Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog

Our Washington DC nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers represent patients who have suffered serious illnesses and injuries at assisted living facilities. Unfortunately, one condition that we see and hear about way too often is bedsores (also known as decubitus ulcers or pressure sores). Many of the people we’ve represented who had bedsores didn’t have to develop this condition if only they’d receive the proper nursing care.

While a bedsore might sound like a mild sore, it can deteriorate to the point that infection, organ damage or death can result. The fact that bedsores can occur and are preventable is not news to anyone in the nursing home industry, so why, then, are so many patients still developing them? This is unacceptable, and if you or your loved one has pressure sores because he/she did not receive the proper nursing home care, then there is a good chance that you have grounds for a Washington DC nursing home negligence case.

Common causes of bedsores at assisted living facilities:
• Failure to regularly reposition/turn a patient in his/her bed
• Lack of mobility
• Prolonged pressure on one part of the body
• Dehydration
• Malnutrition
• Allowing a patient to sit in soiled bed sheets
• Letting moisture stay close to a resident's skin for too long
• Failure to change wet diapers
• Inexperienced nursing staff
• Understaffing
• Failure to identify and treat bedsores

Bedsores can become extremely painful and debilitating. There is no reason why a patient should not get the appropriate nursing home care that would prevent pressure sores from developing.

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Directory, District of Columbia Department of Health

Bedsores, MayoClinic

Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog

More Blog Posts:
Psychiatric Report Says U.S. Needs to Prepare for Increase of Elderly Dementia, Maryland Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog, June 8, 2011

Dementia Patient’s Wandering Leads to Death—Nursing Home Fined $20K for Negligence, Maryland Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog, June 6, 2011

Florida Nursing Homes Investigated for Severe Abuse and Negligence, Maryland Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog, June 3, 2011

Continue reading " Washington DC Nursing Home Neglect Can Cause Bedsores " »

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, (D-Ohio) and Restaurant Associates, which runs the congressional cafeteria, have reached a confidential settlement agreement over his Washington DC injury complaint. Kucinich had sued the cafeteria operator for $150,000 for the pain, loss of enjoyment and suffering he experienced after he split his tooth in half when biting into a sandwich wrap that had an unpitted olive in it.

Kucinich says his tooth became infected. He had six teeth replaced, underwent oral surgery, reported an adverse reaction to antibiotics, and had to get emergency medical help for a related intestinal obstruction. Now, the congressman and Restaurant Associates have resolved his case with a settlement that he says covers out of pocket costs for his three surgeries.

Food Lawsuits
Restaurants can be held liable if the food that they serve makes a customer sick or causes injury. Food poisoning, E.coli, foreign substances in food, foods that pose a choking hazard or cause tooth injury, and soups and beverages that are too hot that they can cause burn injuries can lead to Washington DC personal injury lawsuits against a restaurant and its owner.

Restaurant owners must make sure that their kitchens meet all safety and health regulations, all food is properly prepared, and no spoiled foods are served to customers. Failure to exercise these cares can lead to DC personal injury cases.

In Washington DC, you have three years to file such a lawsuit. This doesn’t mean that you should wait until the last minute to file. Your DC personal injury lawyer has a lot of work to do to make your case as solid as possible.

The tortured tale of Rep. Dennis Kucinich and his olive pit, The Washington Post, January 29, 2011

Rep. Dennis Kucinich files lawsuit over olive pit, USA Today, January 26, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Congressman Dennis Kucinich

Longworth Cafeteria, Yelp

Just two weeks after 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner stood outside a Safeway in Arizona, fatally shooting six people and injuring 13 others, including US Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, another shooter has shot dead two people and injured two others outside a Walmart store in the state of Washington. The two incidents are unrelated. Like everyone else in America, the thoughts and well wishes of our Washington DC injury lawyers are with the injured, the deceased, and their loved ones.

The latest tragic incident happened late today after three sheriff’s deputies arrived at the store to follow up on a bystander’s call that there was a suspicious looking person in the store. When deputies approached a man outside the store he tried to flee before turning around and shooting at them. The male shooter was eventually shot dead in the Walmart parking lot.

Two of the deputies were injured in the shooting. A young female, who CNN.com is reporting might have been a teenager, later died from her injuries. An investigation is underway to determine what happened.

The question is, will the injured parties and the surviving family members of those killed in both shootings seek personal injury and wrongful death damages from Walmart and Safeway because the violent crimes occurred right outside their doors?

In Washington DC, a property owner can be held liable for DC premises liability if failure to keep the premise safe or other acts of negligence allowed a violent crime to happen there. Other states have similar personal injury laws. Yet in the Arizona Safeway massacre and now the Washington Walmart shooting, how could either department store have anticipated that such horrible incidents would ever occur? Also, in the case of the Arizona shooting, did Safeway provide adequate security at the store while Rep. Gifford hosted her “Congress on Your Corner” there, given that she had received death threats in the past? Whose responsibility was it to provide this security? The answers at this point are unclear.

2 dead, 2 cops hurt in shootout outside Washington state Walmart, CNN, January 23, 2011

Paper: Surveillance video shows Tucson attack, CNN Justice, January 18, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Premises Liability Overview, Justia

Inadequate Security, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog

A DC car crash at Canal Road and Clark Place on Friday has left two people dead. The victims’ names are Radovan Volikic, 27, and Milos Milicevic, 31. Both are Rockland, Maryland residents.

