Cleveland Personal Injury Law Blog

Why didn't nursing home staff notice your loved one left?

On behalf of Weisman Law Firm on Thursday, January 30, 2020.

If you are asking this question, you aren't alone. Residents have wandered away from nursing homes right under the noses of the staff across the country. Some of these incidents end well, but others do not. Some residents suffer serious or fatal injuries. Many of the patients who wander away from their safe area suffer from dementia.

They do so for a variety of reasons, but what they all have in common is that their lives are at risk when they do. When you chose to put your loved one into a nursing home, you did it, at least in part, to make sure that someone was keeping an eye on him or her to prevent something like this from happening.

Nursing home injuries due to falls could be inaccurately reported

On behalf of Weisman Law Firm posted in nursing home injuries on Thursday, January 23, 2020.

When an Ohio family places a loved one in a nursing home, they expect there to be professional treatment and proper care. However, nursing home injuries can happen for various reasons, including falls. If there has been an injury, it is important that a full investigation be conducted to determine what happened.

Recent research indicates that there might be inaccurate information about resident falls. Nursing Home Compare is used to research nursing homes, but a University of Chicago researcher says there is a disparity between the statistics from Nursing Home Compare and Medicare claims for injuries from falls between 2011 and 2015. Since falls cause the highest number of fatalities for people 65 and older and can lead to serious injuries, this is important research when choosing a facility.

Using caution while driving when the weather outside is frightful

On behalf of Weisman Law Firm on Monday, January 20, 2020.

It might come as no surprise that the presence of adverse weather can have a significant influence on your ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. With even the slightest amount of snow or ice on Ohio roads, driving conditions can become somewhat hazardous and staying at home may seem preferable.

However, you might not always be able to allow inclement weather conditions to disrupt your plans for the day. If you feel it necessary to travel during such times, seeking out ways to safely navigate through adverse weather could help reduce the odds a potentially disastrous scenario will occur.

Ikea pays $46 million in lawsuit involving death of toddler

On behalf of Weisman Law Firm posted in wrongful death on Wednesday, January 8, 2020.

Ohio residents who own Ikea furniture may be aware of the safety hazards that some of these products are said to pose. Recalls of Ikea furniture as well as injury claims relating to them have not been infrequent. Early in January 2020, a wrongful death lawsuit against Ikea has ended in a $46 million settlement to a California family whose 2-year-old boy died back in 2017 after an Ikea Malm dresser fell on him.

This is considered the largest wrongful death settlement ever awarded in U.S. history over the case of one child. Back in 2016, Ikea settled another wrongful death suit by paying out $50 million to the families of three children also killed by Malm dressers. According to the Ikea website, a total of eight child deaths have been reported involving the company's drawers and chests.

Recognize the long-term costs of a traumatic brain injury at work

On behalf of Weisman Law Firm posted in construction accidents on Thursday, January 2, 2020.

Getting knocked on the head with a falling object or landing on your head in a fall off a ladder are just two of the many ways that you can end up with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) on the job. Unfortunately, too many people try to "walk it off" when they're hurt -- not realizing that they've suffered damage that will affect their lives far into the future.

TBIs cause all kinds of cognitive, physical and emotional changes in victims -- and almost no two people have exactly the same experience. How well you heal, if at all, can depend on everything from the nature of the blow to your head to your age and how quickly you received appropriate treatment.

Injured in a trucking accident? Get a lawyer -- fast

On behalf of Weisman Law Firm posted in motor vehicle accidents on Thursday, December 26, 2019.

In a perfect world, insurance companies would always live up to their obligations, and every victim of a truck accident would be fairly compensated for their injuries.

That isn't the world we have, however. Instead, the victims of truck accidents are often forced to defend their claims against large corporate entities -- none of which want to pay up.

Mount Carmel doctor faces lawsuits, 25 counts of murder

On behalf of Weisman Law Firm posted in wrongful death on Thursday, December 26, 2019.

Ohio residents have likely heard about the scandal involving a doctor of the Mount Carmel Health System. The doctor, who was fired in December 2018, has been connected with the deaths of at least 34 patients in the intensive care unit over a five-year period. These patients were given a fatally high dosage of the opioid fentanyl at the doctor's orders.

The families of 24 of the victims have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the doctor and Mount Carmel as well as the nurses and pharmacists involved. So far, the hospital has paid out roughly $13.5 million in settling a number of these lawsuits. A criminal trial is to be held in June 2020 with jury selection beginning in May. The doctor faces 25 counts of murder and may face between 15 years and life imprisonment for each count.

3 Ohio residents injured in Ohio pit bull attack

On behalf of Weisman Law Firm posted in animal bites on Thursday, December 19, 2019.

Firefighters who responded to an emergency call in Heath, Ohio, on Dec. 15, were greeted with a horrifying sight: Two pit bulls were attacking a woman on the ground outside of a home on Conn Way Drive.

The dogs eventually retreated back through the open door to the home where three young children had barricaded themselves for safety -- one of them, a 9-year-old, was already critically injured. Aside from the child and the woman outside, another adult female was also discovered with life-threatening bite wounds.

What's the 'hours of service' rule truckers have to follow?

On behalf of Weisman Law Firm posted in motor vehicle accidents on Friday, December 13, 2019.

The trucking industry is very demanding, and drivers have long been pushed into working as much as possible for their companies. The surging popularity of online shopping and an aging workforce have increased the demands being placed on trucking companies and drivers even more. In many cases, drivers were being asked to spend a dangerous number of hours behind the wheel.

Then the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) stepped in. The FMCSA created the hours of service rule to put sharp limits on the time any single driver can spend on the road without a break. The goal was designed to limit the number of hours a driver could be on the road in one stretch without a significant rest break (eight to 10 hours, depending on the situation). It also limits the number of hours a driver can be in action over a seven- or eight-day period.

Registered nurse accused of diluting morphine in nursing home

On behalf of Weisman Law Firm posted in nursing home injuries on Wednesday, December 11, 2019.

Nursing home residents in Ohio and around the country often rely on medications like morphine to manage their pain, and they can suffer greatly when these drugs are interfered with. This is what prosecutors say happened at a Virginia nursing home in August 2018. A Maryland man who was employed by the Chesapeake facility as a supervisory registered nurse has been indicted by a federal grand jury for tampering with a consumer product. He is said to have used saline solution to dilute the morphine prescribed to a patient.

The man's alleged activities were reported to federal and state authorities after discrepancies were discovered during a routine audit. U.S. attorneys say the man showed reckless disregard for the welfare of his patient when he diluted their pain medication to the point where only about 14% of the prescribed dose was being administered. A motive for the alleged crime has not been revealed, but these acts are often committed by individuals seeking drugs for their personal use according to prosecutors.