Indiana Injury Lawyer Blog

Indiana Highway 64 was closed for approximately two hours on Tuesday, while Indiana State Police attended to a fatal car accident that claimed the life of a Marengo woman. According to initial reports, 36-year-old Suzanne M. Mosson lost control of her car on a snow-packed Indiana Highway 64 at about 1:30 p.m. Mosson's car reportedly spun out of control and collided with another car driven by a Milltown man. Mosson was pronounced dead at the scene. The other driver wasn't injured. Accordingly to police, both drivers were wearing their seat-belts.

Continue reading " CRAWFORD COUNTY INDIANA WOMAN KILLED IN FATAL CAR ACCIDENT ON HIGHWAY 64 NEAR MILLTOWN " »

The Honey Creek Fire Department and Vigo County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a head-on collision at about 8 p.m. on Indiana Highway 63, just south of the Federal Correctional Complex near Ryman Drive. Four individuals were sent to the hospital by ambulance. Initial investigation indicated that a southbound pickup truck collided with a northbound car right towards the middle of the highway.

During a twelve hour period starting at the beginning of work commutes, the Indiana State Police reportedly responded to three slide-off accidents and 10 other car and truck accidents. Only two of the 10 accidents were reported to involve injuries. The Vigo County Sheriff’s Department had similar results and responded to two slide-offs and 13 accidents. Of those accidents, four were reported to have involved injuries.

State Police in the Bloomington District announced a Level 2 warning for travelers, which means conditions are threatening to the safety of the public and only essential travel should be made. Monroe, Owen, Greene, Lawrence and Brown counties fall into the Bloomington District.

Continue reading " INDIANA ICE AND SNOW MAKES FOR FATAL DRIVING CONDITIONS AND CAUSES NUMEROUS CAR ACCIDENTS AND SLIDE OFFS " »

Autrey Lunsford, 70, of Cambridge City, Indiana, was killed Monday night while driving a 2001 Lincoln Town Car eastbound on U.S. 90 in Gadsen County, Florida, in the inside eastbound lane at about 9:41 p.m. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Lunsford was traveling at a high rate of speed and above the posted speed limit.

Based on preliminary police reports, Michelle Mann, 48, of Midway, Florida, was driving a 2000 Ford Taurus eastbound on U.S. Highway 90 in the outside eastbound lane. Lunsford's car apparently entered Mann's lane and struck Mann's car on its side. Reports indicated that Lunsford's Lincoln then continued east onto the southbound grass shoulder of U.S. Highway 90, and began to rotate clockwise. His Lincoln then struck several pine trees on the driver's side, coming to rest facing southwest. Mann's Taurus came to rest on the southbound grass shoulder of U.S. 90 facing east.

Lunsford was taken to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Continue reading " WAYNE COUNTY INDIANA MAN KILLED IN CAR ACCIDENT ON FLORIDA HIGHWAY " »

When the CMS issued its new ratings in December, 2008, about 22 percent of the nation's nearly 16,000 nursing homes received the
federal government's lowest rating under the new five-star rating system , while only 12 percent received the highest ranking possible.

The acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Kerry Weems, said the agency was merely taking existing data already on the agency's Web site and facilitating its use for patients and families. He said it can be difficult for people to understand all the aspects of an inspection, but "[t]his should help consumers in narrowing their choices, but nothing should substitute for visiting a nursing home when making a decision".

Under the new system, five stars means a nursing home ranks much above average, four stars indicates an above average ranking, three stars means average, two is below average and one is much below average. The rankings will be updated quarterly, and the CMS is already getting a lot of flack from the nursing home industry. Many facilities believe the system is just not easily applied under the current investigative process conducted by the states. The key argument in this is that each state has their own subjective process by which they review facility performance.

The system "is poorly planned, prematurely implemented and hamhandedly rolled out," said Larry Minnix, president and chief executive officer of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.

Countering this, however, was Alice H. Hedt, executive director of the National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform. She noted, "[f]rom a consumer viewpoint, it's not stringent enough... It's basically taking information already available on Medicare's Nursing Home Compare Web site and pulling it into an easier system for consumers to use, and that is a good thing."

