Some attorneys are saying that a payout to a crash victim can range from $5 million to $10 million, so it is uncertain but that this $200 million may be surpassed.

California Senator, Barbara Boxer will be meeting with Metrolink officials along with other officials like those from the NTSB.  She will be discussing the topic of these lawsuit claim limits.  Boxer commented “We want to make sure that people can recover what they deserve.  Clearly, people have to have justice.”

Boxer will look into different options such as possibly waiving this limit or having Congress stepping in to make up the difference.

California Senator Dianne Feinstein questions the limit all together.  She stated through a spokesmam, “I strongly believe there should not be a liability cap that shields railroads from taking full responsibility for their actions.  I also believe the railroads should be encouraged to embrace collision avoidance systems so that serious accidents can be avoided.”

This cap has never been exceeded so courts will have to deal with the questions that have already arisen.  Some question why victims should have to incur costs that came as a result of something that was not their fault.  Others feel that that the law is “ironclad”

At this point there seems to be minimal concern from Congress to want to alter the limit in anyway.

For legal questions and a free consultation call -  1-800-775-3779

The Los Angeles County Department of Mental health is providing much needed free counseling at their two locations on a daily basis.

The Metrolink train accident were killed 26 people  and 135 injured some of which are in critical condition.

Anyone involved in such a horrendous accident like the Metrolink 111 train wreck from last week may need someone to talk to.

The scene has been described as gruesome and horrifying.  Rescuers have been pulling bodies out and assessing the wreckage for the days after.

The Los Angeles County Department of Mental health  centers will be open from 8 am to 5 pm.

There is a center in San Fernando Valley located at 10605 Balboa Blvd., Suite 100 in Granada Hills, 91344, (818) 832-2400.

The other location is West Valley Mental Health Center located at 7621 Canoga Ave. in Canoga Park, 91304, (818) 598-6900.

If you have been affected by the train crash, do not hesitate to visit either of these centers for free counseling.

train, accident, lawyer, los angeles, california, news, LA

Apparently there are some teenagers that had become friends with the Metrolink engineer because of the interest that had in his job.  One teen, Nick Williams, has claimed that the engineer was texting him throughout the day, and that the third and last text message he received that Friday came to his cell phone just moments before the crash.  The teen has been seen on air holding a cell phone with a text message from the engineer date and time stamped, Friday, Sept 12th 4:22 pm.
Denise Tyrrell said that she feels it is “unbelievable” that an engineer would be sending text messages while operating a train.  The name of the engineer has not been released yet.
This claim has not been confirmed as yet.  In past accidents, similar claims were made, so this needs to be investigated further.
This is the worst crash that has occurred since 1993 where 47 people were killed.  The Metrolink commuter train was going to Ventura County with 220 passengers, one engineer, and one conductor.  The train that it collided with was a freight train with a crew of three.  Families of victims are struggling with their sudden losses.  At least 25 people have died from the crash and at least 135 have been injured.

Source: Los Angeles Metro Link Lawyer

This came Several weeks after a procedure was performed at the Desert Shadow clinic, the patient’s doctor diagnosed the infection, according to officials. This was not reported to the district, as is required by state law, health officials said.

“Had the doctor reported this to us, maybe we would have been able to find it back in 2006 and eliminated any potential for disease transmission,” said Brian Labus, chief epidemiologist for the health district.

The complete story and more information about the Nevada Hepatitis Scare, the Endoscopy Center of Nevada and Clinic Closures can be found at:

www.resource4thepeople.com/medicalmalpractice

The Southern Nevada Health District alerted patients that had received injected anesthesia medicine during medical procedures at the Endoscopy Center of Nevada, located at 700 Shadow Lane, of high risk exposure and possible contraction of Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, HIV and other possible blood borne diseases. All people that had procedures between March 2004 and January 11, 2008 and instructed to seek medical attention from their doctors or health care providers immediately to be tested for infection.

Important Questions and Answers for patients that had procedures at this medical center and believe they are at risk of exposure:

Q: Why are people being asked to get tested?

A: The health district was advised of 6 Hepatitis cases, of which 5 have had medical procedures involving anesthesia injections. The CDC and Health District, after investigation, reported that unsafe injection practices of an anesthetic may have exposed patients to the blood of other patients.

