Baltimore City Nursing Home Neglect Over Problems with Air Conditioners

A Baltimore city nursing home has been fined more than $50,000 for allowing elderly and ill residents to bake in near-100 degree temperatures without air conditioning before a 911 call alerted the state to the problem. The actions of this nursing home operator constituted nothing short of nursing home neglect for failing to take steps to properly care for their residents.

A report by the Maryland Office of Health Care Quality recently determined that Ravenwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Baltimore City harmed its residents when it failed to take action or alert the state when the air conditioning system failed earlier this month. It was one of two nursing homes in Baltimore City that had to be evacuated this summer because they did not have sufficient air conditioning to keep elderly residents cool.

After air conditioning systems in Ravenwood Nursing Home broke down on July 2, the state had to remove 150 residents from that facility, and it had to take similar actions at Liberty Heights Health and Rehabilitation Center, removing 74 residents from that nursing home.

In the case of Ravenwood, the nursing home management failed to tell the state that their air conditioning failed in a timely manner, leaving residents to swelter in 100-degree heat. Liberty Heights did not even have central air installed, according to state officials, instead using a number of individual units. When state officials evacuated the home, temperatures inside were reportedly 94 degrees.

The state reported that temperatures inside the nursing home’s walk-in refrigerator were up to 60 degrees, an unsafe temperature to store food. The door had been propped open with a food cart, presumably in an effort to cool the rest of the kitchen. The report indicated that administrators at Ravenwood knew for more than a year that the air conditioning system had problems.

The state fined the nursing home $52,500 and ordered it to create a correction plan within 10 days. It has three months to reach substantial compliance with state and federal nursing home regulations.

The elderly are generally considered to be at the highest risk of suffering injury and death during extremely high temperatures, making a lack of sufficient air conditioning an act of nursing home neglect and abuse. The soaring temperatures this summer should be no surprise for Baltimore city nursing homes, since Maryland is often subject to intensely hot and humid summers.

Nancy Grimm, director of Maryland’s Office of Health Care Quality told local media that the only reason the state learned about problems at Ravenwood was because a resident called 911. The facility could be cited for environmental deficiencies, and is currently shut down.

It is not the first time that the Baltimore nursing home, located in downtown, has run into trouble over claims of nursing home abuse and neglect. Previous inspections have found that the facility did not have proper preventative policies for nursing home abuse or theft of nursing home residents’ property. It also been cited for hiring people with a history of abusing and mistreating residents. In addition, the nursing home has failed to keep infections from spreading, and failed to control the use of drugs in the home.

BALTIMORE NURSING HOME NEGLECT LAWYERS

The Maryland nursing home lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. investigate potential claims for abuse and neglect that result in a serious injury for a resident. Family members entrust the care of their loved ones to a nursing home, and when neglect occurs, it can have a devastating impact on the health and quality of life for residents.

To review a potential Baltimore nursing home lawsuit with our lawyers, request a free consultation and claim evaluation.

Problems with Child Car Seats Make Accidents Leading Cause of Injury, Death for Children

Seven out of 10 parents are strapping their children into child car safety seats that are incorrectly, leading to unnecessary injury and death among children in automobile accidents.

According to recent research presented by Dr. Karen Judy, an associate professor of pediatrics at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, the prolific misuse of child safety seats across the United States have made car accidents the leading cause of death and disability among American children.

Any child under 80 pounds or shorter than 57 inches should be in a car seat or child safety seat. But that safety seat needs to be installed the correct way to properly protect the child in case of a car crash.

The following tips should always be followed when placing a child in a children safety seat:

• Infants less than a year old and weighing 20 lbs and under should always be placed in a rear-facing position.
• Children older than 1 years old and weighing more than 20 pounds should be placed in a forward-facing car seat until they are four years old or weigh more than 40 lbs.
• Children between the ages of 4 and 8 should use a booster seat until they are at least 4 feet 9 inches or taller.
• All children younger than 13 should sit in the back seat to avoid crushing injury from air bags. Safety seats should always be installed in the back seat.
• Avoid using second-hand car seats and only use car seats that you know have never been in an accident. Do not use any car seat older than six years old.
• When securing a child in a safety seat, make sure that the harness is level with the shoulders and that the straps are tight and secure.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has provided a system of child safety seat inspection stations across the U.S. It is recommended that anyone installing a child safety seat into a car for the first time take the car and seat to one of these inspection stations, where a trained individual will make certain that the seat is installed correctly.