According to DC police, Milicevic lost control of his 2001 Jaguar. The car ended up rotating and sliding across the roadway into oncoming traffic where it struck a 2007 Ford F-150 pickup truck. The truck’s passengers sustained non-threatening injuries.

According to police, icy roads may have been a contributing factor. Reportedly, a number of complaints have been made that the water running down from the hills can freeze over where Reservoir Road and Canal Road meet.

If you or someone you love was hurt in a Washington DC car accident because there was ice or snow on the road, there may be parties who should be held liable. While no one can stop snow from falling or water from turning into ice, there are steps that can be taken to prevent traffic crashes from happening, including:

• Posting warnings on icy roads
• Clearing snow from the street
• Applying road-safety treatments
• Removing debris from the road

The parties responsible for such tasks can be held liable if the failure to properly complete them contribute to causing traffic injuries or deaths. Also, if the other driver's failure to drive safely according to weather and road conditions caused your auto accident, he or she can be held liable for Washington DC personal injury.

In other local accident news, last week a Washington DC 15-passenger van accident involving another car sent eight people to area hospitals. The DC traffic crash occurred last Tuesday in the 3rd street tunnel. The van was transporting special needs passengers.

Canal Road closed in NW DC, The Washington Post, January 14, 2011

Van Crashes In DC Tunnel; Several Injured, WUSA9, January 12, 2011

Related Web Resources:
District Department of Transportation

Safe Winter Driving, Road Trip America

Continue reading " Two Dead in Washington DC Car Accident " »

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has a new rule that will hopefully help decrease the number of occupant ejections that occur in passenger vehicle crashes. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the final rule today. He said that the “new standard will help save lives and reduce injuries.”

Per the new rule, automakers must create a countermeasure for light passenger autos weighing less than 10,000 pounds that will keep the equivalent of an adult without a seat belt from moving over 4 inches past the side window opening during a traffic crash—especially during a rollover accident. The new standard applies to the side windows next to the first three rows of seats and to part of the cargo area behind rows one and two will start phasing in during 2013. All new vehicles will have to offer this ejection protection by 2018. NHTSA administrator David Strickland has said that once this standard is fully implemented, about 476 serious injuries and 374 fatalities will be prevented each year.

A person ejected from a vehicle during a Washington DC auto accident has a three times greater chance of dying than the person who was able to remain inside the vehicle. Partial ejections can also result in catastrophic injuries or wrongful death.

In some DC car accidents, a passenger is ejected from the vehicle because he/she was not using a seat belt. Still, other ejections happen because the seat belt malfunctioned, the vehicle’s roof was not well-structured, or the impact of the crash was so forceful that the person was inevitably thrown from the vehicle. There may be a negligent driver, car manufacturer, auto part manufacturer, or another liable party who can be held liable for Washington DC auto products liability.

Final rule aimed at reducing partial and complete vehicle ejections, NHTSA, January 13, 2011

Automakers face tough new rollover-crash rule, CNN, January 13, 2011

Related Web Resource:
Read More About the New Ejection Standard, NHTSA (PDF)

Continue reading " Will The New NHTSA Rule Prevent Passenger Ejections During Washington DC Car Accidents? " »

According to a survey released by the Brain Injury Association of America, about 80% of respondents suffer from a neurological condition called pseudobulbar affect. PBA is believed to occur when there is structural damage to the brain. It can cause involuntary crying or laughing outbursts especially during situations that are inappropriate.

Survey participants included brain injury patients and caregivers. Data showed that almost 80% of qualified respondents experienced episodes of PBA. About 48% reported being regularly affected by this condition. Only 7% were aware of the term pseudobulbar affect, which is a treatable medical condition that is separate from the brain injury and often under diagnosed. 67% reportedly suffer from PBA but have not been treated for it.

Caregivers and brain injury patients suffering PBA report that the condition has a negative impact on quality of life, affecting social activities, time with family, and work. PBA can also strain relationships, causing embarrassment for the person and their family, while offending others who may not be aware that the seemingly inappropriate reactions are not within the person’s control. More than a million people reportedly suffer from PBA.

Brain Injuries
If you believe that your Washington DC brain injury was caused by another party’s negligent or careless actions, you may have grounds for a DC personal injury case. Common causes of brain injuries include motor vehicle crashes, violent crimes, illness, getting struck or striking a hard objects, fall accidents, firearm injuries, athletic or recreational accidents, drowning accidents, surgical errors, electrical shock, construction accidents, strangulation or suffocation accidents, and exposure to toxic chemicals.

Living with a brain injury can be very challenging and expensive. Some brain injury patients may need 24-hour care. Still others may require the use of medical devices and specialized medical care to maintain a decent quality of life. The side effects from a brain injury can make it tough for the patient to live independently, hold down a job, tend to daily tasks, take part in regular activities, or maintain relationships.

New Brain Injury Association Survey Reveals Nearly 80 Percent of Respondents Suffer Added Burden of Neurologic Condition with Debilitating Social Impact, PR Newswire/Brain Injury Association of America, January 6, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Brain Injury Association of America

Pseudobulbar Affect

Traumatic Brain Injuries, Maryland Accident Law Blog

Continue reading " Many Brain Injury Patients Suffer from Pseudobulbar Affect, Says Survey " »