Pennsylvania Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

To mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day celebrated earlier this month, Pennsylvania's Secretary of Aging, John Michael Hall, encouraged residents who suspect abuse of older adults to call the state's elder abuse hotline at 1-800-490-8505.

In a press release issued on June 15, Secretary Hall said, "Our older residents deserve protection from abuse. Whether they are the target of financial exploitation by a stranger, physical abuse by a neighbor, neglect by a relative or the object of some other form of abuse, the commonwealth is prepared to intervene. But we need the help of responsible Pennsylvanians to let us know when they see abuse happening."

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day was created to call attention to the problem of abuse, including abandonment, physical and emotional harm, and sexual and financial exploitation, as well as to promote prevention. According the press release, the number-one reported and substantiated type of elder abuse in Pennsylvania is self-neglect followed by caregiver neglect and financial exploitation. Approximately 14,000 reports of abuse of older residents are received each year in the commonwealth.

Continue reading "World Elder Abuse Awareness Day Celebrated in June" »

It is with great pride that the attorneys at Michael J. O'Connor & Associates, LLC announce that Attorney David A. Miller has been selected as a Pennsylvania Rising Star in the field of personal injury.

Pennsylvania Rising Stars, as published in the June 2010 edition of the Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Super Lawyers magazines, represent the top 2.5% of attorneys across the state. To be eligible for selection as a Rising Star, an attorney must be age 40 or younger, or in practice for 10 years or less.

Rising Stars recognize the top up-and-coming attorneys in the state. The Pennsylvania Rising Stars for 2010 were selected from the results of an extensive nomination and polling process conducted by Law & Politics and published in the June 2010 issue of Philadelphia magazine and in Pennsylvania Super Lawyers - Rising Stars Edition. This is Miller's second year to make the Rising Stars list.

Continue reading "Attorney David A. Miller at Michael J. O'Connor & Associates Included in the 2010 Pennsylvania Rising Stars List" »

For the seventh year in a row, Michael J. O'Connor, founder of Michael J. O'Connor & Associates, was selected and named as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer in the field of workers' compensation law as published in the June 2010 edition of Philadelphia Magazine as well as the recent edition of Super Lawyers magazine.

In addition to Mr. O'Connor, Attorney Paul J. Duffalo was named to the list this year.

Attorneys named Super Lawyers are considered to be the top five percent of attorneys in each state, as chosen by their peers and through the independent research of Law & Politics. O'Connor was named a Super Lawyer in 2004 and each year following, making this his seventh year in a row to top the list of workers' compensation attorneys in Pennsylvania. This is Duffalo's third year to make the list.

To be named a Super Lawyer, an attorney must first go through a rigorous three-step process that begins with a nomination by his/her peers. The nominations occur on ballots that go out to all lawyers throughout the state who have been in practice for at least five years. These nominations are to be based on personal observation rather than solely on reputation.

O'Connor's seventh consecutive Super Lawyer designation makes evident his continued determination to uphold an outstanding level of legal representation. Duffalo has been recognized for his success and hard work for the third year in a row, and will undoubtedly continue to be named to the list in the coming years. His dedication to injured workers is recognized amongst his peers and demonstrated in his professional achievements.

Continue reading "Two Attorneys at Michael J. O'Connor & Associates Top the 2010 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers List" »

Most of us would agree that bed rails are a necessary precaution to keep hospital and nursing home residents who may be sick or restless from falling out of their beds. But a post on The New Old Age blog on the New York Times online points out the risks involved with the use of bed rails.

"Rails decrease your risk of falling by 10 to 15 percent, but they increase the risk of injury by about 20 percent because they change the geometry of the fall," explained Steven Miles, a geriatrician and bioethicist at the University of Minnesota who was quoted in the article. Patients can try to climb over the rails, falling farther than if they rolled off the lower level of the bed.

A greater risk with bed rails is entrapment. The article gives the example of an elderly man who died of asphyxiation in an assisted living facility in Wisconsin after his head became entrapped between the mattress and the rail.

Despite a warning issued by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) in 1995 about the entrapment danger posed by bed rails, bed rails are still being used extensively in nursing homes and rehabilitation centers. In the article, Dr. Miles explained, "A person will roll into the slot next to the rail, and the mattress slides to the opposite side. That doubles the size of the gap. The patient drops into the gap, the mattress presses against his chest and he can't breathe."

In 2006, the FDA issued guidelines to reduce the hazards from use of bed rails. However, the best solution would be to establish manufacturing standards so that no bed has a dangerous gap between the mattress and rail.

This week we read an article on the Post-Gazette.com about "culture change" which is described in the article as a national movement that calls for a reversal of the traditional nursing home model as well as a re-education of care workers and a breakdown of institutional housing. The idea is to bring care to where people live or in new elderly housing developments designed to foster independence. Grants from the Pennsylvania Department on Aging and the Department of Labor and Industry have enabled re-education programs to take place across the state, helping elder-care support employers learn new ways to help the elderly shape their own care. To read the full article, click on the link below:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10143/1060205-114.stm