2008 September Archive

94 Percent of Nursing Homes Have Problems. That is the concensus of a recent report from the Department of Health and Human Services.

94 percent of for-profit nursing homes were cited for deficiencies of care last year. Of that number about 17 percent had deficiencies that could cause actual harm or “Immediate jeopardy” to patients. About two-thirds of nursing homes are for-profit.

Problems cited include infected bedsores, medication errors, poor food, and abuse and neglect of patients.

So how do for-profit homes make their profit? Do they charge you more for expected quality care and then deliver less? The quality of a nursing home is entirely dependent on the ratio of nursing staff to patient. If you are shopping for a nursing home, that needs to be your number one question.

The inspector general’s report found 88 percent of non-profit homes were cited for deficiencies of care and 91 percent of government homes were cited. More than 37,000 complaints against nursing homes were received last year.

In addition, the Inspector General found some cases in which nursing homes billed Medicare and Medicaid for services that “were not provided, or were so wholly deficient that they amounted to no care at all.”

You can find out more about a nursing home in your area by checking with Medicare online and putting in your zip code and the distance you want to drive.

In Florida, the Agency for Health Care Administration has a Nursing Home Guide to find out what rating the state gives homes.

Cutting services to create profit can lead to unsupervised caregivers and has a direct impact on the quality of care your loved ones receive. When corporations cut corners people suffer. Call us at Farah and Farah for an evaluation of your claim. And check our Web site for more on elder neglect and nursing home abuse.

Believe it or not, it was 1992 when Congress passed a law calling for the creation of a database of rebuilt or stolen vehicles. The purpose was to inform consumers shopping for a used vehicle whether they were getting a car that had been in a wreck or had been rebuilt.

The 16-year wait is now over.

A U.S. judge has ruled that the Department of Justice has until January 30th to make this information available to consumers. The deadline comes about after Public Citizen, Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, and Consumer Action all sued the DOJ in February, arguing that the delay in putting together a published database was putting consumers at risk.

Now consumers can shop with the help of the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System. Information included will be the validity of the car’s title, the mileage, whether or not it has ever been stolen, whether or not it was ever in a wreck and rebuilt and sold to unsuspecting consumers as new. Most states do not require a clear title so buyers can have this information.

The problem of course is that these vehicles may be too dangerous to drive. From frame damage to suspension damage and other structural damage that can affect the structural integrity and handling on the road. The wait will soon be over for this vital information for consumers.

Doctors and patients need to be aware of a substance used to promote bone growth during spine-repair surgery. Made by Medtronic Inc. “Infuse Bone Graft” has led to complications, largely during the “Off-label” use of the liquid.

The FDA has reportedly received 38 adverse health reports over four years concerning side effects. The Infuse Bone Graft is put in a metallic cage containing a spongy material that is placed between the spinal vertebrae. When the drug is used in surgeries on the cervical spine around the neck, it can lead to swelling of the neck and throat tissue.

For patients that means compression in the airway and someone could have difficulty swallowing, breathing and even speaking.

For some patients the symptoms are so bad that a tracheotomomy has had to be performed to allow the patient to breath. For its part, Medtronic says the rate of complications is low and reports to the FDA of problems are few.

The procedure to repair the spine is not uncommon. Every year, an estimated 500,000 undergo spinal-fusion to repair and stabilize damaged discs. Also used to treat conditions such as scoliosis, which is a curvature of the spine, the infuse bone graft has become a best seller for Medtronic, averaging about $815 million in the year that ended in April.

Remember Medtronic is the same company that had to issue a recall of some of its defibrillators because they were prone to depleted battery power. This is a problem for someone who has undergone heart surgery – you’d like there to be few surgeries and for the pacemakers and defibrillators to last many years.

Medtronic also had to recall a line of defibrillator wires which were known to deliver multiple shocks and in some cases death. The company had to settle more than 2,600 lawsuits concerning battery depletion for about $114 million.

A wise consumer must ask their doctor about their financial relationship with Medtronic. Many who are on the receiving end have written favorably about the off-label use of Infuse on web sites.

Conflicts-of-interest are common and justified within the industry. Doctors are paid for giving seminars, for consulting, for educational meetings – and the end result is often that they push the product.

Congress will soon insist that major drug companies disclose these relationships in the name of “transparency” and many have agreed to begin databases, beginning next year to disclose what they pay and to whom. But it pays to ask now. #

Florida is seeing a reduction in the number of fatalities on our state’s highways.

For the second year in a row the number of traffic accidents is down as is the number of deaths from those accidents, down more than four percent from 2006. The Florida Highway Patrol believes people are becomming educated about safe driving, but let’s not forget that with the price of gas going up, some people are driving slower to conserve on precious fuel.

The number of injuries also decreased but only by one percent.

There is another side to these statistics – the number of alcohol-related fatalities is up more than 13 percent.

“Which means too many people are drinking and driving, making bad decisions, getting behind the wheel,” FHP Lt. Bill Leeper told Channel 4.

