By Maples Law Firm on April 26, 2012 -
A nursing home in Oklahoma City has fired two employees who were accused of abusing a 96-year-old patient with dementia. Quail Creek Nursing and Rehabilitation Center fired the two female employees, ages 23 and 28, after they were both arrested by police on one complaint each of neglect by caretaker. One of the nursing assistants was caught on camera shoving latex gloves into the patient’s mouth as the other watched. The video also shows the worker lift the patient into bed and the push the side of her face to force her to lie down. The for-profit facility is owned by Westlake Nursing Home L.P. of Dallas, Texas, and has 92 residents in its care.
Nursing home abuse and neglect are becoming an epidemic in the United States. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), there are many different types of abuse that occur at nursing homes. There are signs and symptoms of abuse and neglect that family members would be well advised to watch out for. The common symptoms of physical abuse include slap marks, bruises, burns, or blisters. Signs of neglect may include pressure ulcers, filthy appearance, malnutrition, lack of medical care, or dehydration. Seniors who suffer emotional abuse may become withdrawn or show other behavioral changes. A sudden change in the patient’s finances or accounts may be indicative of financial abuse.
Victims of nursing home neglect or abuse may be able to recover compensation from the negligent nursing home for their suffering and losses. Filing a civil suit is often the only legal recourse nursing home victims and their families have to hold the facility accountable. If you or a loved one has been a victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, the experienced nursing home abuse lawyers in Oklahoma City at the Maples Law Firm can help you better understand your legal rights and options. Please contact us at (888) 226-6159 for a no-cost consultation and comprehensive case evaluation.
By Maples Law Firm on April 24, 2012 -
Animal control officials in Bryan County are urging dog owners to secure their pets after two pit bulls mauled a 92-year-old man to death in his own yard. According to a news report in the Durant Democrat, the fatal dog attack occurred on South Walnut Street in Mead. The elderly man was seen lying in his yard with multiple bites all over his body. He later died in an area hospital. The two pit bulls that belonged to a neighbor were taken into custody. It is not clear if the dogs’ owner has been charged or cited.
The American Humane Association reports that there are 238 dog bite-related fatalities each year in the United States. About 24 percent of these deaths involving humans are caused by unrestrained dogs off their owner’s property. The city of Durant requires pets to be secured, but the municipal ordinance does not specifically state how an animal must be restrained.
According to Oklahoma Statutes Annotated §4-42.1: “The owner or owners of any dog shall be liable for damages to the full amount of any damages sustained when his dog, without provocation, bites or injures any person while such person is in or on a place where he has a lawful right to be.” What this means is that under most circumstances, dog owners can be held financially responsible for the injuries and damages caused by their pets.
Injured victims can seek compensation from negligent dog owners for damages such as medical expenses, loss of wages, hospitalization, medications, cosmetic surgery, pain and suffering, and emotional distress. The experienced Oklahoma personal injury attorneys at the Maples Law Firm have a long and successful track record of helping dog attack victims secure the compensation they need and rightfully deserve. Please contact us at (888) 226-6159 for a free and comprehensive consultation.
By Maples Law Firm on April 19, 2012 -
Federal health regulators have said they will add labeling to contraceptive pills containing the synthetic hormone drospirenone, such as Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella, indicating the risk of blood clots. According to an Associated Press news report, the labeling will apply to Bayer’s Yaz, its predecessor Yasmin, and other drospirenone-containing drugs. The synthetic hormone, which is found in newer generation contraceptive pills, mimics the naturally occurring female hormone progesterone. The decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) comes in the wake of several recent research studies showing an elevated risk of blood clots for users of birth control pills with drospirenone. Women taking these pills have reported blood clots in their legs. These clots can become fatal if they travel to the heart, lungs or brain.
If you are a woman taking these drugs, you can take precautionary steps to prevent these dangerous side effects. First, talk to your doctor and see if the benefits of taking the drugs outweigh the risks. Also, do address your risk factors. Smoking, obesity, or diabetes could raise your risk of blood clots if you are taking these pills.