Still, both consumer watch groups and the CMS believe that the system cannot be a substitute for personal inspection and investigation.

In rating the nursing homes, CMS used three year's worth of inspections which were recorded on an annual survey designed to measure how well homes protect the health and safety of their residents.

Continue reading " INDIANA NURSING HOMES CONCERNED ABOUT NEW FEDERAL CARE RATINGS " »

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released a new five-star rating system to rank every nursing facility in the country. Two White County Indiana nursing homes came in at opposite ends under the new system. Monticello Assisted Living and Healthcare was given a one-star rating (the worst under the new system) while Whispering Pines received the second to highest rating, four-stars. The ratings were released in December and updated January 15th.

Nearly 28 percent of Indiana's nursing facilities were given one star, the lowest rating. By far, the most troubling area for these facilities was the staffing review. The new rating system uses the national database called the Minimum Data Set (MDS) Repository, which is information collected at intervals on every nursing home resident, and government surveys gathered on each facility. In Indiana, the government surveys are conducted by the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH). The state summarizes their surveys into report cards on each facility.

Whispering Pines received a score of 184 while Monticello Assisted Living and Healthcare scored 164 under the comprehensive totals. These numbers both compare relatively well compared to the Indiana state average of 193 (the lower the score the better).

The CMS quality-rating system looks at three primary areas: health inspections, staffing and quality measures. Whispering Pines scored four stars in staffing while Monticello Assisted Living and Healthcare scored one star.

Continue reading " MONTICELLO ASSISTED LIVING AND HEALTHCARE AND WHISPERING PINES AMONGST WHITE COUNTY NURSING HOMES RATED UNDER NEW INDIANA AND FEDERAL FIVE STAR SYSTEM " »

As the number of reports and claims of nursing homes abuse and neglect has continued to rise in the last several years, many states have begun enacting consumer protection laws to assist the elderly and their families. These measures have the added intention of holding nursing home facilities accountable for deficient care which leads to abuse, injury, or in some cases, death.

In an effort to circumvent these consumer protection acts and avoid the accountability to which the Federal and state legislatures sought, nursing homes are simply seeking to have clients waive their legal entitlements set forth by the very legislation intended to protect them. In my practice, I have recently had several reports and seen numerous attempts by long term facilities to have new patients execute forms which purport to force claims of abuse or neglect to an arbitration process, or in some cases, seek to entirely release facilities from any potential claim. While the validity of such releases or arbitration mandates have yet to be substantially challenged or contested by the way of case law, their effect to intimidate or at least slow the wheels of justice cannot in honest spirit be discounted.

New patients and their families (including those holding power of attorney or guardianship), must be extremely cautious when executing or approving the execution of documents. All documents should be carefully reviewed, and when necessary, nursing homes or their executive administrators should be questioned about their intent and purpose. No facility or ownership entity can justify a peremptory release of legal rights or even a mandate for arbitration. In either case, patients and their families should question the motive of the documents, and without legal consult, should not execute any documents which purport to restrict a patients legal recourse. Facilities that provide appropriate care should not fear the responsibility and accountability recent consumer protection laws set forth; rather, facilities providing quality care should simply view these laws as a validation or written memorial of the quality assurance process they already have in place.

Continue reading " INDIANA NURSING HOMES ATTEMPTING TO MAKE PATIENTS WAIVE THEIR LEGAL RIGHTS RELATED TO ABUSE OR NEGLECT " »

In early December, 2008, a group of teenagers working at a Minnesota nursing home (two of which are pictured below), were charged with allegations of abuse and sexually humiliation of elderly residents, many of which were suffering from dementia or other mental disorders. Prosecutors contend that six young females were involved in the despicable activity and were named in criminal complaints filed December 1st charging them with cruel behavior at the Good Samaritan Society nursing home, which is located in Albert Lea, Minnesota.

