Fayetteville Personal Injury Lawyer - Nursing Home & Elder Abuse

Nursing Homes Are Liable For Bed Sores

Brent Adams — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:57:57 GMT

Patients in nursing homes sometimes develop decubitus ulcers. These are also referred to as pressure sores, pressure ulcers and bedsores. They are defined medically as “any lesion caused by unrelieved pressure resulting in damage of underlying tissue.”

For pressure sores to develop two factors must be present: (1) pressure exerted on the skin; and (2) time.

Pressure sores are almost always avoidable and almost always curable if treated in time.

If a decubitus ulcer is not properly treated, it will continue to fester and get longer and will eventually open a wound in the patient’s body as large as a T-bone steak and deep enough to expose the bone. A pressure sore will eventually kill the patient if not treated.

The most common occurrence of pressure sores is when patients are allowed to lie still in bed without being turned.

Federal and state law requires nursing homes ensure that any patient who enters a nursing home without pressure sores “does not develop pressure sores unless the individuals clinical condition demonstrates that they are unavoidable.” Further, that any patient having pressure sores “receives necessary treatment and services to promote healing, prevent infection and prevent new pressure sores from developing.” 42 CFR Section 483.25(c).

If a nursing home patient develops bedsores, it is almost always the fault of the nursing home.

Because pressure sores cannot develop unless the skin is exposed to unrelieved pressure, the nursing home is under a duty to relieve pressure to the skin by simply turning and repositioning the patient at least every two hours. They must also use positioning devices such as pillows and wedge cushions to maintain the patient’s position while in bed.

Pressure sores are common in nursing home patients primarily because most nursing homes are understaffed. They are not willing to hire enough people to properly care for these patients although federal and state law requires them to be adequately staffed.

Families should not tolerate pressure sores on their loved ones in nursing homes. Contact a lawyer to determine the right you have for a nursing home patient.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brent Adams

The Truth About The Malpractice "Crisis"

Brent Adams — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 12:08:46 GMT

Medical malpractice insurance companies have for years mounted a publicitycampaign in an effort to falsely convince the public that there is a "crisis" with respect to medical malpractice claims. The insurance companies would have you believe that doctors are leaving North Carolina or closing their practices because large settlements are being obtained through these lawsuits.

The North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts began in January of 1998 to compile data on all filings of medical malpractice lawsuits and to record the date each case was resolved and whether the case went to trial. The data compiled by the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts indicates that there is no medical malpractice "crisis" and that the alleged facts claimed by the insurance companies are just plain false. Among the statistics compiled by the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts are the following:

â€¢ While the number of medical malpractice suits has declined, the growth in physician population in North Carolina continues to out pace the growth in population. Between 1998 and 2004 the total population in North Carolina grew by 9.5%, while the physician population increased by 14.6%.

â€¢ From 1998 through 2005 the total number of all civil case filings in North Carolina averaged 213,016 per year. The medical malpractice filings accounted for 0.3% of all civil cases filed.

â€¢ From 1998 through 2005 North Carolinians filed an average of 611 medical malpractice lawsuits per year, a small fraction of the number of patients harmed each year by medical mistakes.

â€¢ In 2005, North Carolinians filed 568 malpractice lawsuits - an 8% decrease from 2004 and a 12% decrease from 2003.

â€¢ Of the 4,891 malpractice cases filed since 1998, 83% (4,056) had been resolved by January 1, 2006.

â€¢ Three percent (135) of the resolved cases went to verdict. The other 97% were settled, dismissed before or during trial, or otherwise resolved.

â€¢ Of 135 cases that went to verdict, the patients won 28 times (a success rate of only 20.7%). In the other 107 trials the doctors won.

â€¢ In the 28 malpractice cases in which the plaintiff won at trial and obtained a verdict on damages, the median jury award was $300,000.00.

â€¢ Of the 28 cases in which damages were awarded, the verdict exceeded $1 Million only four (4) times - twice in 2001, once in 2003 and once in 2004.

â€¢ In the malpractice cases which were tried from July 1, 2004 through December 31, 2005 juries ruled for the doctors 21 times and for the patients 3 times. In the 3 cases in which the patients won, the average jury verdict was $143,333.00.

As can be seen from the raw data, there is no medical malpractice crisis in North Carolina. There are no outrageous malpractice verdicts in North Carolina. There are only four (4) verdicts in excess of $1 Million since 1998. The statistics also show that juries do not treat medical doctors unfairly at trial. On the contrary, juries find in favor of the doctors 79.3% of the time.

Certainly, there is no evidence of run away verdicts in North Carolina.

Insurance companies claim that medical doctors should not be subject to account for their negligence in court the same as professional truck drivers and ordinary citizens. When considering such an argument, ask yourselves why any one group of citizens in North Carolina should be immune from the law that applies to all other citizens.

Our civil justice system has served our citizens well for hundreds of years. There is no reason to change the law to serve any certain special interest group. Certainly it is important for the citizens of North Carolina to be protected against negligence of all citizens, medical doctors, lawyers or anyone else. The cost of litigation is a small price to pay for the protection we have as citizens in knowing that all persons are accountable for their conduct and must take responsibility when, through their negligence, harm is done to another citizen.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brent Adams

Nurse Charged After Patient Injured

Christina Cole — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 02:38:21 GMT

A health care worker employed by Conway Manor, an assisted living center, was charged with nursing home abuse on Wednesday.

She was arrested by Georgetown Police while working at the Georgetown Health Care Assisted Living Center.

On January 20th a patient at Conway Manor was found with a broken arm according to an incident report filed with Conway Police Department that led to the arrest of the nurse.

On January 31st, the woman, a licensed practical nurse, was fired when she gave different account regarding how the patient was injured, said the police report. On Thursday she was released from a detention center on a $2,000 surety bond.

A group that formed in 1975 said they are working to tighten laws for nursing homes and assisted living facilities. A bill being considered by Congress requires employers to report allegations of abuse, said Janet Wells, director of the National Coalition for Nursing Home Reform.

"We don't have adequate protection for the elderly," she said. "There has to be some extra layer of protection for people."

The incident report from the Conway Police Department said the patient, an 82-year-old woman, was found Jan. 20 with a broken bone in her right upper arm. An emergency room doctor said the injury showed possible abuse. An internal investigation was started at the Conway Nursing Center, the report said.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole