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Recent Blog Posts
Types of Elder Abuse and Signs to Look For
When you move your loved one to a nursing home, rehabilitation center, or other elder care facility, you are expecting them to receive the physical, emotional, and mental support that they need if they cannot live on their own. You put your trust in the staff that they will keep them safe and well looked after. Unfortunately, the diminished physical or mental state that led to their move in the first place makes them vulnerable to various types of abuse. It is good to know the common types of nursing home abuse and neglect and what some of the signs that you can look for.
Keeping Our Elderly Loved Ones Safe
Elder abuse can come in many forms, each of which can be physically, emotionally, and mentally harmful. Common types of elder abuse include:
Neglect – This includes failing to provide residents with their basic daily needs, including food, water, medical care, clean clothing, and other basic hygienic needs.
Know the Injury Risk from Ladders, Scaffolding
When working on a construction site, ladders and scaffolding are an unavoidable presence. While they allow construction workers, painters, roofers, and countless other workers to perform their jobs, they can also present a danger if not erected or maintained properly. Thousands of injuries every year are caused by falls, collapses, or other related accidents.
Common Causes of Scaffolding or Ladder Injuries
Workers who regularly use ladders or scaffolding know the risks they take when using them as part of their job. However, there are some circumstances beyond their control that can cause injuries and even death. Here are some of the most common causes of scaffold or ladder accidents:
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Wet or slippery walkways causing slips and falls
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Missing guardrails leading to falls
New Illinois Law Addresses Nursing Home Funding
On May 31, Governor Pritzker signed a new bill into law that will reform nursing homes around the state and tie their funding to performance measures and staffing levels. It also provides funding for increased pay for nursing home staff. The bill is partly a response to chronic staffing shortages in nursing homes that were only made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, while also trying to better address the care of residents in nursing homes.
More Funding for Nursing Homes, Nurses
The reforms in the bill provide for increased funding tied to staffing levels, new pay for certified nursing assistants, and connects funding to improved quality of care. The legislation adopts the federal Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) which helps nursing homes to better shape their care to reflect the needs of residents, prevents fraudulent billing, and promotes full disclosure of nursing home ownership. The disclosure portion is tied to a trend of private equity funds buying nursing homes and being linked to lower-quality care.
Motor Vehicle Fatalities Up Nationwide and in Illinois in 2021
According to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report, early estimates of motor vehicle traffic fatalities for 2021 show an increase in the number of people killed in traffic crashes. In Illinois, fatalities were also higher than in 2020. Nationwide, the rate of fatalities among drivers remained high after spiking during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.
Summary of Fatal Traffic Crash Data
The statistical projection produced by NHTSA shows that almost 43,000 people are estimated to have died in 2021 in traffic crashes nationwide. This number is up 10.5 percent from 2020 and would be the highest total number of fatalities since 2005. Each region of the country showed higher total numbers of fatalities, and only five states recorded fewer fatalities. The total number of fatalities in Illinois in 2021 is estimated to be 1,357, a 13.7% rise over the total of 1,194 in 2020.
Dangers of Swimming Pools in Illinois
With the end of the school year and the arrival of warmer weather, local pools will soon begin filling up with water and swimmers. Whether at a park, a hotel, or in a backyard, a pool can be a fun place to enjoy, but it also has risks that can result in a personal injury. If you are the owner of a pool or are just looking to have a fun time, it is beneficial to know the hazards present at a pool and the responsibilities homeowners have to keep their pool safe.
Safety Tips and Responsibilities for Pool Owners and Swimmers
Many pool owners know the risks and responsibilities of owning and maintaining a pool and the premises liability that comes with it. To prevent any unintentional injuries or even tragedies, it is best to be prepared and keep your family and friends safe. Here are some of the top risks for personal injuries for pool users.
Drive Safely in Illinois Construction Zones to Protect Workers
As the weather warms up, Illinois's construction season is in full swing. Whether on an area expressway or your local road, it is essential to drive with caution when you are in a construction zone. Narrow lanes, uneven surfaces, and vehicles entering the roadway can contribute to accidents and put construction workers at risk of injury.
