Tennessee Injury Lawyer Blog

Admissions have recently been suspended at a Memphis, Tennessee nursing home. Also, the Tennessee Department of Health has fined the home for violations. According to records, the home was cited for failing to provided necessary basic services, failed to administer medications or treatment in accordance with doctor’s orders and failed to protect residents from accidents, injuries or harm. A special monitor will be appointed to review the nursing home's operations.
Again we have a home that people depend upon to take care of their loved ones that appears to have failed. Nursing home neglect is too common. It is a national crisis that needs to be addressed.
I believe the first step is simply to hire enough staff to take care of the residents and to hire people that are truly there to help. In order to attract professional, qualified staff the nursing home should pay a decent wage. This will require the homes to worry less about their bottom line and more about the welfare of the people who reside in the home.

A Nashville Judge has ruled that families who lost loved ones in a nursing home fire can pursue a punitive damage claim against the company that owned the facility for its alleged disregard of fire safety training and failures of the facility's employees on the night the fire occurred. It is alleged that the nursing home corporation, National Health care Corp. falsified fire drill reports and appointed an untrained maintenance man to oversee fire safety training at the facility, leaving employees without the ability to handle the crisis.

This case demonstrates the continued need to allow punitive damages in cases of reckless actions and gross negligence. If a jury determines that these nursing home deaths resulted from such acts they can punish the nursing home accordingly. Nursing Home Neglect cases need this punitive tool to ensure the industry operates properly.

Here are some common questions I receive from an employee being harassed at the work place are: How do I stop it? What do I do? Should I quit? Should I just stay quiet?

The answers to these questions vary with each situation. There are a few things we must consider. For the purposes of this blog, however, I well tell you where we always start. Is the behavior actually sexual harassment? There are some cases that are obvious but often the behavior can be more in a grey area.

To give you some guidance, as to what is sexual harassment, the EEOC defines sexual harassment as:

* unwelcome sexual advances;
* requests for sexual favors;
* other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature-when:

o submission to such conduct can be either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an person's employment or academic success (man or woman), or

o submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment or academic decisions affecting such individuals, or

o the conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individuals work or academic performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or sexually offensive working environment.

One example of birth injuries caused by trauma to the newborn is Erb's palsy (sometimes called Brachial Plexus palsy). In essence The brachial plexus is a nerve bundle located in the shoulder region that controls muscles in the shoulder, arms and hands. Sometimes during delivery a child’s should can become lodged on the mother’s pubic bone. If a physician uses to much force on a child’ head during the deliver process in an effort to dislodge a shoulder damage can occur to the nerve bundles located in this shoulder region.

A child that is born with brachial plexus palsies such as Erb's palsy can suffer paralysis and a loss of sensation and muscle control in their shoulders, arm and hands. They may also suffer from disfigurement of the shoulder or arms. This often results in the child being unable to lift their arms above their head and not being able to have appropriate strength and fine motor coordination. Treatment options include extensive physical therapy and surgery.

Obviously, the primary concern of the parents is to care for the child and not the possibility of pursuing a claim. However, the long term costs of caring for the child can be extraordinary. Admittedly, the delivery of a child is a complicated process, and the potential for complications is always present. However, some complications like birth injuries can be presented, and it is the responsibility of the treating medical care providers to provide adequate medical care for the fetus and mother during pregnancy, labor and the delivery. Unfortunately, parents often do not discover that a cause of the problem can be medical malpractice for a significant period of time. In Tennessee the family now has only three years to bring a claim. This may sound like a long time but when the sole concern is your child the three years passes very quickly.

Two middle Tennessee car accidents tragically claimed the lives of two children within 16 hours. Also, two other women were killed and 13 other people seriously injured. The child who died in the first wreck was not riding in a car seat.
Police said that the child, who was sitting on her mother’s lap and bound by her seat belt, was ejected on impact and died the next day in a hospital. This loss emphasis the importance of using a child safety seat. Following are safety tips from the government as to the proper use of child safety seats.

Seats are to be secured to the vehicle by a safety belts or by the LATCH system.
-Do not use in a front seat where an air bag is present.
-Tightly install child seat in rear seat, facing the rear.
-Child seat should be reclined at approximately a 45 degree angle.
-Harness straps at or below the child’s shoulder level (lower set of slots for most convertible child safety seats).
-Harness straps should fit snug on child; harness clip at armpit level.
Less than 1 year/ 20-35 lbs. Convertible Seat/used rear-facing (select one recommended for heavier infants).

