Tennessee Injury Lawyer Blog

July 31, 2019

11 Tennessee Nursing Homes on a Federal List for Repeated Violations of Poor Care

In Tennessee, 11 well known nursing homes have been named as some of the poorest performers in the state. Violations ranging from untreated bedsores, unreported falls, bruises that are unexplainable, and an insulin overdose that equated to 25 times more than the standard dosage are just some of those that have been made.

These revelations come after two U.S. Senators: Bob Casey, D-Pennsylvania, and Pat Toomey, R-Pennsylvania, of the Senate Special Committee on Aging released a “secret” report in June. The report suggested that in the U.S. there were at least 400 underperforming nursing homes. After the report was released Medicare and Medicaid opted to disclose to the public a list of these homes; the agencies said they would also receive extra inspections and attention through the Special Focus Facility Program.

Although lists of underperforming nursing facilities have always been public, resources to improve their services are very limited. For instance, in this case when 400 nursing homes are not performing to the best of their ability, there are only enough resources for 88 homes to be a part of the Special Focus Facility Program.

February 6, 2019

3M Knowingly Sold the U.S. Department of Defense Earplugs, Putting Active Duty Soldiers at Risk for Hearing Loss

by Jim Higgins

In 2018, a judge for the Department of Justice ordered 3M to pay $9.1 million in damages to veterans who were injured after using their dual ended Combat Arms Earplugs (CAEv2).

For a free case review with a 3M defective earplugs lawyer Nashville, TN has to offer, please call The Higgins Firm right away.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, hearing loss, tinnitus, and other hearing problems is the most prevalent “service connected” medical condition among veterans. As of 2017, at least one million U.S. military veterans were receiving disability for hearing loss. Another 1.6 million U.S. military veterans were receiving disability for tinnitus. It is thought that both of these numbers are much higher, but some veterans have not yet noticed, or reported, their symptoms.

January 17, 2019

Tennessee Doctors Are Getting Paid to Deny Americans and Tennessee Residents Disability

by Jim Higgins

Tennessee has the highest number of denied medical disability claims in the United States. In 2017, 72% of applicants were denied – the national average is 66%. The state contracts medical doctors to review all Medicare disability claims. These doctors are paid per review which means the faster they can work, the more money they make.

The federal standard of reviewing disability claims is 1.5 cases per hour. Of the 50 contracted medical doctors in Tennessee, over 25 of them exceed that amount. One of them reviewed a case every 12 minutes.

Some of these cases are short and a few pages. Others comprise of several hundred pages, lab reports, MRI results, X-rays, work records, and other important information. It is the medical doctor’s duty to review the case, in full, and report their findings back to the state. Opinions from experts and previous employees say there is a shortage of medical doctors to review the cases; therefore, it’s impossible to do so without making wrongful rejections.

August 24, 2018

A Terminally Ill Man Just Won $289 Million from Agricultural Company Monsanto

by Jim Higgins

A San Francisco jury ruled that the most popular weed killer in the world, Roundup, caused a former schoolteacher, husband, and father of two to become terminally ill with cancer.

Dewayne Johnson’s case was the first to go to trial, and was expedited, because doctor’s had said he wasn’t expected to live long. In California, plaintiffs near death can be granted a speedy trial. His victory is likely to set a precedent for thousands of other cases who claim the herbicide made by Monsanto causes a deadly, painful form of cancer known as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

The jury deliberated the case for three days at the San Francisco Superior Court before choosing to award Johnson $250 million in punitive damages and $39 million in compensatory damages. Johnson’s lawyer says he will live the rest of his life in “extreme comfort”, but this won’t change the fact that he will almost certainly lose his life, and very soon, leaving his two sons and wife.

July 9, 2018

Signature HealthCare to Pay $30 Million For Allegations of Defrauding Nursing Home Residents

by Jim Higgins

The settlement was made with the U.S. Department of Justice after Signature HealthCare was found to have submitted forged pre-admission certifications regarding patient needs to the Medicaid program in Tennessee.

These allegations initially arose after two former employees of the nursing home company filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit. The U.S. government became involved and also accused Signature HealthCare of engaging in multiple fraudulent practices that were lead to false claims for “unreasonable, unnecessary, and unskilled services to Medicare patients.”

The two whistleblowers say they felt that it was necessary to file a lawsuit after one of their patients had been very sick for days and was not able to attend therapy. Even so, their boss demanded that the resident undergo 4 hours of therapy in a single day so that his reimbursement bill would not fall into a lower bracket.

