Elder Abuse – also known as nursing home abuse or neglect.
Although most elderly patients in nursing homes receive excellent care and attention, there are instances of abuse and neglect. One of the most common mistakes made in nursing homes is the failure to prevent bedsores. Failure to turn patients who are unable to turn themselves can cause bedsores to develop which can become very painful and infected. These bedsores, known as decubitous ulcers, can eventually lead to amputation or even death. Health care providers who work in nursing homes receive a great deal of training in the proper methods for preventing bed sores as well as training in the proper care and treatment of bed sores. There is no reason for your loved one to suffer the agonizing pain and possible extreme consequences of these horrible sores.
Actual Case:
An elderly man was moved by his family to a new nursing home facility. Within a few days, he developed a bedsore on his heel. Due to the absence of proper care and attention, the bedsore became infected. The nursing home facility did not inform the family about the bedsore and the attending nurses were unable to stop the infection from spreading. By the time the family became aware of the horrible bedsore and infection, it was too late. The elderly man’s leg had to be amputated above the knee.
Bar and Restaurant Owners Liability – also known as dram shop liability. Establishments
that sell alcoholic beverages to customers are not allowed to continue serving alcohol
to someone who is obviously intoxicated. If this happens, and if the intoxicated
person injures someone else, the bar owner may be liable for the injuries caused
by the intoxicated person.
Premises Liability –
Store and restaurant owners are required to provide a safe environment for their customers. When a dangerous condition is created by the store owner or by employees, or when customers create dangerous conditions which the store owner knows about but fails to correct. For example, if a customer accidentally drops a bottle of apple juice on the tile floor of a grocery store, causing the bottle to break open and spill apple juice in the walkway, a dangerous condition is created by the slippery liquid on the floor. If the customer tells a store employee about the spilled apple juice and if the store employee fails to take immediate steps to guard against the dangerous condition, unsuspecting customers may walk in the area of the spilled apple juice, step on the liquid and fall to the floor. The store owner may be responsible for injuries suffered by the customer.
Actual Case:
After having dinner at one of her favorite restaurants, an elderly customer walked toward the exit door. As she tried to leave, the door did not open with ordinary pushing due to its age and other defects. When the elderly customer applied an extra amount of pressure in order to open the door, the door suddenly popped open, causing her to fall to the concrete floor. She suffered a fractured hip. This is the type of accident that should never happen to an unsuspecting customer.
Dog Bites/Attacks - Arizona law requires all dog owners to keep their dogs from biting people. Dog owners are responsible for dog bites even when the dog owner has no reason to believe that his dog might become aggressive and even if the dog has never bitten anyone before.
Actual Case:
A 7-year-old child was visiting a house where his mother worked as a maid. The home owner had a family pet dog. The boy tried to pick up some cereal that had spilled. The dog bit the boy on the face leaving permanent scars on his face.
Products liability –
Sometimes injuries happen because a product is improperly designed or because it is manufactured with dangerous defects. Sometimes a seatbelt latch unexpectedly pops open. Sometimes an airbag system does not function properly during an accident and sometimes a vehicle will unexpectedly rollover during ordinary use. Many people have been injured when tires blow out for no apparent reason.
Actual Case:
An experienced driver was simply traveling home from work and was driving on a flat, straight highway with a smooth, paved surface. For no apparent reason, one of the tires on her vehicle blew out, causing her vehicle to swerve to the right. The driver turned the steering wheel to the left in order to bring the vehicle back onto the paved surface and, unfortunately, the car went out of control and rolled over several times. The driver was killed.
Medical Malpractice –
The law does not require doctors, nurses and other health care providers to be perfect in everything that they do. However, our society does expect health care providers to perform their duties and obligations in a high quality, professional manner. If a doctor or nurse is not careful and if mistakes are made which lead to injury or death, the doctor or nurse may be responsible for the injury or death. Most of us are very happy with our doctors and surgeons and are very thankful for the excellent work that they do. However, when mistakes are made due to medical negligence the health care provider who makes the mistake should be liable for resulting injuries.
Actual Case:
A woman in her 30’s reported to the emergency room because of severe abdominal pain. Even though a number of tests were conducted, the test results were misread and consequently, the attending health care providers failed to diagnose a very serious health problem. The unfortunate woman died before her doctors were able to identify her problem and provide life saving care.