Safety Tips for Construction Zones
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Pay attention – Warning signs ahead of construction zones will provide advanced notice for traffic shifts, lane closures, roadway incidents, and other warnings.
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Slow down if workers are present or not – It’s the law to reduce your speed in construction zones and keep a safe distance from the vehicle ahead of you. The lanes in construction zones are often narrower than other lanes, and traffic patterns can shift. There can also be uneven pavement in sections between or in the middle of lanes.
Common Causes of Trucking Accidents in Illinois
The state of Illinois and especially the Chicagoland area have some of the highest truck volumes in the United States. Chicago has long been a transportation hub, and massive tractor-trailers are an ever-present sight on our interstate system. In addition, smaller trucks are found on virtually every major street and road in our communities, delivering goods or carrying construction materials. The surge in delivery trucks from online shopping has only made the streets more crowded. While trucks are regulated by the government and drivers are required to have additional driver training, truck accidents are still a common occurrence.
Factors in Chicago Trucking Accidents
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Speeding – While speeding increases the risk of accident for any vehicle on the road, the increased weight and decreased stopping distance of a truck only add to the danger.
Six Distractions to Be Aware of in Distracted Driving Awareness Month
Life is busy, complicated, and ever-changing. If they were honest, many people would admit to being distracted for a significant portion of their day. Whether it is a pinging cell phone, screaming toddler, or work responsibilities, most of us have too many things on our minds at any given moment.
Distractions like these may be little more than annoyances during daily activities. However, distractions can be much more dangerous when the distracted individual is driving. Operating a motor vehicle takes concentration, attention, and skill. Distracted drivers can make mistakes that cause severe car crashes. To bring awareness to the risks of distracted driving, the NHTSA has declared April Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
Driver Distractions Come in Many Forms
Everyone knows that using a cell phone while driving is dangerous, and most states have established legislation prohibiting hand-held cell phone use behind the wheel. However, distracted driving does not only involve cell phones. Other forms of distracted driving that can lead to serious accidents include:
Failure to Diagnose Cancer and the Medical Standard of Care
Doctors are not magicians; they cannot simply look at someone and know what ails him or her. However, doctors and medical specialists are highly educated professionals who must complete years of training before practicing medicine. Consequently, we generally expect that doctors and other medical professionals will act with a reasonable degree of skill and competence. We assume that if they will take the appropriate steps to diagnose and treat whatever medical condition a patient suffers from.
But what happens when a doctor fails to diagnose a serious condition like cancer? Can failure to diagnose be the basis of a medical malpractice claim?
Early Diagnosis of Cancer is Key to Beating the Disease
The sooner cancer is detected, the sooner treatment can begin. When cancer is recognized early, doctors can start treating the cancer before it has a chance to spread throughout the body. When a cancer diagnosis is delayed, the cancerous cells have more time to spread and the chances of survival decrease. Screening tests like mammography, colonoscopy, CT scans, and blood tests can often detect the signs of cancer. When a doctor fails to order the appropriate tests, a patient may have cancer and not even know it.
Infant Asphyxia During Labor and Delivery Can Lead to Life-Long Complication or Death
Parents expecting a new baby may feel increasingly anxious as the due date approaches. This concern is understandable. After all, there are nearly countless things that can go wrong during an infant’s birth. Asphyxia, or lack of oxygen, is one of the most common types of birth injuries suffered by newborns. Many different problems can cause a baby to be deprived of oxygen. Sometimes, these problems are the direct result of medical negligence during birth.
Causes of Birth Asphyxia
Babies in the womb receive oxygenated blood through the umbilical cord. When the baby is born, he or she takes his or her first breath and no longer relies on the mother’s blood for oxygen. Unfortunately, many different problems can arise during this transition which deprive the baby of oxygen. The longer the baby’s brain is deprived of oxygen, the worse the consequences.
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