There is another story for motorcycles, the number of crashing is up just over two percent and the number of people injured in those crashes is up as well. Numbers on fatalities fluctuate year to year but let’s hope the cost of gasoline has something to do with the decrease in deaths on the highway.

There is nothing more devastating than trying to recover from an auto accident. If you believe you need help contacting insurance companies that may not want to cover your claim, call Farah and Farah. Our experienced accident attorneys can help with the details so you can concentrate on getting better. #

Incredible details are coming out about a school bus crash in Citra, Florida that killed one 13-year old girl. A tractor-trailer driver was talking on his cell phone when he slammed into the school bus Wednesday. Four bystanders who witnessed the accident ran to the school bus and pulled out half of the students from the burning bus.

The Marion County Superintendent of School Jim Yancy says it amazing most of the students were saved. “This was a tragedy, but it’s also a miracle, he tells the Ocala Star-Banner.

One 13-year old middle school student, Frances M. Schee lost her life.Chris Mann, an elevator installer who stopped to help said, “The kid was lodged and I just couldn’t get her out. There was nothing I could do.” Nine other students were injured- two critically.

Read the rest »

Students at Bartram Trail High School in St. Johns County in north Florida are mourning a senior who was killed this week in a motocross track accident in Flagler County, Florida.

Bennet “Ben” Gordon Geiger Jr. was just 17 years old. He had been riding motocross for two years, experienced at jumping the motorcycle tracks. He was on a practice ride at the Pax Trax Motocross in Bunnell Tuesday when his motorcycle flipped on top of him after a jump.

He was wearing a helmet and had reportedly been on the motorcycle for at least an hour when the accident occurred.He eventually died at Flagler Hospital.An autopsy will be conducted.

First Coast News reports that the Bunnell Police Department reportedly had a hard time putting together the scene because Geiger’s bike, helmet and clothing were moved before they got there to investigate.

Geiger also helped the school maintain athletic fields. Ben was just a great kid, and a dedicated and involved student, says his principal.

There was a moment of silence for Geiger during the Friday night football game with Creekside High School.

“I think one of the main thing with students this age is because it’s so final,”the principal said.

Big John Scott who had Ben in his Bible study and in his high school class, said online that Ben was “Quite possibly the funniest kid I ever met. Your friends are just ruined today.”

Friends go on to say how much they will miss Ben and what an impact he had on their life.

“Riding dirtbikes must have been his biggest love, I remember him talking about it all the time. At least he died doing what he loved best. “Only the good die young,” says Nina Alvarez online.

Read the rest »

The news this week was shocking - a Metrolink engineer was texting around the time he ran a commuter train into a freight train. They didn’t even see any attempt to stop.25 people died and Los Angeles area officials quickly banned the use of all mobile devices by anyone at the controls of a moving train.

But isn’t that commonsense anyway?Have you ever tried to text even when you are stopped? S.N.S. or short message service takes complete concentration AND two hands.How could anyone drive even a wagon and be texting?

Still the Wireless Association says there were 75 billion text messages sent in June, up from 7.2 billion in June 2005.

Read the rest »

Beginning in October, Florida drivers will have to obtain a nationally compliant driver’s license called Real ID.This is controversial because it moves us one step closer to a national ID card, many believe will give government more control over our lives, while taking authority away from states.

The change will mean longer lines at motor vehicle because more documentation is required. The cost will go up too.

Read the rest »

First Coast News is reporting that the state Attorney General’s Office has received more than 70 complaints in Duval County about gasoline price gouging this week. The Gate station chain is the subject of the majority of them.

Gate says their supplier raised the price on them and they’re passing it onto the consumer. The AG’s office is asking them to document that. The stations according to First Coast News are Flying J, Dodge's Gas Stores, Valero and Pilot Travel Centers.

The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that on Tuesday the states attorney general issued subpoenas to four the four companies. Prices were reported by hundreds of consumers to be well over $4 a gallon.

Inventories of gasoline dropped more than three million barrels this week as a result of shutdowns from Hurricane Ike, and you probably saw gas stations that had no gas or prices that were high.That’s because supplies were reported to be the lowest since November 1967.

There continue to be shortages in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee.The problem is that refineries in Texas the along the Gulf coast and West Louisiana had been closed during Ike, they are now slowly coming back on-line.

Gov. Charlie Crist said that Florida is not suffering from any gas shortages and that people shouldn’t panic.

Three auto safety groups wanted to test the strength of vehicle roofs in actually auto rollovers. So they strapped crash-test dummies into the vehicles in seat belts. The vehicles had received passing grades under NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) standards.

What they found was that six vehicles that passed the federal government’s strength standard fared miserably in real-world conditions.

What Public Citizen, The Center for Auto Safety and the Center for Injury Research found was that the dummies suffered traumatic injuries that would have been fatal or paralyzing if humans had been in their place.

Read the rest »