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Nursing home neglect, nursing home abuse, Chicago

How Payroll Records Can Help Prevent Nursing Home Neglect

March 1, 2019/in Blog, nursing home neglect, Uncategorized/by Yao Dinizulu

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is now doing more to crack down on understaffing in nursing homes. By passing a payroll records submission requirement for nursing homes that went into effect in April of last year, CMS now has a better method to judge which facilities are truly understaffed. Prior to this rule, CMS simply asked nursing homes to check a box when asked about their staffing levels.

By requesting payroll records, CMS is forcing nursing homes to provide evidence-based documentation to show staffing levels. CMS has a rule that requires nursing homes to have a registered nurse on site for at least eight hours every day. When these payroll records were analyzed, there were serious gaps in skilled nursing facility staffing in comparison with what was reported in previous years. As a result of their findings, CMS hit almost 1,400 facilities with one-star ratings for staffing coverage. Ratings for nursing homes you may be considering can be found at Nursing Home Compare.

There is a direct link between understaffing and the quality of care residents receive at a nursing home. Nursing home neglect is often found in understaffed facilities. While this new directive instructs inspectors to more thoroughly evaluate staffing at facilities CMS flags, the quality of care at many facilities won’t change overnight, nor will there be a flurry of unannounced inspections. Instead, Medicare wants heightened focus on nursing homes from inspectors when they come in for their routine reviews, which are scheduled roughly once a year for most facilities.

If you or your loved one is suffering in a nursing home, today you don’t need to wait for CMS to act. If your mom or dad is at an understaffed nursing home that didn’t properly care for your loved one and caused them injury, know that there are options for you and your family. The Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd. can represent you and help you collect full and fair compensation from those who have harmed your loved one. Our verdicts and settlements have helped many get the needed medical treatment and arrive at a place of relief and stability. Our Chicago nursing home neglect attorneys are here to help. Contact us at 1(312) 384-1920 or 1 (800) 693-1LAW.

Chicago Truck accident by overloaded cargo

Truck Freight Tonnage Highest in 2018 – What It Means for Highway Safety & Truck Accidents

February 11, 2019/in Blog, Car accident injury law, Trucking accident injury law, Uncategorized/by Yao Dinizulu

In 2018, the amount of cargo carried by the for-hire trucking industry rose 6.6 percent from 2017. This gain is the largest year-by-gain in freight tonnage since 1998.

As the trucking industry continues to transport larger loads of cargo, it is important to be mindful of the safety standards that come into play. Because a heavier and larger vehicle will take longer to stop, it is important that truck drivers and the trucking industry are properly following these rules put in place by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). These rules are:

Cargo loads must be properly secured following the respective industry standards.

A cargo load must not exceed the weight requirements for the particular truck the cargo is being loaded onto.

The truck driver, as a part of his shift, is required to inspect the cargo load, and make sure it’s securely loaded prior to driving that truck. Remember, truck drivers are required to undergo cargo safety training as part of their truck driver training in order to obtain a CDL license.

That being said, many trucking companies choose to bypass regulations for personal gain. These companies may take on more deliveries than they can safely complete. Or they may overload a truck beyond its maximum weight capacity.

When the trucking industry engages in such reckless practices, they are endangering the lives of their employees as well as everyone who shares the roads with trucks. When these companies make deliberate choices that compromise the safety of their truck drivers and others on the roadways, these companies must be held accountable before the law.

Imagine not being able to work or send your child to college due to an accident injury that’s caused by someone else’s negligence. No one who has suffered harm through no fault of their own should have to go through this. Our Chicago truck accident attorneys are here for you. Contact us at 1 (312) 384-1920, or 1 (800) 693-1LAW, or by email for more information. With over 50 years of combined experience, we will fight for your full and fair compensation.

prescription-medicine_nursing home abuse

Sedating Residents Suffering From Dementia is Nursing Home Abuse

February 4, 2019/in Blog, nursing home neglect, Uncategorized/by Yao Dinizulu

A study by the Human Right Watch finds that 179,000 nursing home residents are being given antipsychotic drugs, even though these residents don’t have schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or other serious mental illness these drugs are designed to treat.

What’s troubling is that these drugs are being given to residents with dementia. These antipsychotic medications come with a black box warning from the FDA, specifically stating these drugs shouldn’t be given to dementia patients. This black box warning is because antipsychotic drugs have been shown to increase the risk of death in patients with dementia.