Staying active improves blood circulation and reduces the risk of blood clots. Those who have to sit down for long periods of time for work would be well advised to move around often. Avoid the pill immediately after childbirth. It is important to understand the symptoms of blood clots. These include: shortness of breath, sharp chest pain, coughing up blood, dizziness, back pain, and wheezing.
If you or a loved one has suffered adverse health effects, such as blood clots, as a result of using Yaz, Yasmin, or other contraceptive pills containing drospirenone, an experienced Oklahoma defective drug attorney at the Maples Law Firm can help you better understand your legal rights and options. Please contact us at (888) 226-6159 for a free and comprehensive consultation.
By Maples Law Firm on April 17, 2012 -
One person was injured in an Oklahoma City school bus accident after the bus collided with another vehicle in the southwest portion of the city. According to an Associated Press news report, one person was transported by ambulance to a local hospital. A 17-year-old ninth grader and the bus driver were not seriously injured, but both were taken to the hospital as a precaution.
School bus accidents may be rare in Oklahoma City. But when they do occur, they have the potential to cause major injuries or even fatalities. Some of the common injuries suffered in Oklahoma City bus accidents include: broken bones, head injuries, back and neck injuries, and lacerations.
Not all school buses are required under the law to be equipped with seatbelts. Federal law requires buses weighing under 10,000 pounds to be equipped with three-point lap and shoulder restraint systems. However, larger buses, which constitute the majority of school buses on our roadways, are not required to have seatbelts.
When a school bus accident occurs, the bus company and/or the school district may be held liable for the injuries caused to students, depending on the cause and circumstances of the crash. Injured victims can file a personal injury claim seeking compensation for medical expenses, loss of wages, hospitalization, physical therapy, and other related damages.
If your child has been injured in a school bus or auto accident, the experienced personal injury lawyers in Oklahoma City at the Maples Law Firm can help you better understand your rights. Please contact us at (888) 226-6159 for a no-cost consultation.
By Maples Law Firm on April 12, 2012 -
A recent federal study asserts the need for The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to improve the tools it uses to assess the quality of nursing home care, McKnights Long Term Care News reports. According to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report conducted at the request of Senators Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Herb Kohl (D-WI), CMS “has not established quality measures or performance goals” to evaluate the quality of patient care in our nation’s nursing homes through the Quality Indicator Survey process.
For example, GAO found that during resident interviews, surveyors did not consistently look for further information when they were provided with incomplete answers. Senator Kohl said that the purpose of the survey is to get the information necessary to help provide nursing home residents quality care.
As more and more baby boomers head into our nation’s nursing homes, it becomes an issue of national importance to ensure that our seniors are provided with quality care. However, nursing home abuse and neglect continues to be a significant problem nationwide. Not only are a number of our vulnerable seniors physically, emotionally, sexually, or financially abused, but they are also neglected while in the care of a nursing home. Sometimes, the abuse or neglect results in serious injury or death to the nursing home resident. This is unacceptable for families that entrust their loved ones to the care of a specialized facility that is paid to provide quality care.
If your loved one has been abused or neglected in a care facility, the experienced Oklahoma City nursing home abuse attorneys at the Maples Law Firm can help you better understand your legal rights and options. Please contact us at (888) 226-6159 for a free, comprehensive and confidential consultation.
By Maples Law Firm on April 10, 2012 -
This is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. This is a good time for all of us to stand back and think about our driving habits and make an honest assessment of whether we are really following our own advice and instincts when it comes to being a safe driver. Distracted driving is one of our nation’s foremost traffic safety problems today. The problem has its roots in the growth of cell phone use in recent years.
According to FocusDriven.org, in 1995 cell phone subscriptions covered only 11 percent of the U.S. population. In 2010, that number grew to a whopping 93 percent. This has led to a significant increase in cell phone use while driving. It has also caused an increase in distracted driving-related deaths. Statistics show that at any given time, 9 percent of drivers are talking on cell phones. This makes them four times as likely to become involved in a car accident.
