Nursing Home Negligence & Abuse Blog Page 4 of 6

Managing Elopement Risks in Nursing Homes

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on November 22, 2013 in Nursing Home Negligence & Abuse

“Elopement” is the term that nursing home professionals use when talking about the tendency of some residents—especially those with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias—to wander off the premises. About half of all nursing home residents have some form of dementia. Because these people typically have difficulties with memory, planning, orientation, emotional control, and communication, they […]

Restraints Are No Solution for Nursing Home Elopement

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on November 20, 2013 in Nursing Home Negligence & Abuse

Residents of nursing homes are not prisoners. They are neither violent nor dangerous. They are legally independent adults who, because of age, illness, or infirmity, have to rely on other people for help in the essential activities of daily living. The problem is that most nursing homes are profit-driven commercial enterprises. While many caregivers and […]

Chemical Restraints Are a Form of Nursing Home Abuse in Pennsylvania

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on November 04, 2013 in Nursing Home Negligence & Abuse

What’s it like to visit an elderly relative—an aunt, your grandmother—in a Pennsylvania nursing home? Yes, it’s often sad. Your family member isn’t the vital and energetic person you remember from the past. She may even have trouble remembering your name or recalling why she no longer lives independently at home. At the same time, […]

The Horror of Physical Restraints in Pennsylvania Nursing Homes

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on November 02, 2013 in Nursing Home Negligence & Abuse

The use of physical restraints is one of the key indicators for nursing home neglect in Pennsylvania. Most nursing homes are run as businesses for profit, but the fact is that they operate under very slim profit margins. Most residents’ bills are paid by Medicaid, and that program is certainly not known for its generosity. […]

Is Your Loved One in Danger From Pennsylvania Nursing Home Gangrene?

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on October 16, 2013 in Nursing Home Negligence & Abuse

When the blood supply to part of the body is interrupted, gangrene is the common result. The circulatory system provides blood to all parts of the body, carrying nutrients and oxygen to cells and removing carbon dioxide and waste products. When something goes amiss and blood flow is cut off for a substantial period, tissues […]

Bedsores: Evidence of Nursing Home Neglect in Pennsylvania

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on October 14, 2013 in Nursing Home Negligence & Abuse

The majority of nursing home residents have mobility challenges. Some get by with a cane or walking frame for short distances, but that level of exertion is beyond the reach of most. Some residents will be able to use mechanical wheelchairs or personal mobility scooters; others will remain bedridden, perhaps unable to sit up or […]

Choose the Right Lawyer for Your Nursing Home Wrongful Death Case

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on October 10, 2013 in Nursing Home Negligence & Abuse

Jane knew it was unlikely that her Dad would ever live on his own again, but she never anticipated the call from the nursing home telling her that he died in a completely avoidable way. Even though the nursing home staff knew her father had dementia and was often unable to take care of himself […]

Damages Available for a Pennsylvania Nursing Home Wrongful Death Suit

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on October 08, 2013 in Nursing Home Negligence & Abuse

When negligence of the staff or management at a Pennsylvania nursing home causes a premature death to your family member, a natural reaction is shock and outrage. You are furious because the people you have hired to look after your father, grandmother, or sister betrayed that trust so easily. You probably feel a little guilty, […]

State Report Critical Of Nursing Home Care And Facility In Causing Resident’s Death

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on June 13, 2013 in Nursing Home Negligence & Abuse

Posted on Jun 13, 2013 The Pennsylvania State Department of Health (DOH) has issued a scathing inspection report on a nursing home where a resident was pushed to her death. An official inspection by the DOH revealed the Weatherwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Carbon County didn’t have a proper emergency plan and staff didn’t […]

JAMA Study Shows Providers Are Profiting Off Their Own Mistakes – Why?