Yet this is exactly the type of residents nursing homes are targeting with these medications. Almost 300,000 nursing home residents get these drugs. Rather than taking proper measures, such as investing in training programs, developing care plans that address behavior linked with dementia, or hiring staff qualified to work with dementia patients, many nursing homes are instead sedating patients to make them docile. In understaffed nursing homes, this practice is even more common.

Such nursing homes are essentially willing to play dice with their residents’ lives rather than providing quality care and hiring adequate staff. Undermining the entire service of their profession—which is to care for their residents—such nursing home are succumbing to awful practices to essentially control their residents.

If you or your loved one in a nursing home is injured due to a medication you believe was unnecessary or wrongfully given, know that there are options for you. Our Chicago nursing home abuse attorneys have helped over thousands of wronged victims get the justice they deserve. With over 50 years of combined experience, our verdicts and settlements have reached have helped many get peace of mind and arrive at a place of security. Call the Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd. at 1 (312) 384-1920 or 1 (800) 693-1LAW to schedule a free, initial consultation.

Black Enterprise Magazine

February 1, 2019/in In the News, Uncategorized/by DAMG

MANY LAW FIRMS STILL RELY ON paper, books, faxes, and other traditional methods that prevent them from taking the leap into the new century. However, the Dinizulu Law Group Ltd. is different. Since its inception in 2005, the Chicago-based trial litigation fi rm has been using technology to work smarter, better, and faster.

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Hacienda Nurse Arrested for Sexually Assaulting and Impregnating Nursing Home Resident in Vegetative State

January 28, 2019/in Uncategorized/by DAMG

A few weeks ago, we learned that a 29-year-old woman in a vegetative state living in a nursing facility in Arizona gave birth to a baby boy. And this week, it is being reported by multiple sources that a nurse employed by Hacienda HealthCare Facility, the home in which the woman resided in since she was a toddler, has been arrested for sexually assaulting her and is the alleged perpetrator responsible for getting her pregnant. The story has and continues to make headline news as many are shocked and outraged to learn that rather than this woman receiving care and supervision, she was being raped and taken advantage of, and no one was aware of it. Read more

Will Medicare’s New Payment System Prevent Nursing Home Neglect?

January 25, 2019/in Blog, nursing home neglect, Uncategorized/by Yao Dinizulu

In 2016, nearly 11 percent of nursing home residents were sent to hospitals for conditions that might have been averted with better medical and staff oversight. This fiscal year, which runs October 2018 to September 2019, Medicare will implement a new system of accountability for nursing homes. To avoid hospital re-admissions of nursing home patients, medical will switch to a system of bonuses and penalties.

Through this fiscal year, the best-performing homes will receive 1.6 percent more for each Medicare patient than they would have otherwise. The worst-performing homes will lose nearly 2 percent of each payment. This move is intended to target nursing homes’ bottom lines.

Shifting financial incentives from the number of patients they house to the quality of care, Medicare is able to expand on its efforts to improve nursing homes.

Most nursing homes are for-profit and operate primarily on a basis of financial incentives. Therefore, it’s not uncommon to see nursing homes understaff their facilities and not provide care givers with the necessary tools and training to do their jobs.

The Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd. praises Medicare’s efforts to hold under-performing nursing homes accountable. We hope this strategy is successful in improving care for our elderly loved ones.

However, at the same time, we also need to address what will happen once under-performing facilities receive further budget cuts. After further Medicare cuts, will such facilities be even less motivated to hire or train adequate staff? And thus, will residents’ care in such facilities worsen?

While we won’t know these answers until we see the full effects of this Medicare policy, know that you can do something today if you or your loved one is suffering harm in a nursing home. There are legal options available right now that will hold the wrongful facility accountable and get the needed care for mom or dad. Schedule your free, initial consultation with the Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd. today. Our Chicago nursing home neglect attorneys have over 50 years of combined experience that we put to the test everyday fighting for injured victims. Contact us at 1 (312) 384-1920 or 1 (800) 693-1LAW, or by email.

FMCSA Exempts Truckers From California Meal & Rest Break Rule

January 21, 2019/in Blog, Trucking accident injury law, Uncategorized/by Yao Dinizulu

In 2011, California passed a law requiring truck companies to provide their truck driving employees a “duty-free” 30-minute meal break for drivers who worked more than five hours a day, as well as a second “duty-free” 30-minute meal break for drivers who worked more than 10 hours a day.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) just recently on Dec. 21, 2018 announced that California’s meal-and-rest break rules are preempted by federal hours-of-service regulations. The push for this ruling came from the American Trucking Association (ATA), a lobbyist group that represents the interest of trucking companies.