Only two of the girls charged are identified by name as they were not minors at the time the abuse was alleged to have occurred. Brianna Broitzman, 19 (pictured above left), and Ashton Larson, 18 (above right), were two of six alleged to have spat upon, spanked, improperly touched, and tormented residents earlier this year. According to prosecutors, Broitzman allegedly poked one resident's breasts, spit into the mouth of another elderly person, and "put her bare butt" in the face of a resident. Larson was alleged to have once "inserted her finger into a resident's rectum," spit water on another "vulnerable adult," and would deliberately bathe a resident in a rough manner so the elderly man would get an erection. The 4 minors were identified in the complaints by their initials and dates of birth. Broitzman alone was charged with 11 criminal counts, and Larson was charged with 10 counts. Each face up to a year in jail for each count.

Continue reading " NURSING HOME ABUSE AND NEGLECT PLACES MINNESOTA TEENS IN HOT WATER " »

The Henry County Indiana Sheriff's Department reported that 31-year-old Timeka Felton and 12-year-old Justin Boxley of Kankakee, Illinois, were killed and two others injured when their car struck the rear of a semi truck and trailer just after 7 a.m. on Thursday. The two were pronounced dead at the scene.

Also injured, Nicholas Felton, 38 of Kankakee, Illinois. He was initially taken to Henry County Memorial Hospital in New Castle. He was later transferred to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Mya Jackson, 6, another passenger in the vehicle, was taken by life flight to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.

According to their initial investigation, police believe the semi tractor was eastbound when it collided with a different passenger vehicle. It was believed that the semi driver then stopped his truck in the left lane, at which time the Felton vehicle slammed into the right rear of the trailer becoming pinned underneath it. Police do not believe that weather was a factor in the accident.

Continue reading " TWO ILLINOIS RESIDENTS KILLED IN CAR ACCIDENT WITH SEMI TRUCK ON INTERSTATE 70 IN HENRY COUNTY INDIANA JUST EAST OF INDIANAPOLIS " »

Indiana State Police trooper, Shaun Rawlins, 25 suffered minor injuries Sunday while patrolling eastbound I-70, when his cruiser came across ice near the 51 mile marker and struck a guardrail.

Rawlins, a relatively new trooper joined the Indiana State Police in December 2007, and is stationed out of the Putnamville State Police Post. According to reports, Rawlins suffered injuries to his back and was transported to Hendricks Regional Health for treatment. He was reportedly then released to recover at home.

A new Department of Health and Human Services' five-star system for rating nursing homes has placed all six Grant County Indiana nursing home facilities amongst the worse in the country. All six facilities, including Colonial Oaks Health Care Center in Marion, Miller’s Merry Manor in Marion, Park Villa in Marion, Twin City Health Care in Gas City, University Nursing Center in Upland and Wesleyan Health Care Center in Marion received the lowest possible rating, one star.

All six Grant County nursing homes were ranked below average on their composite score which is based on local health inspections, staffing and quality measures. In looking to the details of the ratings, University Nursing Center in Upland lead the six Grant County facilities with a score of 232. While leading the Grant County, University Nursing Center was nicked for environmental concerns which, according to their administrators, was likely due to the aging of their facility.

The lowest score amongst the Grant county facilities was garnered by Twin City Health Care. Although showing some moderate improvements, the facility administrators apparently blamed the evaluation process for their poor results. A spokeswoman for the facility, Mandel, noted that she was critical of the way the state composes the report cards, noting that it’s too focused on paperwork and ignores the quality of resident care. Local media reports quoted her saying, “I’d rather have hands-on care than documentation,” she said. Overall, Mandel said, she thought the Twin City staff was doing well. She believes administrators are listening to feedback and will continue to improve their facility.

The following is the comprehensive scoring for the six Grant County Indiana facilities (the higher the score.....the worse the rating). The Indiana State Average was 194:

University Nursing Center: 232
Miller’s Merry Manor, Marion: 246
Colonial Oaks Health Care Center: 278
Park Villa: 344
Wesleyan Health Care Center: 397
Twin City Health Care: 729

Continue reading " GRANT COUNTY INDIANA NURSING HOME FACILITIES DINGED ON NEW FEDERAL FIVE STAR RATING SYSTEM " »

In a letter to the Editor of the Indianapolis Star Newspaper, President and CEO of the Indiana Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, Jim Leich, wrote the following retort to a January 6, 2009, article titled, "Indiana nursing homes rated among worst.

