Archive for the ‘Areas of Practice’ Category

How do we prevent Pennsylvania nursing home abuse & injuries?

• Assessing patients after a fall to identify and address risk factors and treat the underlying medical conditions
• Educate staff about fall risk factors and prevention strategies
• Reviewing prescribed medicines to assess their potential risks and benefits and to minimize use
• Making changes in the nursing home environment to make it easier for residents to move around safely. Such changes include putting in grab bars, adding raised toilet seats, lowering bed heights, and installing handrails in the hallways.
• Providing patients with hip pads that may prevent a hip fracture if a fall occurs.
• Using devices such as alarms that go off when patients try to get out of bed or move without help.

          Billy Jean and Earl had been married for six years and seemed to have a perfect marriage.  Needless to say, Billy Jean was totally shocked when Earl approached her and stated that he wanted a divorce.  Earl made it clear that it wasn’t anything that Billy Jean had done so much as the fact that Earl simply fell in love with another woman. Through further questioning, Billy Jean found out that Earl’s new girlfriend was Billy Jean’s cousin Ruby.  Billy Jean stated that if men were cows, Ruby would have been hung years ago as a cow rustler because she had done this many times before.  Billy Jean stated that Ruby had a particular taste for married men and that Earl would certainly be dumped and fall into a long line of men who had had their good marriages broken up by Ruby.

Billy Jean was so incensed that she decided to see a lawyer to see if she could sue Ruby for alienation of affections or any other possible cause.  Billy Jean certainly felt that Ruby had ruined her life not to mention the fact that the divorce would have a devastating effect on the two young children that Billy Jean and Earl had.

QUESTION:          Can Billy Jean pursue a civil action against Ruby?

ANSWER:          At this time there are seven states in the U.S.,  mostly in the South, where a scorned spouse can sue the new boyfriend and/or girlfriend for property damages. In those states the spouses are considered a unique form of property,  and thus,  in effect when one is alienated from the other because of actions taken by people such as Ruby, the injured spouse has the right to sue people such as Ruby.

In Pennsylvania no such cause of action exists, and Billy Jean’s only revenge will be support payments for her and her children and ultimately,  the eventual “I told you so”  to her husband Earl.

Each year, a typical nursing home with 100 beds reports 100-200 falls. As many as 3 out of 4 nursing home residents fall each year. Many of these go unreported. About 5% of adults 65 and older live in nursing homes, but nursing home residents account for about 20% of deaths from falls in this age group. Patients often fall more than once. The average is 2.6 falls per person per year. About 35% of fall injuries occur among residents who cannot walk.

How serious are these falls?

• About 1,800 people living in nursing homes die each year from falls.
• About 10% to 20% of nursing home falls cause serious injuries; 2% to 6% cause fractures.
• Falls result in disability, functional decline and reduced quality of life. Fear of falling can cause further loss of function, depression, feelings of helplessness, and social isolation.

Reports today note that a New York natural gas company and Pennsylvania natural gas company are at odds over the distribution of natural gas to residential and business consumers in Susquehanna County Pennsylvania. Both companies are trying to capitalize on the Marcellus Shale gas boom taking place it NEPA and elsewhere throughout the state. Proponents of natural gas drilling have predicted that competition from companies would occur and would benefit users with lower gas prices. The right to distribute natural gas by the two companies is being reviewed by the PUC.

The 13 trial lawyers at DOUGHERTY LEVENTHAL PRICE LLP–DLP—PENNSYLVANIA GAS TRUCK, AUTOMOBILE, GAS DRILLING RIG AND EXPLOSION ACCIDENT LAWYERS—-continue to follow this and other gas drilling stories in NEPA and Central Pennsylvania.

Under Pennsylvania law, certain workers are excluded from the Workers Compensation act and are precluded from filing workers compensation claims. Those excluded include workers who are deemed to be independent contractors, licensed real estate agents, casual workers, home workers, domestic service workers, certain agricultural workers, and conscientious objectors.

