A recent article explained that the federal government is stepping up efforts to regulate the administration of antipsychotic drugs in nursing homes across America. In conjunction, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has also announced a goal of reducing the overall use of antipsychotic drugs in nursing homes by 15% by the end of the year. Quite alarmingly, the article suggests that perhaps as many as Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: Workers Compensation Law — An Introduction to Rule 19(b) Petition
Another unique factor involved in workers compensation cases that differs significantly from your typical personal injury lawsuit is that workers comp claims are occasionally "accepted," which is essentially where the employer's insurance company admits that there has been a valid work injury and agrees to pay benefits -- something to the effect of a first step forward on the path to an eventual settlement. But what Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: Auto Accident Law — Another New Direction for Drunk Driving Offenses?
As we recently discussed, studies on the rates of repeat offenders in drunk driving incidents are leading many states to consider mandating interlock devices that, in theory, prevent drunk drivers from being able to operate their vehicles. Behind these reports, however, is the unfortunate admission that those inclined to make destructive decisions will do so one way or another. Underscoring this point, studies tend Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect — International Study May Affect Fall Risk Prevention at Nursing Homes
Preventing dangerous and potentially fatal injuries that result from falls in nursing homes, quite simply, should be at the top of every nursing home's priority list. Unfortunately, nursing home residents are, in general, at a high risk for falls, be it from physical injuries, illness, or otherwise, and the consequences of what might seem like a simple fall to a person of normal health can have severe Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Law — A Cautionary Note on Pressure Sores
We recently discussed the important story from Colorado where a jury awarded $3.2 million dollars to the family of a man that died after a fist-sized bed sore on his back. Another story reporting on this case brings up an additional point on "bed sores" that truly underscores just how preventable they are. For patients assessed at high risk for skin breakdown, nursing homes generally have policies and procedures in Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Law — California Nursing Home Sued for Administering Anti-Psychotic Drugs without Patients’ Consent
Earlier this year, the AARP joined a very unique class action lawsuit against a nursing home in Ventura, California facing charges that it administered antipsychotic drugs to its residents without informed consent from the patients and/or their representatives . The lawsuit, which also targets a doctor, alleges, in part, that residents of the facility were administered a number of antipsychotic medications under a Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Law — the Paradox of Punitive Damages under the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act
An interesting story recently unfolded in West Virginia, where the State Supreme Court prepared to undertake a review of potential caps on punitive damages against nursing homes following a trial where a jury awarded $91.5 million after a nursing home resident allegedly died of complications from dehydration and neglect. The report indicates that the jury apportioned approximately $11 million of the award for Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: Personal Injury, Toxic Tort Law — NBC Investigation into North Carolina Ground Water Contamination a Harrowing Must-Read
In an investigative study that feels eerily similar to a Hollywood screenplay, NBC recently released the details into their investigation claimed ground water contamination in North Carolina that the state allegedly did not notify residents of for over six years. As the article details, the Environmental Protection Agency began calling residents in the area this past summer notifying them that their water was Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: Workers Compensation Law — Why All the Red Tape?
One of the interesting things about workers compensation law is that, unlike certain areas of civil law such as auto accidents or medical malpractice, for instance, that come down to case-by-case factual determinations, it seems as though a great majority of the facets, nuances, and "ins and outs" of this area is regulated and spelled out in the text of the law. From a practical standpoint, this is due in large part Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect — Colorado Jury Awards Significant Damages in Bedsore Case
A jury in Colorado awarded a $3.2 million verdict to the family of an 88-year old nursing home resident that died due, in large part, to complications stemming from a bedsore approximately the size of a baseball. Bedsores, or "pressure ulcers" as they are commonly known, are one of the more common causes of nursing home abuse and neglect cases that many attorneys in this area of the law come across. In this Read More