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on June 06, 2013 in Nursing Home Negligence & Abuse

According to an April 17 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), health care providers profit from their own mistakes and negligence because they get paid by insurers for longer patient stays and the extra care that is required to treat surgical complications that may have well been prevented. The JAMA study […]

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$10,043,952.13 Personal Injury
Schmidt Kramer, P.C.partner Gerard C. Kramer won a personal injury action for $10,043,952.13 in Northumberland County on behalf of a volunteer firefighter who was the victim of Intentional Tort. The 50-year-old volunteer firefighter was seriously injured when a barn collapsed, causing a spinal injury which left him a paraplegic. The claim was brought against the arsonist who intentionally started the fire. It is believed that the verdict is the highest ever in Northumberland County.
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$4,034,000.00 Personal Injury
Yesterday a Judge in Union County (Lewisburg, PA) awarded a couple from New Berlin, Pennsylvania, over $4,000,000 because the husband was shot while turkey hunting.You might ask yourself, how does a turkey hunting accident end up with that type of verdict? In order to understand the verdict you would have to know our clients. They are good people who had their life wrecked. Plus, you would have to know the defendant, who should not have been hunting with a gun because he was prohibited after a previous criminal conviction.It is a good verdict, because the Judge was able to do two things with his decision. First, he communicated to two very good people that their losses were something that those of us on the outside could appreciate and value. Mike Hobbins (our client) is a 51 year old guy who lost his sight because a convicted felon --who should not have even possessed a gun-- went hunting illegally, and broke with impunity the most fundamental rule in hunting: identify your target before you pull the trigger. The Judge accepted the financial loss Mr. Hobbins' suffered, but listened closely to the evidence of less tangible losses. When Mike broke down on the stand, because his daughter would end up walking him down the aisle at her wedding, as opposed to how it was supposed to go, the Judge was listening. When Mike could not keep it together, because of how emasculating it was for him not to be able to provide financially for his family, the Judge was listening. It was facts like these that the Judge cited to support the $2,000,000 award for non-economic damages. Second, the Judge wanted to send a message. Union County is a hunting county. Many of the residents hunt there, and people from outside the area come to Union County to hunt. It was my impression, from the Judge's statements as he rendered his decision, that he wanted to send a message to the people in Union County to protect them in their sport. The rules in place to restrict people convicted of crimes not to have a gun are not to be broken. Hunting is serious and you have to identify your target before you shoot. When you turn your back on the rules that are set to provide safety in a sport, you risk being an example. Here, the $1,000,000 punitive damage award sends that message loud and clear.When it really comes down to brass tacks, the right action was taken against a Defendant who may never truly appreciate what kind of impact his reckless choices caused.At Schmidt Kramer, we are injury lawyers. That means we work with people who were hurt in car accidents, who were hurt by the neglect of nursing homes, or those that were seriously injured because of the reckless, thoughtless acts of others. If you or a loved one have been injured in Pennsylvania, we may be able to help. While the verdict yesterday is not one that is representative of every case we do, it does show that serious and dedicated representation can bring good results.Joe ChapmanJanuary 18, 2013
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$2,200,000.00 Auto Accidents
On Monday, January 6, 2014, Schmidt Kramer accident lawyer Scott Cooper obtained a verdict on behalf of his client who is the widow of a man who died in a fiery crash on Interstate 78 in Lebanon County. The awarded verdict of $2.2 million was in a nonjury proceeding before a federal judge in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. That verdict includes $100,000 in punitive damages assessed against the owner of the trucking company.Kamilah Claxton won summary judgment in November after the defendants, Sukhwinder Singh and the trucking company for which he worked, failed to file a brief in opposition to Claxton's motion, which was made in September. The verdict in Claxton v. Singh was issued after the court held a non-jury assessment of damages earlier this month."Mr. Sukhchan Singh, the employer, is liable on the basis of respondent superior, but was also grossly negligent in failing to maintain his vehicle in compliance with state and federal law, particularly with regard to having required safety inspections and correcting defects in its braking equipment," said U.S. District Judge William W. Caldwell of the Middle District of Pennsylvania in his opinion accompanying the verdict."He was also grossly negligent in entrusting his vehicle to Sukhwinder Singh, an inexperienced truck driver who had failed the written test and driving test multiple times before finally earning his commercial driving license," Caldwell said.
