, hospitals, home care organization, hospice programs, managed care health insurance plans, outpatient surgical hospitals and clinical laboratories. All complaints are reviewed and prioritized…

The Wall Street Journal (August 29, 2006) reports that doctor-owned hospitals are being developed in Texas, California, Pennsylvania, and Indiana and that 130 such hospitals are already in existence. Why doctor-owned hospitals? Profit, of course! These facilities, while providing above average care, are taking the most profitable procedures and patients away from the community hospitals.…