April 2007 :: Tennessee Injury Lawyer Blog

April 19, 2007

Tennessee Drivers: On Your Marks, Get Ready, STOP

Well, it’s that time of year. Trees get their leaves back, flowers bloom, and you waking in the morning to the gentle humming of a ninety-pound jackhammer. Yup, folks, it’s road construction time again.

Major upcoming or continuing road projects for the Nashville area include:

• Installation of traffic cameras and overhead dynamic message boards along I-440, I-65, I-24, and I-40. Look out for repairs to concrete along I-440 over the coming weeks.

• Resurfacing at night on I-65 and parts of I-40, I-24, and I-440 along the downtown loop. Driving north, watch out for resurfacing on I-65 between Honey Run Creek and Mile Marker 121 at night. Driving south, on I-65, watch out from Moore's Lane to the Davidson County line.

• Lebanon Road Bridge Construction (new bridge over the Stones River on Lebanon Road).

• South of Nashville: Look out for construction widening I-24 from SR 96 to SR 10 (US 231). Construction on I-65 of a new interchange on I-65 at McEwen Drive.

(information courtesy of the TN Department of Transportation)

With only 23 automible accident injuries and no fatalities in Shelby County last month (March) and with about three-quarters of our state now wearing its seatbelt (up 16% since 2000, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 2007 report), we’re doing something right on the road.

Let’s keep eye on the road, our hands at ten and two, belts buckled, and feet near the brake as we pass through these construction zones. Look out for our workers’ safety and your pocketbook: speeding violations in construction areas will cost you an additional $250-$500.

Posted by Jim Higgins | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: automobile accidents

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April 3, 2007

Tennessee Fosamax, Aredia and Zometa prescriptions

Occasionally I am asked to do weekly legal updates for the Tennessee Mornings Show on Fox 17 in Nashville. Sometimes the topics are suggested by the show but often they would just like for me to give some recent legal news. Although it sounds easy it is often difficult to think of a topic. It never fails, however, that a client calls with some concern that is probably shared by many.

Today a client called who had been taking the drug fosamax. The call starts like most: "I have been taking a prescription drug that was recalled, so what should I Do?"They are concerned because this drug has been linked to Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (ONJ), also known as "dead jaw" and "fossy jaw". It is definitely a scary feeling when you find out that a drug that you take for your health may actually be harming you. These are concerns from clients in Nashville, Tennessee and throughout the Country.

Here is some quick advice. Call your doctor immediately. Some drug risk are low and there may be little to fear. Don't quit taking the drug until you talk to your doctor. Gather your drug records to show how long you have been taking the drug and in what dosage. If you fear you have been harmed talk to a lawyer. Research the drug on the Internet. There are a tremendous amount of sources available now than can let you know where you stand.

Posted by Jim Higgins | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Defective Drugs

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April 2, 2007

Tennessee Nursing Home Company Faces13 New Suits

Life Care Centers of America Inc., one of the nation’s largest elder care providers based in Cleveland, TN, will be facing a class action suit filed earlier this month against 13 of its California care facilities.

Sound run-of-the-mill? Lets consider a few points of this buried Page 4 Los Angeles Times 3/17/07 story. The first concerns how many California facilities the company owns (and the answer is not for those with triskaidekaphobia, the fear of the number 13): 13. All 13 had received multiple violations.

Now, secondly, the nature of these multiple violations (one branch received over 25 in one year). These are the minimum state requirements being violated. Think about your favorite restaurant. Then think about 25 health violations. Now, finally, think about not being able to leave your restaurant and having to eat that unfit food for years, and you get some idea the lives these residents lived. There’s no reason for a single violation, not to mention the more than 12 an inspection inspectors found every time they visited 1 of these 13 facilities.

Third, let’s clarify the idea of a nursing home company. Life Care Centers of America brings in approximatly a billion dollars every year and, according to the L.A. Times article. It has been alleged that nursing home companies increase their income by finding those who need the most care (because Medicare will pay more for them) and simultaneously reduce overhead by hiring less than the bare minimum staff.

As the attorney prosecuting this case Stephen Garcia says in the 3/17 home edition of the Los Angeles Times where I first began following this story, “It’s not an issue of the people on the floor not wanting to do their jobs. It’s that there’s not enough of them. It’s a matter of corporate greed at the corporate level, not at the caregiver level.”

So let’s clarify what is alleged in this suit. Life Care Centers of America wants to make money; the residents part of this class action suit want to punish the corporation by taking back some of that same money made off their misery. If this is accurate, more power to them.

Posted by Jim Higgins | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Nursing Home Neglect

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