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Nursing Home Industry Worries About New Ratings

December 19, 2008

About 22 percent of the nation’s nearly 16,000 nursing homes received the federal government’s lowest rating in a new five-star system unveiled Thursday, while 12 percent received the highest ranking possible.

 

A home could obtain up to five stars based on criteria such as staffing and how well they fared in state inspections. The lowest ranking possible was one star. Such a simple rating for so complex a task as caring for the elderly has led to much anxiety in the nursing home industry.

 

Kerry Weems, acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the agency was merely taking existing data already on the agency’s Web site and making it easier for patients and families to evaluate a nursing home. He said it can be difficult for people to understand all the aspects of an inspection.

 

Read Article: New York Times

 

Posted By: Phoenix DUI Attorney

Family sues Disney over bassinet death

The family of a child who died this year in a Winnie the Pooh bassinet has sued the Walt Disney Co., alleging the company allowed sales of the bassinets despite a flawed design that had been linked to another baby’s death a year earlier.

The bassinet had a drop-down side for easy access, but the design created a gap where babies could slide through and hang to death. Kennedy Brotherton Jones was 6 months old when she was strangled on Aug. 21.

Shortly after Kennedy’s death, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission directed retailers to stop selling the bassinets, which were manufactured by Simplicity Inc. Disney’s consumer products division licensed its Winnie the Pooh name and image to Simplicity, records show.

The suit, filed in California state court in Los Angeles on Wednesday, raises questions about a common practice in the nursery products industry: Are companies that license their names and characters to other manufacturers responsible when those products turn out to be deadly?

 

Read Article: Chicago Tribune

 

Posted By: Phoenix DUI Attorney

Calif. Supreme Court Ruling May Deter Good Samaritans

Would-be heroes were warned by the California Supreme Court on Thursday that they could be liable for damages if they inadvertently injure a person while attempting a rescue.

 

In a 4-3 ruling, the high court held that a state statute immunizing rescuers from liability applies only if the individual is providing medical care in an emergency situation. It doesn’t apply when Good Samaritans accidently cause injuries while, for example, pulling someone out of a burning house or diving into swirling waters to save a drowning swimmer.

 

“After all,” Justice Carlos Moreno wrote for the majority, “if the ‘scene of an emergency’ … means a scene where ‘an individual has a need for immediate medical attention’ … it logically follows that the Legislature intended for the phrase ‘emergency care’ … to refer to the medical attention given to the individual who needs it.”

 

Read Article: Law.com

 

Posted By: Phoenix DUI Attorney

NASCAR settles discrimination lawsuit

The $225 million lawsuit that a former NASCAR inspector filed against the stock-car racing organization has been settled.The suit, which was filed in June, was reportedly settled at a mediation Dec. 3 in New York City.

 

As part of the agreement to settle the suit, which was filed by Mauricia Grant, terms of the settlement were not made public. Neither Grant nor NASCAR admitted liability or wrongdoing in the settlement. Grant, who is black, alleged in her suit that she had been subjected to racial discrimination and sexual harassment during the almost three racing seasons she worked for NASCAR.

 

“We’re glad to have the case settled on mutually acceptable terms,” NASCAR managing director of corporate communications Ramsey Poston said in a statement. “NASCAR remains dedicated to maintaining a professional work environment for all employees at all times and we wish Ms. Grant well in her future endeavors.”

 

Read Article: Kansas City Star

 

Posted By: Phoenix DUI Attorney

No Pants, No New Trial

An appeals court turned down a request for a new trial from a former District of Columbia judge who sued his dry cleaner for $54 million over a lost pair of pants. The District of Columbia Court of Appeals rejected the request from the former judge, Roy L. Pearson, above, to overturn a 2007 ruling that denied him damages.

 

Mr. Pearson had argued that the cleaners failed to live up to its promise of “Satisfaction Guaranteed.” Three judges said Mr. Pearson failed to show fraud and said his argument defied logic.

 

Read Article: New York Times

 

Posted By: Phoenix DUI Attorney

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