Amongst other things, the article attempted to counter the very poor ratings his organization and several Indiana Nursing homes received under the CMS new five-star rating system. According to Federal Government officials, the system was put into place to create accountability for the facilities and help end consumers make good choices in the homes they choose for their family of loved ones:

Continue reading " PRESIDENT AND CEO OF INDIANA ASSOCIATION OF HOMES AND SERVICES FOR THE AGING REBUTS THE NEW CMS FIVE STAR RATING SYSTEM " »

Michael John Kozlowski, 23, of Schererville, Indiana, was charged Thursday with five counts of homicide in connection to a crash he allegedly caused while operating a semi truck and trailer. Prosectors charge that Kozlowski's reckless driving and falling asleep behind the wheel of a semi truck killed five people, including the Chippewa Falls band director, Douglas Greenhalgh, 48; his wife Therese, 51; and their 11-year-old granddaughter, Morgan Greenhalgh. The driver of the bus, Paul Rasmus, 78, and student teacher Brandon Atherton, 24, were also killed. Several students were also injured on the bus carrying the high school band home from a weekend competition. According to Wisconsin State Police, the charter bus filled with 44 students, teachers and chaperones from Chippewa Falls High School, plowed into Kozlowski's semi trailer that had overturned and jackknifed on the highway, blocking both lanes. In total, Kozlowski was charged with 11 felony counts of reckless driving causing great bodily injury and nine misdemeanor counts of reckless driving causing injury.

According to prosecutors, the night before the crash (October 14, 2008), Kozlowski stayed out late partying. He then took off from Indiana and was reportedly driving erratically before falling asleep. Apparently, Kozlowski had veered of the road after crossing into Wisconsin and then over-corrected causing the truck to overtun on Interstate 94. Two witnesses apparently support the prosecutors version of Kozlowski's driving.

The complaint filed by Wisconsin Prosecutors cited information from Kozlowski's truck's global positioning system, and indicated he traveled to an Indiana tavern Oct. 14 to attend a going away party for a co-worker. Tavern witnesses reported that Kozlowski was at the tavern until closing time early Oct. 15th. Those witnesses also told investigators Kozlowski was drinking hard liquor at the Indiana tavern, but there is no mention in the complaint on any blood-alcohol test that may have been performed.

According to state law, the maximum penalty for Kozlowski on each of the homicide charges is 10 and a $25,000 fine. Kozlowski faces up to 3 1/2 years in prison and fines of up to $10,000 on each of the felony reckless driving count, and up to a year in prison and $2,000 fine on each misdemeanor count.

An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board also found possible problems with the brakes on the bus; however, the agency believes a lack of skid marks on the interstate may, however, indicate that the bus driver did not have time to stop.

Continue reading " SCHERERVILLE INDIANA SEMI TRUCK DRIVER CHARGED WITH FIVE COUNTS OF HOMICIDE IN CONNECTION WITH A CRASH THAT KILLED FIVE PEOPLE AND INJURED OTHERS " »

Melvin A. Trent, a 76-year-old Plainfield resident, was killed Tuesday when his westbound 1998 Ford Taurus crossed the center line and crashed into a Hendricks County Highway Department salt truck near County Road 300 East in Danville, Indiana.

The Highway Department salt truck was driven by John L. Baumunk, 70, of Lizton, and was travelling eastbound. Mr. Trent was pronounced dead at the scene. Baumunk was not reportedly injured. Police do not know why Trent's vehicle left his lane, and the Hendricks County Sheriff's Department was still working to determine the cause of the accident.

According to new media reports, the Fishers Indiana business man who attempted to fake his own death by jumping from a turbo-prop single engine plane on Sunday has been apprehended by U.S. Marshals.

Indiana authorities will now seek to have him brought back for prosecution to answer to charges filed in Hamilton County Superior Court in Indiana. On Tuesday morning, Hamilton County prosecutors filed an Affidavit for Probable Cause and an Arrest Warrant citing allegations of investment fraud.