Car Accident Crash is Leading Cause of Teen Death

A new government report estimates that 35% of teen deaths every year are caused by a car accident crash, making it the leading cause of teen death in the U.S. by a wide margin.

Arialdi M. Miniño, a statistician at the U.S. Centers for Disease, Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics, compiled a report that broke down the causes of death for teens from 1999 through 2006. The report was released by CDC last month.

Miniño found that an average of 16,375 teenagers from ages 12 through 19 die each year, on average, nearly half of them from accidents. Two-thirds of those accidental deaths, 35% of the total teen deaths, occurred due to a car crash. The next highest ranking cause of death was homicide.

Fortunately, teen deaths account for only about 1% of fatalities nationwide each year. The numbers indicate that older teen males are three times more likely to die than older teen females, and older teens overall are at a higher risk of death than younger ones.

“Starting at age 12 and ending at 19 years, the death rate among teenage males increases 32 percent on average for every additional year of age,” Miniño found. “For females, on the other hand, the death rate increases on average 19.5 percent for every additional year of age.”

In my experience as a Maryland car accident lawyer, the problem may be compounded by the fact that serious car crashes involving teens often involve a number of people in the same vehicle. The reckless actions of a teen driver can not only pose a risk to their own health, but also may cause personal injury or death for other occupants of the vehicle or for those in other cars on the road.

On the Job Injury Risk Higher Among Young Workers, But Risk of Death is Less

According to a new federal report, younger workers throughout the United States face a higher risk of being injured on the job than older workers, but less of a chance of dying.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) released numbers in late April for on-the-job injury and death statistics among young workers in the U.S. from 1998 to 2007. According to NIOSH’s analysis, workers under the age of 25 were twice as likely to receive non-fatal injuries while at work, when compared to older workers.

Young workers suffered 7.9 million nonfatal injuries at work over the 10-year period studied, translating to 5 trips to the emergency room for every 100 full-time equivalent workers. Over the same period of time, 5,719 younger workers died from occupational injuries, or about 3.6 deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers.

By comparison, workers over the age of 25 suffered about half as many non-fatal injuries, but 4.4 deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers. The numbers are an improvement over previous 10 year periods, with non-fatal injuries for young workers declining 19%, and fatal injuries dropping 14%.

Transportation-related accidents, primarily automobile accidents, were the most frequent cause of death among young workers. These included incidents where workers were struck by as a pedestrian, injuries from car crashes, and losing vehicle control.

Almost half (49%) of all non-fatal injuries suffered by young workers were due to contact with objects or equipment. This means they were struck by, rubbed against, caught in, or were crushed by industrial equipment, machinery, parts or materials.

Younger Hispanic workers were the most at risk of fatalities, and mining, agriculture and construction were the most dangerous fields for young workers of all races.

MARYLAND JOB INJURY LAWYERS

The Maryland work injury lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. represent injured workers in claims for Maryland Workers Compensation Benefits. As a result of an on-the-job injury in Maryland, workers may be entitled to benefits including life-time medical care, lost wages and compensation for any disability caused by the Maryland job injury.

Following a Maryland on the job injury, consult with our workers compensation attorneys to make sure your rights are protected and that you get all of the compensation and benefits you deserve.

Request for Jury Trial in Maryland Lawsuits May Be Raised to $15,000

Maryland voters will get the chance to decide in November whether to raise the minimum amount that must be at stake in a lawsuit for the parties to request a jury trial.

This week, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation that places a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would raise the minimum amount in a civil lawsuit from $10,000 to $15,000 in order to qualify for a Maryland jury trial. If passed, this would prevent insurance companies from requesting a jury trial in many Maryland auto accident lawsuits, which they often do to delay resolution of the claim and increase litigation costs for plaintiffs by dragging out the process.

Increasing the minimum amount necessary for a jury trial to $15,000 will allow many personal injury cases involving smaller claims to be resolved before a judge in the District Court, where cases are set for trial much quicker and involve less pre-trial discovery. Being able to have a trial before a Maryland District Court judge also allows a case to be heard within a few hours, instead of dragging the same case out for several days before a jury.

Allowing Maryland auto accident victims with smaller cases to keep their lawsuits in the District Court will also allow them to force insurance companies to pay fair compensation, instead of feeling like they have no choice but to accept a bad settlement offer because they do not want to end up in a long legal battle before a jury.

The amendment will require a 2/3 majority of voters before it can be approved, and the Maryland personal injury lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. encourage individuals to support this measure.

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