May 29, 2018

New Pending Lawsuits Against Neocate Formula and Dangerously Low Phosphate Levels

by Jim Higgins

Earlier this year a father was being accused of of child abuse by Child Protective Services. They alleged that between December 2017 and January 2018, his sustained unexplained broken bones including a fractured femur and wrist. The boy’s father claims no abuse had taken place, and that he had been caring for his 10 year old son for years since his mother left.

The boy has cerebral palsy and a number of other medical problems. He uses a wheelchair, is non verbal, but very happy. He also uses a feeding tube and has been prescribed an amino based acid food called Neocate Formula. He consumes nothing but this dietary food supplement. As CPS was looking into the case, the boy’s father remained determined to find out the real reason why his son was experiencing sporadic fractures. Eventually he discovered a link in legal advertising which described the potential for unexplainable broken bones, sprains, or fractures while taking Neocate Formula. Upon further testing, it was discovered that the boy also had hypophosphatemia, a disorder that results in dangerously low phosphate levels which can cause broken bones, fractures, and rickets. The father went immediately to CPS and explained that the injuries were the probable result of the low phosphate levels.

This case is not unique. Throughout the U.S. there are parents who have been wrongfully accused of child abuse after their child suffered broken bones while taking Neocate Formula. In this case, the investigation was closed and accusations against the father were dropped.

May 15, 2018

Abilify Claimants Recover Settlements, While Others Join the Class Action Lawsuit

by Jim Higgins

Three people who said the antipsychotic drug Abilify caused them to engage in compulsive gambling have reached a settlement for undisclosed amounts. The cases were considered to be bellwether, multidistrict litigation, and scheduled for trial in June. The District Court has ordered the defendants, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., to pay the claimant’s within 30 days. In turn, the Plaintiffs must execute a full release which will result in a dismissal of the case trial. Continue Reading

May 7, 2018

Is the Attorney Client Privilege Over? Here’s What You Need to Know

by Jim Higgins

President Trump Tweeted that the “Attorney client privilege is dead” after the FBI conducted a raid at the office of Michael Cohen, a New York lawyer and legal representative of Trump. The President is well known for his Tweets, and later continued to tell his Twitter following that “I have many (too many!) lawyers and they are probably wondering when their offices, and even homes, are going to be raided,”. He added, “All lawyers are deflated and concerned!”

Those who follow Trump, including thousands of lawyers, had plenty of questions after his bold Tweets; namely whether or not what he said had any real truth. Before discussing what the attorney client privilege is, it will be important to understand why the offices of Attorney Michael Cohen were raided. Here’s a few fast facts:

Michael Cohen is one of Trump’s lawyers.

April 2, 2018

Tempe Woman is Struck and Killed by Self Driving Uber Car, Now the Question Remains: Who is Responsible?

by Jim Higgins

On March 18, 2018, Elaine Herzberg, 49, was struck and killed by a self driving Uber car. The Tempe resident had been crossing the road with her bicycle when the automobile driven by a robotic computer failed to stop before hitting her head on.

At first Tempe police said Herzberg was at fault. Their report stated that she had come “from the shadows” stepping off the median and into the road. Herzberg was jaywalking with her bike and ended up in the path of the vehicle. Legal experts monitoring the case have already said that Herzberg will likely be criticized for jaywalking and also for being homeless with a criminal history. They have also been quick to follow up these criticism by explaining that Tempe is not bicycle or pedestrian friendly meaning jaywalking is absolutely necessary to cross the street. Furthermore Herzberg was actively trying to get her life back on track.

The self driving Volvo XC90 Uber car did have a safety driver behind the wheel. Video footage shows Rafaela Vasquez looking down rather than onto the road. Her hands were not on the top sides of the steering wheel as recommended by Uber. Vasquez was also not a professional driver and had a history of driving offenses, although they were not enough to disqualify her from the position. If the case is prosecuted, she is likely to come under intense scrutiny. Vasquez has not been charged.

March 5, 2018

Drowsy Driving Accounts for One in 10 Highway Car Crashes

by Jim Higgins

A new study published by the travel and insurance group, AAA, has shown that one out of 10 car accidents on U.S. highways result from drowsy driving. This number is eight times greater than previous estimates and has created a panic in the auto industry with many automakers already trying to find ways to alert drivers when they begin to nod off.