Marcus Schrenker, 38, an Indianapolis suburb financial investor, was discovered late Tuesday at a northern Florida campground. Just two days prior, Schrenker had apparently tried to fake his own death in a plane crash. Schrenker owned the plane he jumped from and is reported to have been a very accomplished pilot with video demonstrations appearing across the web showing him flying at over 200 mph beneath a bridge. Authorities believe Schrenker parachuted to the ground and later sped off on a motorcycle that he had previously stashed away in a central Alabama storage facility.

At the time of his arrest, Schrenker had reportedly sustained a self-inflicted gash just below his elbow and extending to his wrist. The US Marshall's office indicated that he was airlifted to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, where he was listed in fair condition early Wednesday.

Although evidence was still being investigated, by all accounts Schrenker's activity revealed a well-orchestrated chain of events apparently intended to fake his death and run away from looming legal action. Prosecutors in Hamilton County Indiana had been investigating financial fraud.
Authorities reportedly served a warrant on New Year's eve, just one day following a Petition for divorce that was filed by Schrenker's wife. An Indiana Department of Insurance investigation was apparently probing three Schrenker businesses that had been under a cloud of suspicion after angry investors accused him of stealing investments and taking unauthorized commissions.

At 38, Schrenker had amassed what appeared to be an impressive accumulation of wealth. He collected luxury automobiles, owned two airplanes and lived in a 10,000-square-foot lake house in an upscale Indianapolis suburb neighborhood known as "Cocktail Cove," where affluent boaters often socialize with cocktails in hand.

While Marcus Schrenker continues to make national headlines for his D.B. Cooper impression, few media outlets are reporting his prior ties with the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office.

According to Court records, Schrenker and his wife filed suit in the Federal Court of the Southern District of Indiana in 2005 against the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department, the Hamilton County Prosecutor, Sonia Leerkamp, and the Town of Fishers, as well as an individual deputy prosecutor and Sheriff employees. In their FEDERAL LAWSUIT, as filed by Indianapolis Attorney, Jeffrey McQuary, Schrenker alleged that he was wrongfully detained, arrested, and physically and emotionally injured following an incident with a motorcycle.

According to the lawsuit, Hamilton County Sheriff Deputy, Donald Ball, wrongfully and forcefully arrested Schenker on allegations that he was illegally operating a motorcycle near his then McCordsville, Indiana, home. Along with these allegations, the lawsuit also referenced harassment by the Hamilton County Prosecutor and a Deputy Prosecutor in an attempt to avoid reporting the Sheriff's Deputy's actions. According to Court records, the case was dismissed in 2007.

Continue reading " PLENTY OF BAD BLOOD BETWEEN MARCUS SCHRENKER AND HAMILTON COUNTY INDIANA PROSECUTOR " »

A Hamilton County Indiana Judge agreed to freeze the assets of pilot and Indianapolis businessman, Marcus Schrenker, 38, following an alleged attempt to fake an emergency with his single engine airplane, and then parachute from it before it crashed in a swampy area a few hundred yards from a residential neighborhood in the Florida panhandle. The temporary Order was issued in conjunction with an Affidavit for Probable Cause and an Arrest Warrant filed by the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office on Tuesday.

According to police, Schrenker's financial businesses were under investigation by the Indiana Department of Insurance. Preliminary investigations indicate that Schrenker exited his small plane before it crashed, and later checked into a hotel in Alabama under a fake name before putting on a black cap and fleeing into nearby woods.

According to local media reports, the US Marshall's office has been dispatched to locate Schrenker; however, details of the search were not yet being released to the public. Airport officials at the Anderson Municipal Airport in Anderson, Indiana, indicated that Schrenker left the airport by himself on Sunday in a six-seater Piper PA-46. At the time of the incident, records indicate that Schrenker was president of three Indianapolis financial agencies called Heritage Wealth Management, Heritage Insurance Services, and Icon Wealth Management, all Indianapolis based organizations sharing the same address. According to the Indiana Secretary of State's Office, those three companies were under investigation for possible securities violations at the time of Schrenker's disappearance.

