Connecticut Injury Attorney Blog

We recently blogged about cases of neglect at Connecticut nursing homes.

The New Haven Independent reported last Tuesday of yet another instance of poor medical care at a Connecticut nursing home. In this case, a nursing home was fined $3,000 by the State Department of Public Health after investigators determined that multiple nurses at the facility had withheld from patients medications prescribed by their physicians.

Continue reading "Another Connecticut Nursing Home Fined for Inadequate Medical Care" »

Recently, the Connecticut Department of Public Health fined several Connecticut nursing homes for medical care lapses that led to patients' falls.

West Hartford Health & Rehabilitation was fined for failing to prevent a resident with dementia from falling. The staff neglected to provide the patient with a "lap chair" that would have prevented her from falling from her wheelchair.

Continue reading "Connecticut Nursing Homes Cited and Fined for Medical Care Lapses" »

Nursing home abuse and neglect of the elderly is hard to tolerate in a society whose very constitutional principles are rooted in protecting those citizens that are most vulnerable. Unfortunately, Nursing Home abuse and neglect does occur in Connecticut and it happens with too much regularity. Nursing Homes and Rehab facilities tend to locate near the population centers, which in our State means concentrations in Hartford, New Haven, New London and Fairfiield Counties.The actionable injury cases in this area may include a wide variety of different bad outcomes which occur more frequently in the presence of physician or nursing staff negligence. These range from Falls producing serious fractures and Death, Bed sores and nutritional neglect to actual physical abuse.

The requirement for a Nursing home facility to plan for and provide for the Health, Safety and well being of its patients is a duty which arises under Federal and Connecticut statute and related regulations.In contrast to other forms of medical care delivery which are largely governed by various specialty boards and norms determined within the community of similarly trained providers, Nursing homes are highly regulated and subject to both Federal and State standards governing their operation and patient care delivery. Connecticut's legislature has , for example, adopted a patient bill of rights set forth in Conn General Stat. Section 19a-550 which mirrors the Federal regulations which apply to the level and quality of patient care mandated to be delivered by nursing homes

Continue reading "Nursing Home Standards of Care- Not your Average Hospital" »

In Connecticut as well as many other Jurisdictions, in the case of accidental deaths whether occuring on the job, while operating a motor vehicle or opertaing machinery or simply the result of substandard medical care lawsuits may be initiated on behalf of those killed. Legally, this may be accomplished through the appointment of an Administrator of the Estate by the Probate Court who then engages legal counsel to investigate and file the lawsuit if warranted by the circumstances.

From a personal injury perspective, wrongful death claims are often complex and challenging cases to pursue, not only for the Law Firm entrusted with this task but also for the family members left behind who must interact with lawyers and provide information and insight into the life of the decedent. In Connecticut, accidental death lawsuits must generally be initiated within two years of the event causing the death in order to fall within the Statute of Limitations period. It is not uncommon for the investigation of such claims to take an extended period of time to complete so prompt retention of an experience lawyer is always helpful and sometimes critical. This is particularly the case when critical evidence or witnesses may no longer be easily ascertainable given any extended delay.

Continue reading "Wrongful Death Lawsuits" »

Injury to the spine is perhaps the most common body part reportedly affected from motor vehicle, industrial and construction accidents which take place regularly through the State of Connecticut. No doubt, a similar trend would be found to apply in other States as well. The severity of the injuries involved, naturally ranges from back strains and sprains to paralysis. It is safe to say though that anyone who has experienced the effects of any significant trauma to the spine can readily appreciate just how debilitating the effects of even a temporary severe strain may be.

From a legal perspective, the circumstances and cause of the injury event are critical in terms of figuring out who, if any person or company, may be legally responsible to compensate the injured party. In work circumstances, this is usually that individual's direct employer. Sometimes, a third person or company can be held financially responsible even in the presence of a work injury. That is one reason it is particularly helpful if the attorney retained knows what to look for and how to pursue both types of legal claims.

Continue reading "SPINAL INJURIES- A LAWYERS PERSPECTIVE" »

Medication Errors of a wide variety and levels of seriousness continue to occur with alarming regularity. This affects patient populations across all spectrums of ages and circumstances. Unfortunately, what it comes down to is that human error and lack of uniform safety and redundant verification procedures. There is a certain statistical frequency that such mistakes re-occur so that in smaller States like Connecticut this effects a smaller number of people versus someone living in New York or New Jersey for example. Such episodes are not confined to the administration of medicines while in Hospitals as the error may be at the phamacy or even a physician's office. The latter events seem to happen when certain medical offices fail to take account of other medicines that a patient is already taking and sometimes those medicines have in fact been prescribed by a different medical specialty. Reactions to being over medicated or being provided the wrong medicataions can be fatal but more often than not are close calls. Because of the difficulty and expense involved in bringing a medical malpractice claim or a products liability claim, only the more serious injuries tend to make their way into a lawsuit. This does not minimize the impact of the close calls though and if lawsuit avoidance really becomes one of luck in terms of how badly harmed the particular patient is then the problem is obviously not going away as the incentives to be more careful and implement better procedures and technology is lacking.

Continue reading "Medication Errors- A Recurrent Problem " »

Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice cases are not only about benefiting the injured parties, obtaining answers for them and appropriate financial compensation,but also about achieving social justice which benefits us all. To quote Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Peter Zarella:

"The profession of law is not just a business. It transcends a mere occupation. It is a lifelong communal pursuit of justice."

Just like government must be accountable to have a free and fair society and its mistakes laid bare the same is true in our society's private endeavors. Errors committed by Connecticut area hospitals, physicians, construction companies, manufacturers , Insurance companies as well as Companies who employ Connecticut workers must be held accountable where their actions cause harm and suffering. The natural inclination to deny any mistake or wrongdoing and defend is most often the predictable iniital response. Occasionally, active concealment and coverup is as well. Neither instinct when allowed by these Entities to become an ongoing legal strategy serves to assure justice to those injured or the rest of us. That behavior is injurious to our familes in the larger community and must not be tolerated.

Continue reading "Public Interest Benefits From Personal Injury Lawyering" »

September 19, 2009
Posted In: Recent News , Nursing Home Abuse And Neglect , Fractures , Brain Injury , Wrongful Death

By Paul Levin on September 19, 2009 12:18 PM | Permalink
The consequences of Nursing Home abuse and neglect to Connecticut's elderly and most vulnerable residents does not often make headlines in Connecticut's newspapers and television broadcasts. Perhaps some of the reason for this is that when an elderly resident of a Nursing Home or rehabilitation facility falls and fractures their hip or sustains a serious head injury the intial reaction is too often a misplaced sense that "these things happen when one gets old." The same reaction might occur when an elderly person chokes on their food which may actually stem from a diet not sufficiently monitored for reduced mastication function or develops painful bed sores and skin ulcers as a result of an insufficient physcial activity plan and/or inadequate interventions related to periodic position changes while resting in bed. The problem is that these sorts of events while commonplace occurences are not supposed to happen while in the protective custody of a qualified Nursing Home or Rehab facility.

Continue reading "Nursing Home Abuse And Neglect- A Growing Problem in Connecticut" »