Q: How were patients exposed?

A: A syringe (not a needle) used on a patient was used again on the same person to draw additional medication. The re-drawing of medicine using the same syringe could infect the vial from where the medicine was taken from the patient. The vial, not identified for use on multiple people, was reused for another patient. If the vial was infected with the blood of the first person, it is possible that the vial could have been exposed to blood borne pathogens.

Q: How many people may be affected?

A: it is unknown how many people will contract Hepatitis, HIV or other blood diseases but it is estimated that some 40,000 patients are at risk.

If you or a loved one has had a medical procedure at this center or have been notified by healthcare professionals or believe you may be at risk for exposure and contraction of Hepatitis, HIV or any other blood disease from unsafe injection practices at The Endoscopy Center of Nevada, contact us today. 1-888-775-3779

 

 

 

The Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada issued the following statement:

“On behalf of the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada, we want to express our deep concern about this incident to the many patients who have put their trust in us over the years. As always, our patients remain our primary responsibility and we have already corrected the situation.”

“The recent events related to the Southern Nevada Health District study mark the first time anything like this has ever happened at our facility. We have already taken steps to ensure that it will never happen again.”

“The health district began its investigation in January, and we have been fully cooperating with them. We were officially notified by the health district on February 6, 2008 and submitted our detailed Plan of Correction on February 15, 2008. All concerns noted by the health department were addressed immediately. We continue to work closely with the Southern Nevada Health District and other health agencies during this ongoing review. We want to be sure that every patient who may have been exposed is informed and tested.”

“To help us with these issues, we have engaged the services of nationally renowned experts who have extensive epidemiological experience and that have worked closely with the Centers for Disease Control in the past. They include Dr. Janine Jason, CEO of Jason and Jarvis Associates. She is a Harvard Medical School-trained physician, epidemiologist, and immunologist who served as a medical scientist and senior epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and was on the Emory Medical School faculty for 23 years prior to becoming a private consultant. Dr. Jason has authored more than a hundred peer-reviewed medical and epidemiologic scientific articles.”

“In addition to our corrective actions, we are on a mission to maintain the trust our patients have had in us during our years of service to southern Nevada.”

“We wish to emphasize that the actual risk of anyone being affected by this is extremely low, but as a precaution, anyone who has undergone procedures at the Endoscopy Center who required anesthesia should be tested.”

“As I’m sure you understand this situation brings with it a number of complex elements including patient privacy and regulatory guidelines. At this time, our counsel has asked that we limit our comments to this statement, and we are unable to take questions.”

Thank you.”

For additional information visit the website HERE

• Why is the health district making these recommendations?
• How were the cases discovered?
• Why did it take several months for this to come to the attention of the health district?
• How were patients exposed?
• How did you determine the link between these cases?
• What actions have been taken to correct the unsafe injection control practices?
• Who performed the investigation?
• Why is the health district also recommending testing for hepatitis B and HIV?
• How many people will be diagnosed with hepatitis C, B or HIV from this investigation?
• How serious are these illnesses?
• How many cases of hepatitis C are reported to the health district each year?
• What is the Southern Nevada Health District’s role in the response?
• As a patient how can I protect myself when getting these types of medical procedures?
• Are these types of medical procedures safe?
• What is being done to prevent this from happening again?
• What are the recommendations for people who test positive for hepatitis C, B or HIV?

Why is the health district making these recommendations?

• The health district received notification of three acute cases of hepatitis C in January 2008 and has identified a total of six cases to date. Five of the cases had procedures requiring injected anesthesia on the same day.
• Following a joint investigation with the Nevada State Bureau of Licensure and Certification (BLC) and with consultation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the health district determined that unsafe injection practices related to the administration of anesthesia medication might have exposed patients to the blood of other patients.
• The exposures did not result from the medical procedures performed.

Officials say Riems had far more concerning behavior: the 49-year-old is accused of raping, nursing home abuse and assaulting a paralyzed patient.; the victim list could reach 100 if investigators believe what Riems claims.