Officials believe the plane crashed at 9:15 p.m. CT on Sunday in a swampy area off the Blackwater River in East Milton, Florida. According to reports, Schrenker made a distress call to air traffic controllers indicating that the window of his plane had imploded and he was bleeding profusely. Controllers tried to tell the pilot to divert the flight to Pell City, Alabama, but he did not respond.

After the call came in, military aircraft were dispatched to intercept the plane. The pilots spotted the Piper and deployed flares to illuminate the plane as it was flying, but noticed that its door was open and the cockpit was dark. Meanwhile, Schrenker was reportedly more than 220 miles north of the crash site in Alabama. Officials in Florida received a call on Monday from the Childersburg, Alabama Police Department indicating that a white male fitting the description of Schrenker had approached a Childersburg's police officer, and indicated that he had been in a canoeing accident with friends. According to reports, Schrenker's pants were wet from the knees down. According to a police news release, Schrenker also had parachuting goggles and his own Indiana Driver's License with him.

At the time Schrenker approach them, Childersburg police had not been advised of the plane crash. Per his request, they took Schrenker to a nearby hotel. When reports of the crash came in, police went back to the hotel and entered Schrenker's room but he had already left. According to hotel staff, Schrenker paid for the room with cash and checked in with a fake name.

Continue reading " INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA BUSINESSMAN FAKES HIS OWN DEATH WITH PLANE ACCIDENT " »

The Indiana Department of Labor is reporting that 62,326 claims involving one or more days of missed work were filed in 2007. Of those claims, 92 fatalities were reported.

17,724 agreements to compensation were filed with the Board. Of those agreements, 9,860 were TTD (Temporary Total Disability) agreements and 7,864 were PPI (Permanent Partial Impairment) agreements

1,665 requests were made for independent medical examinations.

5,971 applications for disputed claims were filed, with 3,203 claims closed by agreement between the injured worker and the worker's compensation insurance carrier. Those 3203 claims were not necessarily claims filed in 2007.

Continue reading " INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE RELEASES 2007 INDIANA WORKER'S COMPENSATION STATISTICS " »

The last time a smoking-ban bill was introduced in Indiana, the measure did not even make it out of a legislative committee.

This may be in part due to Indiana's number 6 rating as the highest adult smoking state in the country. Thirty states across the country have now enacted a version of smoke-free provisions. Despite Indiana's holdout, supporters of a smoking ban believe the current economic and social environment may make the issue ripe for passage of a bill.

Currently, several cities throughout the State have enacted their own varying smoking bans. But critics say that prohibiting smoking in private enterprises infringes on individual rights. Numerous hospitality sectors of the economy are anticipated to put up a big fight, including the casino, bar and restaurant industries.

Continue reading " INDIANA MAY RECONSIDER STATEWIDE SMOKING BAN " »

Sarah Woodruff, a 20-year-old Ball State Student, was killed in a single vehicle accident on Interstate 69 near Pendleton in Madison County. According to police reports, Woodruff was believed to have been text messaging on her cell phone just before her SUV rolled several times and throwing her out of the vehicle. Preliminary investigation revealed that Woodruff was not wearing her seat belt and may have been speeding at the time she lost control of her vehicle.

Indiana State Police believe that Woodruff's accident was due to driver inattention and cite cell phone use as a contributing factor in the crash.

Continue reading " SINGLE CAR ACCIDENT ON INTERSTATE 69 NEAR PENDLETON, MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA CLAIMS THE LIFE OF BALL STATE STUDENT " »

Recent data released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services indicate that Indiana Nursing Homes now rate among the 10 worst in the nation. Under the CMS' new ranking system, nearly 28 percent of the state's nursing homes received a one star rating, which is CMS' worst rating under their five star system. Only six states had a higher percentage of substandard nursing homes.

According to the CMS website, the Five-Star Quality Rating System was created to help consumers, their families, and caregivers compare nursing homes more easily and help identify areas about which you may want to ask questions. This rating system is based on continued efforts to improve nursing home care as a result of the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA '87), a nursing home reform law, and more recent quality improvement campaigns such as the Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes, a coalition of consumers, health care providers, and nursing home professionals.