Seats should be secured to the vehicle by the safety belts or by the LATCH system.
-Do not use in a front seat where an air bag is present.
-Tightly install child seat in rear seat, facing the rear.
-Child seat should recline at approximately a 45 degree angle.
-Harness straps/slots at or below the child’s shoulder level (lower set of slots for most convertible child safety seats).
-Harness straps should fit snugly on child; harness clip at armpit level.
PRESCHOOLERS /
TODDLER 1 to 4 years/ at least 20 lbs. to approximately 40 lbs. Convertible Seat/forward-facing or Forward-Facing Only or High Back Booster/Harness.

Seats should be secured to the vehicle by the safety belts or by the LATCH system.
-Tightly install child seat in rear seat, facing forward.
-Harness straps/slots at or above child’s shoulders (usually top set of slots for convertible child safety seats).
-Harness straps snug on child; harness clip at armpit level.
YOUNG
CHILDREN 4 to at least 8 years/unless they are 4’9" (57") tall. Belt-Positioning Booster (no back, only) or High Back Belt-Positioning Booster.

NEVER use with lap-only belts—belt-positioning boosters are always used with lap AND shoulder belts.
-Booster used with adult lap and shoulder belt in rear seat.
-Shoulder belt should rest snugly across chest, rests on shoulder; and should never be placed under the arm or behind the back.
-Lap-belt should rest low, across the lap/upper thigh area—not across the child’s stomach.

This week I met with several families who believe their loved ones were neglected or abused in a Tennessee Nursing Home. This week was not different from most. What is frustrating about my job is that by nature it tends to be reactive. By the time someone is sitting in my office their loved one has been injured or may have passed. My office does all we can to give people a voice and find justice but we can never undue the harm that has been done.

In an effort to help people detect neglect I would like to make a few suggestions. Visit the nursing home often. Get to know all of the employees you can on a personal level. Also, develop relationships with other residents and families. They can all watch out for each other. Communication with the facility is key.

Also, watch out for common signs of nursing home neglect. These signs may include the following:

# Untreated bed sores
# Unexplained wounds, cuts, bruises, or welts
# Bruises in a pattern that would suggest restraints
# Extreme and sudden weight loss
# Fleas, lice, dirt on resident or in the resident's room
# Fecal/urine odors
# Poor personal hygiene or other unattended health problems

This weekend a Tennessee Titan intentionly kicked an opposing player in the face. The player was ejected from the game and has been fined by the national football league. So is that enough? What would happen if you or I hit a co-employee at work?

The obvious answers are that we would probably be charged with a crime. I understand the dilemma of where a line is drawn. "Football is a violent sport" and "players hit each other all the time during the game." However, kicking someone in the face has no place in football or any other business. We all live by the law being and you should not be exempt because you are wealthy or hold a high profile job.

The district attorney in Nashville has a duty to enforce our laws. We have a great District Attorney in Nashville. I have confidence in his judgment and realize not every case is black and white and victims do not always cooperate. However, I would suggest the district attorney consider issuing a statement declaring such actions will not be tolerated in Nashville. Further, if this is not a case for the criminal justice system it may very well be a case for the civil justice system.

Over the past couple of months there have been several devastating automobile accidents in Tennessee. Also, the tragic death of Metro Officer Christy Dedman, who was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer while assisting a stranded motorist on I-40 in July 2004, in Nashville, Tennessee helped bring to light the impact of these accidents on families and the public and prompted a change in the law.

After the Dedman accident an initiative began which lead to the MOVE OVER law in Tennessee. The move over law requires drivers who are approaching a stopped emergency responder of any kind on a highway or interstate to move over if a lane is available, or to slow down if you cannot change lanes.

This has been a great initiative to avoid senseless loses. I believe are next step to avoid accidents is to strictly enforce laws requiring truckers to comply with the hours restrictions placed upon them by the federal government. To often, truck drivers are forced by their company to get products to the destination no matter what the cost. This often results in the drivers pushing themselves behind their limits. Truck drivers who routinely get too little sleep or suffer from sleep apnea show signs of fatigue and impaired performance that can make them a hazard on the road.

Over the past couple of months two Nashville nursing homes have been fined. Conditions in one home were found to be detrimental to the health, safety or welfare of the residents. The other nursing home failed administer medications and treatments as ordered, notify physician of changes in resident condition, report unusual incidents and investigate complaints, among other problems. Unfortunately, these reports occur too often.

So how is the neglect discovered? In general the Tennessee health care facilities department surveys the homes on a random basis. These surprise inspections often reveal that our loved ones are not being treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. Some inspections reveal actual abuse and neglect . Also, family members and staff have the ability to file complaints with the state to report mistreatment. These leads us to our next question. Why does this occur on such a regular basis?

I have represented many families in nursing home neglect case. Sometimes we find that a loved one has suffered an injury in the facility as the result of negligence, an accident. However, more often than not we find that a loved one suffered unnecessary injuries because the home did not hire sufficient staff to care for all the patients. In other words, they tried to increase their profits by cutting staff and thereby cutting costs. Profits over people.