By attacking this regulation, the ATA wants to prevent similar measures from being enacted across other states. Asking for a meal break for truck drivers in not an unreasonable request. As workers, most of us are guaranteed meal breaks due to federal, state, and local labor laws. It’s only fair that truck drivers also have this right.

Not only does this rule create a better working environment for truck drivers, but it ensures safer driving on our highways. Due to the long hours they work, most truck drivers are forced to eat while driving. As their focus shifts off driving, crashes become more likely. An FMCSA study found that distracted driving was the leading factor in crashes. The study found that nearly 80 percent of crashes involved some form of distracted driving in the 3 seconds before the crash.

Distracted truck drivers cause injuries to themselves as well as to those who share the roads with them. When the trucking industry pushes for these types of rulings, they are showing zero concerns for their employees, the truck drivers, who may face life-threatening injuries as a result of these policies.

But you should know that you have options if you or your loved one was injured by a distracted truck driver. The Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd. has helped thousands of families arrive at a place of security and stability. The verdicts & settlements our Chicago truck accident attorneys have achieved on behalf of injured clients have helped many in their time of need. An injury caused by the fault of others shouldn’t be a blueprint for how you and your family live out the rest of your lives. To get help, schedule a free initial consultation with one of our Chicago IL truck accident lawyers by calling 1 (312) 384-1920 or 1 (800) 693-1LAW or reach us by email. Contact us today for more information.

Tractor-Trailer Truck Driver Dies After Vehicle is Rear-Ended by Semi on Route 45 in Illinois

January 16, 2019/in Uncategorized/by DAMG

WSIL TV recently reported on a truck collision that occurred in Saline County, IL involving a tractor-trailer and a semi-truck. The source says that 60-year-old Raymond Boles of Harrisburg was driving south on Route 45 at a slow rate of speed in a 1960 Massey Ferguson tractor when his truck was rear-ended by a semi. That semi-truck was being driven by Kevin Voelker of Omaha, IL who was traveling at a fast rate of speed when he struck the tractor as a result of being distracted. Voelker allegedly stated that he had become distracted when he dropped his e-cigarette device in his cab, says the news source. Read more

Nursing Home Resident Living in a Vegetative State Gives Birth to Baby Boy

January 16, 2019/in Uncategorized/by DAMG

Police believe she is the victim of sexual abuse.

A nursing home facility is under investigation after a 29-year-old resident who has been in a vegetative state for nearly a decade gave birth to a baby boy last month [Source: ABC News]. The birth of the child coupled with the woman’s current medical condition “sparked allegations of sexual abuse and concerns about patient safety.” The facility, which is located in Phoenix and is a part of Hacienda Healthcare, has 74 beds and provides long-term care to individuals with intellectual disabilities, such as “medically fragile and chronically ill children and young adults.” Read more

Sepsis Caused By Nursing Home Neglect – A New Treatment Offers Hope

January 11, 2019/in Blog, nursing home neglect, Uncategorized/by Yao Dinizulu

A new vitamin treatment made of vitamin C, thiamine, and steroids is offering new hope for patients suffering from sepsis. Sepsis, is a blood infection that can turn lethal in many cases and very quickly. CDC reports that one-third patient deaths in hospital is caused by sepsis.

Clinical trials have already started to test the treatment. One particular clinical trial called VICTAS (Vitamin C, Thiamine and Steroids in Sepsis) is leading the way. The hope is that the treatment will improve patient outcomes by at least 10%. 10% may not sound like much, but it has the potential to save tens of thousands of lives in the U.S. every year, reports NPR.

One of the main causes of sepsis is an untreated wound or infection. In American nursing homes, bed sores that should never occur are happening and then left untreated. This factor raises the risk of sepsis and death from the disease.

While there’s hope for this new treatment, preventing sepsis in many cases is not difficult. For example, in nursing homes, when employers properly train their staff and enforce all the needed protocols for wound care and prevention, sepsis is less likely to occur in these facilities.

As a nursing home abuse trial attorney, I get to see firsthand the devastating results when nursing homes have gaps in the care they provide to their residents. Your mom and dad shouldn’t suffer due to a nursing home’s negligence.

Contact the Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd. to get help. Our nursing home neglect attorneys have over 50 years of combined experience. Our verdicts & settlements have helped many arrive at a place of security and peace of mind. We can be reached at 1 (312) 384-1920, 1 (800) 693-1LAW, or by email. Schedule your free initial consultation now.