Republican legislators in Harrisburg continue to push for elimination of local control through traditional zoning laws and regulations of the location of drill rig pads in city, towns and boroughs throughout the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania. Although local zoning has controlled municipal planning for decades of all businesses, the Republican leadership is seeking to carve out exceptions for the natural gas industry. Under proposed legislation local towns that enforce zoning laws would not receive funding from taxes (or “impact fees) imposed on gas drillers per gas drilling rigs in a town. The new law would give authority to the State Attorney General over where a drilling site can be located. Many residents, both Republican and Democrat are protesting the proposed law.

By 2020, Pennsylvania’s 60 and older population is expected to be 25% of the total population to more than 3 million people. By 2020, the number of people age 85 or older is also expected to increase 10% to more than 360,000 residents. (2007 Census) Pennsylvania’s long term care cost is higher than the national average. Medicaid pays an average of $7.50 per hour for care services in nursing homes. Nationally, the average annual cost for a private room in a nursing home is $74,806. The average annual cost for a private room in a Pennsylvania nursing home is $77,646. In the greater Philadelphia region, the cost is higher for a nursing home private room, at $91,954 annually (Genworth Financial 2007 Cost of Care Survey).

What is the difference between medicare and medicaid? Watch the video to learn more:

Today’s Marcellus Shale news includes the Republican dominated Legislature in Harrisburg failing to reach a compromise on major tax and regulatory legislation affecting Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling companies but passing noncontroversial legislation requiring signs to spell out the GPS location of drilling pads and drilling rig sites.  With primary elections only months away, and even the most conservative constituents calling for taxing and regulating of gas drillers  in light of service cuts and local school district tax increases, the Republican Senate and House leaders are calling for Governor Corbett to alter his pro gas industry no tax/no regulation policies and reach a compromise quickly avoiding campaign issues. Additionally, DEP officials announced the proposed construction of two (2) deep well fracking waste water disposal sites in Warren County. Deep well disposal sites recently came under scrutiny after earthquakes near deep well disposal sites occurred in Youngstown, Ohio. Finally, Pennsylvania electric producers are pushing to take advantage of the Marcellus Shale natural gas boom in Pennsylvania and are moving to switch from coal dependent to natural gas dependent electrical generation plants. The electric companies are hoping to lower the cost of electricity for Pennsylvania residential and business consumers. Natural gas drilling industry leaders have predicted this positive development for Pennsylvania consumers for some time.

The (13) trial lawyers at Dougherty Leventhal Price LLP–DLP—PENNSYLVANIA TRUCK ACCIDENT AND AUTO ACCIDENT CATASTROPHIC INJURY LAWYERS—contnue to follow these and other natural gas drilling rig issues in NEPA, Central and elsewhere in Pennsylvania including Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wyoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Bradford, Tioga, Potter, Cameron, Clinton and Lycoming Counties.

The price of heating using natural gas in Pennsylvania has plunged. Thanks to the mild weather and Marcellus shale natural gas boom, the price of natural gas used for home heating and in diverse manufacturing businesses has fallen over thirty five (35) per cent. Industry leaders look for more savings as additional gas drilling rig sites come on line and the availability of locally produced natural gas increases for Commonwealth residents and businesses.

Although the Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling boom and resulting gas pipeline construction has been ongoing for years, Pennsylvania joined Alaska as the only states without state managed and trained pipeline inspectors. After an investigative series in the Philadelphia Inquirer pointed out the lack of inspectors, legislators in Harrisburg rushed through a bill giving DEP the right to hire and train inspectors to protect citizens from pipeline accidents. Reports today note that the limited number of state inspectors are receiving training and should be on the job in the near future. Critcs claim the number of inspectors and funding by the Governor’s office is too little and too late. Gas pipeline officials note that there have been no reported incidents and that new pipelines are being constructed with modern safety techniques including x-rays of all or most welds.

The trial lawyers at DOUGHERTY LEVENTHAL PRICE LLP–DLP—continue to follow this and other gas drilling rig issues as they represent serious and catastrophically injured citizens in auto, gas truck, drilling rig, quarry blasting and other accidents throughout the Marcellus Shale regions of Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania and the entire state.