Law Alerts
TEXAS LAW ALERT — SUMMER 2003 ISSUE
CHOOSING A NURSING HOME
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With people living longer lives and the traditional family structure disappearing, it is becoming more and more common for our elderly family members and friends to spend time, sometimes many years, in a nursing home. Given that nursing homes play such an important part in the lives of their residents, it is important to choose a good one. Before moving any family member or loved one into a nursing home, take the time to visit several in your area to see how they compare. When you visit, ask to be taken on a tour and use the following as a guide to determine which home you should choose.
Your Best Judgment When you visit a nursing home, the first observations you make may be the most important. What do you see? Ask yourself: Is this a place I would like to live? If the nursing home is clean and well-kept, that is a good sign, while a dirty or untidy home may indicate the opposite. How does it smell? Is it brightly lit and inviting, or dark and depressing? Don’t be afraid to rely on your instincts.
Official Reports
A second source of information comes from the reports filed with state authorities regarding the specific nursing home. Every year, the State of Texas inspects each nursing home and issues a survey report that contains all sorts of information regarding the nursing home’s operation. The report specifically includes information about problems the state has found and steps the nursing home will take to correct these problems.
Although it will be unusual to find a nursing home that does not have a few problems documented on its annual survey, you should examine the kinds of problems that have been found. Serious violations, such as reports of abuse, should be a red flag, as should repeated violations of the same type or violations that take a long time to resolve.
There are also reports regarding complaints that have been filed with state authorities regarding the nursing home. These complaints are issued every time the state is called to investigate a specific complaint about a specific home. These reports can give you some idea of how the nursing home operates year-round, not just the week the state performs its inspection.
By law, a nursing home is required to make both the survey report and complaint reports available to you, and it must give you a place and an opportunity to review them if requested. Beware of nursing homes that seem unwilling to let you see these records.
Staffing Concerns
The third major consideration is the quantity and the quality of the nursing home staff. How many staff members does it have, and how skilled are they? By law, nursing homes in Texas are required to maintain a “sufficient” staff, a standard that can result in considerable variation in staffing levels from nursing home to nursing home. Another question to ask is about the staff’s qualifications. How many of them are registered nurses, how many are certified nurse’s aides, and how many of them are uncertified? Usually, the more and better trained the staff is, the better the nursing home.
Staff turnover is another consideration. Facilities that do not pay well or that offer an unpleasant working environment often suffer from high turnover rates, with staff coming and going all the time. Excessive turnover can result in the residents not receiving proper care, if only because the people who have finally learned what care the residents need have left.
Quality of Life
The last consideration is the quality of the resident’s life, a consideration that often involves all of the issues discussed above. Is there enough staff to assist the residents with their needs, such as dressing and using the restroom? Does the nursing home sponsor varied social activities to keep its residents engaged and alert, or does it just turn on the TV every day? Is the food varied and nutritious, and do the residents have a choice in what they eat?
Choosing a nursing home is a very important decision, both for your older family member’s well-being and for your peace of mind. Take the time to make sure that the choice is the right one.
IF YOU SUSPECT NURSING HOME ABUSE
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If the resident is in serious or immediate danger: DO NOT WAIT. Dial 911 to contact local law enforcement authorities.
For cases where the abuse or neglect does not present an immediate danger: In Texas, the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services and the Department of Human Services both handle nursing home complaints. Contact PRS on its 24-hour hotline at (800) 252-5400 and DHS at (800) 458-9858.
If you need legal help: You may also need an attorney to represent you or your loved one. If you suspect that a loved one is being abused or neglected in a nursing home, call us. We will help you investigate the matter and take the legal action necessary to protect your loved one and to recover any damages that the law allows.
SAFE DRIVING: AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION
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Airline travel. Terrorist attack. Lightning. Everyone is afraid of something, but most of us do not give a second thought to the greatest danger we face every day–driving. The fact is that our drive to and from work is probably the most dangerous thing we ever do, and we do it all the time. The following common-sense tips can help make your driving safer.
Buckle Up
The best way to make driving safer is also the easiest: Buckle Up! Tests show that drivers who do not wear seat belts are about twice as likely to die in a car accident than those who do, and they are also more likely to be injured. Using seat belts also helps protect you against the one thing you cannot control: other drivers. Make it a habit to wear your seat belt every time you are in a car. Make sure small children are in approved car seats, and make especially sure that children too large to fit in a car seat stay buckled in.
Heads Up
Another simple but effective tactic is to keep your eyes on the road, especially around intersections and other places where cars come together. Although it sounds simple, all kinds of things can distract you from driving–from changing the radio station to looking for an address to “rubbernecking.” The only way to insure that you are able to respond to whatever occurs around you is to keep your eyes open and your head up. Seeing a problem in time to avoid it may save your life.
Know Your Limits
Many accidents occur when an otherwise safe driver forgets his or her limits, even for a minute. Don’t drive faster than is safe, especially in rain or snow or on a crowded highway. Don’t drive when you are too tired. Studies show that sleep-deprived drivers can be as dangerous as drunk drivers, and that even the loss of a few hours of sleep every night will lead to a reduction in motor skills and more accidents. And, of course, DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE.
Enjoy the Trip Finally, although we all know of these rules, we also sometimes forget them or do not follow them. Usually, we forget safe driving habits when we are impatient or in a hurry. Rather than rushing, relax. Enjoy the trip. Remember, you will get there eventually . . . unless you crash on the way.
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Do you know of someone who defrauded the federal government? Are you willing to bring a lawsuit on the government’s behalf? If so, the government may be willing to pay you under a federal law known as the False Claims Act (FCA).
The FCA allows individuals to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the government. If successful, these lawsuits benefit taxpayers generally, but they also benefit the person bringing the suit specifically. To “reward” the person who uncovered the fraud and brought the claim in the first place, the FCA allows successful plaintiffs to keep between 15% and 30% of the amounts recovered.
Although the most common kind of FCA lawsuit arises when the government overpays a contractor who has submitted a false or “padded” bill, such a lawsuit can also arise where companies knowingly sell defective items to the government, keep money paid to them by mistake, and commit other acts of fraud.