Pleasant Law Blog (Insurance Claims, Medical Misakes, and Nursing Home Claims)

Skilled Nursing Facilities - Real Estate or Health Care?

The business side of skilled nursing facilities and nursing homes is an important driving force behing the actions of those who operate nursing homes. These actions can lead to nursing malpractice, and injury and death to nursing home residents.

Nurse-to-Patient ratios have affected care in nursing homes.

Studies show that nurse-to-patient ratios have an affect on care in nursing homes. North Carolina should refer to California mandated staffing levels as it can improve the quality of care from nurse to patient.

Omega's nursing home/long term care acquisitions: can nursing homes plead poverty?

Report shows a purchse of nursing home chain at a cost over $200 million. Why pay this much if it's not profitable? With those totals, there is no excuse for understaffing that so often leads to nursing home abuse and neglect claims.

Nursing Homes Misuse Money Marked for Staffing: Evidence of Corporate Neglect?

Certain nursing homes in another state received additional funding for nursing homes totaling $880 million, for hiring more staff and to increase wages. However, nursing homes are cutting staff and paying lower wages. Understaffing and lower wages can cause nursing home abuse, neglect, injury and wrongful death in North Carolina and other areas.

Golden Living Centers in North Carolina and elsewhere - are the alleged problems in this nursing chain over?

Golden living centers nursing homes in North Carolina and other states have been alleged to be abusive and neglectful. A nursing home lawyer can help with nursing home claims against Golden Living and other nursing facilities

Nursing Home Transparency Bill Passes

Lawsuits and claims against nursing homes and assisted living facilities in North Carolina. The Law Offices of Thomas Waitt Pleasant can help and offers free consultations in most cases.

Unfair Nursing Home Regulation Gets National Attention on Keith Olbermann's Show

A recent Countdown (with Keith Olbermann) video highlights the unfair and "secretively" passed regulation passed by the Bush administration, which makes it exceedingly difficult for nursing home lawyers, and the vicitms of nursing home injury and/or wrongful death they represent, to get to the truth from state inspectors and state inspection agencies. A recent news item was posted on this site regarding the passing of this regulation, which was a surprise to most nursing home lawyers. It's good to see this issue getting some real press. The public needs to be informed about this significant loss of rights.

Being Elderly Today is Difficult

By Thomas Waitt Pleasant, North Carolina Medical Negligence Attorney. Toll Free 888-435-7156. Ken Connor, formerly of a national law firm specializing in personal injury with a particular emphasis on nursing home and medical cases, writes an interesting article about the difficulties of aging in our society, considering the problems we have in our nursing home industry. The article is entitled Old Age Ain't For Sissies, and is availabgle at the Center for a Just Society website.  Our society depends upon these nursing and assisted living facitilies to care for our elderly loved ones; but we are seeing a surprising lack of care. Arguably, due to lack of staffing, we see too many unfortunate circumstances of our elderly being hurt in nursing homes, abused by nursing home staff, and even killed by the wrongful conduct of nurisng homes and their stafffs.

Nursing Home Surveys and Surveyor Testimony Off Limits

By Thomas Pleasant, North Carolina Nursing Home and Medical Negliegence Attorney (888-435-7156). The Department of Health and Human Services has issued a new regulation relating to testimony by its employees, as well as the production of documents in proceedings where the United States is not a party. This regulation was made effective in October 2008, and (although it allows an exception if the head of the agency allows it) essentially blocks nursing home abuse, injury and wrongful death lawyers from using state survey information in the investigation and preparation of their cases. It also prevents lawyers handling nursing home abuse claims from taking testimony from the state employees who inspect nursing homes. These nursing home inspection documents are sometimes full information showing that the particular nursing home at issue was aware of major problems at the nursing home, and still failed or refused to do anything about it. This kind of “pattern” evidence can be important in showing why the abuse, neglect, injury or wrongful death happened at the nursing facility. The rule is 45 CFR Part 2. This is not a good development for the protection of the elderly whose care is at the hands of nursing homes, but it will not stop attorneys from pursuing nursing home injury and death claims, whether they are from a nursing home resident falling and getting hurt in a nursing home; a nursing home resident getting avoidable pressure ulcers or pressure sores in the nursing home; nursing home residents being malnourished and dehydrated; or any other form of nursing home abuse. For more information about health care regulations, see http://www.hhs.gov/. The Law Offices of Thomas Waitt Pleasant, PLLC can help you if you feel you or a loved one has been hurt in or by a nursing home in North Carolina. You can contact my office Toll Free at 888-435-7156 to discuss your legal problem. We also handle legal claims arising from the negligence and/or malpractice of doctors, hospitals, nurses and other healthcare providers; as well as unfair insurance claims practices. We will come to you if necessary, and also offer meeting locations in Raleigh, Wilmington, and Fayetteville. For more information, see www.pleasantlaw.com.