Nursing home ratings are taken from the following three sources of data:

Health Inspections
Staffing
Quality Measures

More stars are better.

***** Much Above Avg.
**** Above Avg.
*** Average
** Below Avg.
* Much Below Avg.

Continue reading " INDIANA NURSING HOMES AMONGST THE WORSE IN THE COUNTRY IN STAFFING AND SUBSTANDARD CARE " »

Illinois State Police near Pesotum, Champaign County, Illinois, confirmed a motor vehicle accident on Interstate 74 did involve at least one fatality. The accident reportedly took place near mile marker 213.

Illinois State Police closed the westbound lanes of Interstate 74 as a result of the one-vehicle accident. The crash was just one among many on I-74, and numerous city, county and rural roads.

The Sheriff's Department in Vermilion County, Illinois reported that a number of cars were in ditches, but no serious injuries or problems had occurred by that time. Illinois State Police troopers reported as many as 10 crashes involving property damage and 50 reports of vehicles that had slid off the roadway and into the ditch in district 10 near Champaign.

The weather also succeeded in giving drivers in Indiana a few headaches earlier this morning. Indiana State Police reported numerous slide-offs on I-74 and along Indiana Route 63 in Vermillion County, Indiana. The Vermillion County Sheriff's Department also responded to a couple slide-offs this morning, but no injuries were reported to be related to the accidents. Sheriff's departments in Fountain County and Warren County Indiana were not reporting any incidents as a result of the icy conditions.

Continue reading " ICY ROADS THROUGHOUT ILLINOIS AND INDIANA CAUSE NUMEROUS CAR ACCIDENTS AND AT LEAST ONE FATALITY " »

A fatal accident and numerous collisions were the product of icy roads throughout central Indiana on Tuesday. The fatal accident involved a twenty-year-old Petersburg woman driving on Indiana State Road 57 near Evansville.

The Gibson County Sheriff's Department reported that the vehicle driven by Eboney Star Alvey, of Petersburg apparently went out of control while driving on a railroad overpass near Oakland City in the early hours Tuesday. According to police reports, Alvey's vehicle collided with a truck in the opposite lane. Witnesses reported her vehicle then burst into flames. Portions of Interstate 65 were temporarily closed in the Seymour and Columbus areas to allow salt trucks to catch up on roadway treatments.

Continue reading " SINGLE CAR MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT CAUSES DEATH OF TWENTY YEAR OLD IN SOUTHERN INDIANA " »

An accident involving a 1974 Piper single-engine plane claimed the life of a Northern Indiana couple. According to media reports, 64 year-old Lowell Owens and 51 year-old Susan Owens were killed when their plane went down in eastern Tennessee while returning home from Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The aircraft went down on Saturday near Washburn, Tennessee, which is approximately 35 miles northeast of Knoxville.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration's investigation, the Owens' were flying home to Warsaw, Ind., when the accident occurred. The FAA is still attempting to determine the cause of the flight's doom.

Continue reading " INDIANA COUPLE KILLED IN SINGLE ENGINE PLANE CRASH " »

Placing your loved one in a reputable long-term care facility is just the first step in ensuring they are well cared for. Regardless of complaints or sanctions found during state and federal inspections (be they few or many), residential facilities are often understaffed. This fact in concert with the advanced needs of elder patients can create a worrisome environment. As an advocate for your loved one, you've got federal (and sometimes state) law on your side to insist that your relative or friend gets the quality of care they deserve. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and your state law contain many protections.

The following are just a sample from the Code of Federal Regulations:

• Care Plans
Each nursing home resident is entitled to a personalized "care plan," that addresses their respective medical and safety needs. This plan must have an anticipated goal of ensuring a resident/patient maintains their highest practicable physical, mental and psychosocial well being. Federal law requires that facilities do a full assessment of a resident's condition within 14 days of admission, and at least every 12 months thereafter. A care plan should include measurable objectives and timetables.