Recent research has shown that it is dangerous to talk on a cell phone – regardless of whether you are hands-free. When you talk on a cell phone while driving, your brain is required to multi-task. When you focus on your conversation, the area of the brain that is responsible for processing moving visual information has 37 percent less capacity to do so. This means that your brain is focused on the cell phone conversation rather than gathering and processing critical driving data.
According to a 2010 survey conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, two out of three drivers said talking on a cell phone while driving is dangerous, but 70 percent of the respondents also admitted to doing the same in the previous 30 days. What this study shows is that people know talking on a cell phone while driving is dangerous behavior, but they continue to engage in this dangerous behavior.
As drivers, we all need to ask ourselves the question: Why? Is a cell phone conversation more important than a life – be it our own or the life of another person? This April, let us resolve to stay away from our cell phones while driving. Remember, distracted driving is negligent driving. If you or a loved one has been injured by the actions of a distracted driver, please contact an auto accident injury lawyer in Oklahoma at the Maples Law Firm to obtain more information about pursuing your legal rights. Please contact us at (888) 226-6159 for a free and comprehensive consultation.
By Maples Law Firm on April 4, 2012 -
Nursing home abuse comes in many forms and it is often challenging to detect. If you suspect that your loved one has been abused emotionally, financially, physically, or sexually, please do not hesitate to take immediate action. You may be able to protect your loved one from further harm while pursuing compensation for their suffering. In some cases, you can help prevent future incidents by holding the at-fault parties accountable for their actions.
The first step is to determine if abuse has actually occurred. There are many signs of OK nursing home abuse and it is important to determine the validity of your concerns. Does your loved one have injuries that are not listed on their medical reports? Have there been significant changes in your loved one’s behavior? You may want to discuss your suspicions with your loved one and with other residents. If you believe that abuse is occurring, it is important to notify the authorities right away and to contact an experienced nursing home abuse lawyer to discuss your legal rights and options.
You may also want to contact the Oklahoma Adult Protective Services. You will need to provide the name of the nursing home, information about the resident, and any details you have about the suspected abuse. Additionally, it may also be in your best interest to speak with the state Ombudsman who can act as an advocate for you and your family.
The skilled Oklahoma nursing home neglect lawyers at the Maples Law Firm have a long history of protecting victims of nursing home abuse and their families. If you are worried that your loved one is being mistreated in an Oklahoma nursing care facility, please call our offices right away at (888) 226-6159 for a free consultation.
By Maples Law Firm on April 2, 2012 -
A 38-year-old man was killed in an Oklahoma City car accident after a car jumped the curb and drove on the sidewalk. According to a news report in The Oklahoman, the fatal pedestrian accident occurred near NW 10 and Western Avenue in Oklahoma City. Officials say the victim was walking on the sidewalk when a driver let her car jump the curb and strike him before leaving the scene of the crash. He succumbed to his injuries at a nearby hospital. Anyone with information regarding the driver or the whereabouts of the 1980s Dodge or Plymouth four-door car with tag 120-DPM is asked to call the authorities.
Under Oklahoma law, it is a felony to leave the scene of an accident when someone has been injured or killed. Under Oklahoma Statute 47-10-102.1: “The driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting in the death of any person shall immediately stop such vehicle at the scene of such accident or as close thereto as possible but shall then forthwith return to and in every event shall remain at the scene of the accident.”
The family of a deceased Oklahoma hit-and-run car accident victim may have it in their best interest to speak with a skilled personal injury lawyer who will stay on top of the official investigation and ensure that their legal rights are protected in their Oklahoma wrongful death case. There are different legal options available for the victim’s family depending upon whether or not the at-fault driver is tracked down and arrested by the authorities.
The experienced Oklahoma City pedestrian accident attorneys at The Maples Law Firm help victims of Oklahoma car accidents get the compensation they need and rightfully deserve. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a hit-and-run accident or by an uninsured motorist, please contact us at (888) 226-6159 for a free and comprehensive consultation.