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$1,200,000.00 Personal Injury
A Dauphin County jury has awarded a $1.2 million verdict to the parents of a 5-year-old who had an anoxic brain injury and stopped breathing after he had a tonsillectomy.2012-06-26 10:00:00 AMDate of Verdict: June 19. 2012Court and Case No.: C.P. Dauphin County No. 2009-CV-14003-MMJudge: Scott EvansType of Action: Medical malpracticeInjuries: Anoxic brain injuryPlaintiffs Counsel: Terry S. Hyman, Schmidt Kramer, HarrisburgPlaintiffs Experts: Dr. Anna H. Messner, liability; Lucille Packer, Pediatric Otolaryngology, Palo Alto, Calif.; Terry P. Leslie, vocations and earning capacity, Lancaster; Dr. Hilary B. Berlin, pediatric psychiatry, Great Neck, N.Y.Defense Counsel: Andrew H. Foulkrod, Darlene K. King, Foulkrod Ellis, Camp Hill, PADefense Experts: James C. Reilly, Pediatric Otolaryngology, Wilmington, DEComment: A Dauphin County jury has awarded a $1.2 million verdict to the parents of a 5-year-old who had an anoxic brain injury and stopped breathing after he had a tonsillectomy.The entire verdict came against Dr. Andrew M. Shapiro, the doctor who plaintiffs Reginald Graham and Tykeisha Metz alleged chose to have the boy monitored at a pediatric ward. The plaintiffs argued Shapiro failed to tell nurses caring for the baby about, and how to care for, the boy's enhanced risk for respiratory failure.The jury came back on June 19 and awarded Reginald Graham and Tykeisha Mets $500,000 in non-economic damages and $686,170 in loss of future earning capacity, according to the plaintiffs counsel.According to the statement, the baby's mother brought him to Shapiro because she was "'afraid that he might stop breathing during his sleep,'" the plaintiffs' pretrial statement said. Shapiro performed a sleep study and observed the baby's Apnea Hypopnea Index to be 43 — four times higher than what's considered severe. A tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy were performed.According to the plaintiffs, the baby's sleep study results put him at an increased risk for post-operative respiratory complications. Despite this, they argued in the statement, Shapiro ordered the pediatric nurses at the Harrisburg Hospital general pediatric ward to observe the boy as they would any other patients — about once every four hours.The pretrial statement said that one in four children who have an AHI in the 40s and oxygen desaturation below 80 have some type of respiratory problem. The younger the child, the greater the risk of a respiratory problem, the statement said.According to the statement, Shapiro took off the child's pulse oximeter, the finger-mounted device used to measure blood oxygen, and ordered a heart and respiratory rate monitor. The child was 11 months old at the time.The plaintiffs pled that the baby was last seen at 4 a.m. There was no record of his oxygen saturation for the next hour and 45 minutes. He stopped breathing a 6:40 a.m., and his brain was without oxygen long enough to cause demonstrable injury on an MRI."Immediately prior to his surgery, [the child] was a normal child, who could say mama, eat finger foods, and was just on the verge of walking," the statement said. "After his code, [he] was like a newborn. He could not lift his head or sit up. He could not talk. He could not move."In his pretrial statement, Shapiro argued that he recognized the child's pre-operative sleep study showed he was driven to breath by decreased blood oxygen saturation, which he said was typical in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.He argued the American Academy of Otolaryngology dictates that admission to the intensive care unit is not the standard of care. In the statement, he said nurses did not observe signs of respiratory distress. No alarms sounded until the child arrested, the statement said.He said the baby likely arrested as a result of hypoglycemia and/or an acute aspiration, which he argued would not have been identified by blood oxygen saturation.— Ben Present, of the Law Weekly
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$1,024,040.80 Auto Accidents
Scott Cooper settled a wrongful death case on behalf of the widow of a police office who was killed in a car accident in the line of duty for $1,024,040.80. The claim against the other driver was amicably resolved before suit was filed for the entire available policy limits for the other driver. The case took place in Adams County, PA.
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