• Visiting Hours
In my experience with friends or family members that have loved ones in nursing homes, it is not at all uncommon for facilities to put forth the idea that Family can only visit during visiting hours. Not only is this mendacious, Federal legislation actually specifically prohibits such rules. 42 CFR 483.10(j) allows immediate family the right to visit at any time. In fact, we often advise clients to visit during off-hours so that they can perceive their loved one's environment when staff members aren't expecting visitors.

• Skilled Care or Rehabilitation Services
In the past, we have had clients tell us that their parents' nursing home facility has terminated skilled care or rehab services because their Mom or Dad weren't making progress. Again, however, this is contrary to federal and often times, state law. Assuming that the resident would benefit from such services, a facility is charged with trying to maintain their condition regardless of progress. All facilities are required to make sure that a person's ability to carry out activities of daily living doesn't deteriorate. The only exception would be if the individual's medical condition deteriorates to such an extent that termination of the activity is in their better interest.

Continue reading " FEDERAL AND INDIANA NURSING HOME LAWS PLACE POWER IN THE HANDS OF FAMILY MEMBERS " »

Under a new proposal the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration plans to pursue in 2009, nursing homes scoring higher on their State and Federal inspections would be rewarded with higher Medicaid payments while those that don't could suffer cuts. The Indiana FSSA disputes that this is just a cost-saving measure noting that they would have pushed for this proposal regardless of the economic condition. To effect the plan, however, the FSSA must have the policy established through a rule-making process that requires a public hearing and economic evaluations. That will likely take about six months. Despite this, the discussion could be usurped by lawmakers, who are expected to have several bills dealing with nursing home reimbursements and inspections when they return to the Statehouse later this month.

Proposed changes face objection by the Indiana Health Care Association

The Indiana Health Care Association is a group that, among other things, serves as a lobbying mechanism for Indiana nursing homes. The Association has cited a number of objections and proposed changes to the FSSA proposal. Local media reported the association's president, Stephen Smith, as saying "[w]e completely agree with the intent [of the FSSA proposal]". "But we think there's more discussion to be had about the actual approach." The proposal is part of a larger plan by FSSA to adjust to weakening state revenue and put more recipients into plans that manage health costs so that more spending is matched by Federal dollars.

Continue reading " NEW INDIANA PROPOSAL WOULD CUT FUNDING FOR NURSING HOMES THAT SCORE POORLY ON STATE INSPECTIONS " »

An Indiana Nursing home resident, Rodney Kenney, died after catching fire while sitting in his wheelchair at Regency Place, a Dyer, Indiana, Lake County, nursing home. Rodney Kenney, 72, died at a Chicago hospital where he was treated for burns. State Inspectors say the Alzheimer's patient was severely burned when his clothing caught fire as he sat in a wheel chair. Authorities say they found a cigarette lighter near Kenney, but that he was not a smoker. In fact, state law prohibits smoking in nursing homes and patients are not allowed to possess smoking materials.

Continue reading " INDIANA NURSING HOME RESIDENT DIES AFTER CATCHING FIRE IN WHEELCHAIR " »

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has been testing high tension cable barriers on two stretches of Indiana interstate for about 2½ years. In late 2005, barriers were installed on Interstate 65 between Zionsville and Lebanon and on Interstate 69 between Noblesville and Anderson. In the three years prior to those installations, the INDOT reported that the same two sections of Interstate combined had 12 fatal crashes, 11 serious injury accidents, and 69 accidents involving injury.

The13-mile test section on I-65 was hit 69 times within the first eight months of its installation; however, there were no vehicles permitted to pass through the barrier and there were no serious injuries in the crashes where the barrier was struck. The cable barrier stopped also stopped at least one semi tractor-trailer.

Beyond those initial eight months, the success of the barriers have continued. Since their installation, those same stretches have had no fatal crashes, five serious accidents and only 13 accidents involving injury. INDOT reported this as an 84 percent reduction in fatalities and accidents involving injury. Most importantly, the cable barrier has provided a 100 percent stoppage of vehicles crossing the median. The success of these test sections has prompted an increase look on the part of the INDOT to place additional barriers throughout the State. Areas of increased risk and high volume accidents are set to get attention first.

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