Resources:

SUV Accident Statistics Report

More IIHS Crash Test Results

Since 2007 marks the beginning of another election year, healthcare issues are on the lips of every candidate clamoring to become the next president. Although these parties have opposing views on everything from the war in Iraq to legalized abortion, one of the most common themes for both the democrat and republican parties is their desire to let big business run our schools, prisons, and healthcare facilities.

Elder Abuse Helplines and Hotlines:
To be refered to law firms that represent the finest in helping victims of nursing home or elder abuse in their state call the Free Legal Hotline 1-888-776-5380
If the situation is serious, threatening, or dangerous call 911 or the local police for immediate help.

Thanks to political parties that allow private interests and private services to become monopolized, organizations like nursing homes continue to stay a big business, making big profits.Whenever we think about nursing homes, we envision the elderly, lined up in wheelchairs, not recognizing their family or friends. Most of the time, they are our parents and grandparents, our spouses’. Sometimes they are our children. Within that vision are other people that contribute to a piece of that puzzle. They are the caregivers hired to watch over them. Usually,they are the angels of mercy. Sometimes, they are the angels of death.

Over the past decade, long-term nursing agencies have made every attempt at hiring qualified employees. Unfortunately, for the disabled many times they came up short-handed. Finding dedicated and loving humanitarians was harder than originally anticipated. Desperate, to fill employee vacancies and take advantage of government incentives, the corporate legal eagles prompted their charges to accept greed over quality care. Unfortunately, this became one of the key ingredients to begin their downward spiral. Minimum wages and poor working conditions encouraged the medical community to scrape the bottom of the barrel in order to fill employee quotas. Unfortunately, for our families, the downside to this way of doing business usually ends with phone calls at 3:00 in the morning informing us that our loved one was beaten, raped or worse; murdered.

Although something can be said for persons with troubled pasts trying to rehabilitate themselves and merge back into society, trusting them with such precious gifts as fragile ninety year old men and women can be disastrous. Usually, people with troubled pasts, are so busy trying to cope with their own demons, they have very little time to care if our parents and grandparents are hungry, wet, or cold.According to GAO reports,roughly 37% of the workers in or around medical facilities have some kind of a criminal past. Although nurses aides compose the largest proportion of nursing home employees, other people such as security guards, maintenance workers, and laundry workers have also been found responsible for nursing home abuse.

Statistically speaking, many of our healthcare workers are either qualified older adults, young welfare mothers who have completed their GED’s, or college students trying to get by without working for telemarketing firms and quick marts for minimum wage. Approximately 3-5 million people work in the healthcare industry today and that number is expected to increase by 5% in 2010. In order to get a better picture of healthcare and the services it provides, it is important to expose the corporate view of privatization, and the attitudes of the senior executives running these kinds of facilities. Healthcare industries in this country have always taken advantage of the frail by ruthlessly and selfishly exploiting vulnerable senior citizens, and mentally challenged adults. Overcharging for services has always been one of the ways they have taken advantage of the sick.

In the late eighties, Medicare fraud ran rampant. Instead of penalizing the offenders, the government rewarded them by offering them more money for moving patients into Post-Acute care facilities. Therapy programs replaced longer hospital stays, and nursing home not-for-profit investors got richer by the day.Medicaid and Medicare pays for patients care at a flat rate/ per person basis. In 1995, Medicaid paid nursing homes eighty dollars a day to care for a resident. Medicare paid two hundred dollars a day. Consequentially, Medicaid patients were on the bottom of the totem pole and it made them less profitable and less desirable residents to care for. Any patient that was solvent enough to pay cash or offer their properties in exchange for a place to live, were the most desirable patients to allow into assisted living facilities. Medicaid patients were usually “kicked out” of the better places and transferred to inadequate facilities. Medical needs were never a consideration and it usually resulted in abuse, neglect, and death of patients.

If I had Only Known; Breaking The Silence of Caregiver Abuse by Brooke Jennings is a “no nonsense” account of caregiver neglect and a book that every family member should read before placing their loved ones into any long term medical facility.Brooke Jennings is a woman who is passionate about educating the public regarding nursing home abuse/negligence. Since the death of her son, Michael, she has been active in rallying supporters for The Faith Foundation (fighting abuse in today’s healthcare), by helping to change healthcare regulations regarding the housing and hiring of ex-felons and substance abusers.