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Illinois Senate Committee Discusses Nursing Home Reforms
Residents of Illinois nursing homes have long faced challenges in getting the standard of care they are entitled to by law. High staff turnover, low pay, overcrowded rooms, inadequate staffing, and other cost-cutting measures put stress on staff and place residents at risk of nursing home abuse and neglect. Recently, some of these challenges have been explored by the Illinois Senate Health Committee, which last month weighed in on a new payment structure meant to incentivize better staffing and quality of care.
Poor Payment Structure Leads to Adverse Outcomes
Many fear that Illinois’ current payment model continues to allow Medicaid dollars to essentially fund profits for facility owners while allowing low regulatory compliance and underpaid and overworked staff. In turn, this leads to lower standards of care for residents with serious consequences for their health and well-being. Although it remains to be seen whether Illinois will improve its payment models and successfully incentivize better standards of care, in the meantime, Illinois residents with loved ones in nursing homes should be familiar with common types of nursing home neglect and abuse.
What Medical Care Does Workers’ Comp Cover in Illinois?
People who are injured while on the job may experience multiple issues that affect their ability to continue working, as well as their overall health and well-being. Fortunately, workers’ compensation benefits are available for those who have suffered work-related injuries. While workers’ comp claims may be focused on disability benefits that address a person’s loss of income due to a work injury, an injured worker can also receive medical benefits. By understanding the types of coverage provided and the steps they should take following a work injury, a person can make sure they will be able to receive the proper medical care that will fully address the ways their injuries have affected them.
Workers’ Compensation Medical Benefits
An employer is responsible for paying for all medical treatment necessary to address a work-related injury and ensure that a worker can recover as much as possible. In addition to receiving first aid or emergency treatment following a workplace accident, an employee can also receive medical benefits that pay for ongoing treatment. This may include visits to doctors or specialists, surgery, physical therapy, medications, chiropractic treatment, and assistive devices such as prosthetics or wheelchairs.
When Is a Store Liable for Injuries in a Slip and Fall Accident?
Even though fall accidents may seem like minor incidents, they can result in multiple types of serious injuries. A person who slips on a wet floor or trips over an obstacle can suffer bone fractures in the wrists, ankles, knees, or hips, traumatic brain injuries when they strike their head on the ground, spinal cord injuries, or dislocations in joints such as the shoulders or knees. When slip and fall accidents take place at a retail store, victims should be sure to understand when the store’s owner may be held liable for their injuries.
Property Owner Negligence and Premises Liability
Property owners must take reasonable steps to protect customers’ safety or anyone else who was invited to visit the property. This responsibility also extends to a tenant who is in control of property, including stores that lease space where they conduct business. An owner’s responsibility is known as a “duty of care,” and it requires them to correct any hazards that may endanger the safety of visitors or ensure that customers are warned about the potential risks that they may face due to these hazards.
Who Is Liable For Accidents and Injuries at Railroad Crossings?
While all types of motor vehicle collisions can be dangerous, those involving trains can be especially deadly. Due to the massive size and momentum of trains, any other vehicles involved in these types of collisions are likely to suffer extreme damage, and drivers and passengers may experience severe bodily harm or fatal injuries. Many train accidents occur at railroad crossings, and in these cases, those who have been struck by a train will need to understand who was responsible for their injuries and their options for pursuing compensation for their injuries.
Causes of Railroad Crossing Accidents
When a vehicle or pedestrian is struck by a train at a railroad crossing, multiple parties may be at fault, including:
When Can I Qualify for Disability Benefits Through Workers’ Comp?
A work-related injury can cause a great deal of difficulty in a person’s life. After being injured, a person may require emergency medical treatment and ongoing care, and their ability to return to work may be affected. Fortunately, workers’ compensation is available for anyone who has been injured on the job. In addition to fully covering the costs of medical treatment related to an injury, workers’ comp will also provide benefits that address a person’s loss of income due to an inability to work. Injured workers should be sure to understand when they will qualify for different types of workers’ compensation disability benefits.
Temporary or Permanent Disability Benefits
When an injury temporarily affects a person’s ability to work, they will qualify for disability benefits while recovering. These benefits will last until they reach the point of maximum medical improvement (MMI). If a person misses at least four days of work, they can receive temporary total disability (TTD) benefits. These benefits will not cover the first three days of missed work unless the person misses a total of at least 14 days of work. These benefits will be paid during a period where a doctor states that the person is unable to work or when they are able to do light work but their employer cannot meet these accommodations. TTD benefits pay 66 ⅔ percent of the average weekly wage (AWW) that a person earned in the 52 weeks before the date of their injury.
How Improperly Secured Cargo Can Lead to Truck Accidents
Tractor-trailer trucks and other commercial vehicles are much larger and heavier than passenger cars and trucks. This means that when truck accidents occur, people in other vehicles are much more likely to be seriously injured. There are many potential causes of semi-truck accidents, and one issue that is often overlooked is the danger of cargo that is not properly secured on a truck. Following a cargo-related truck accident, multiple parties may be liable for the injuries suffered by the victims.
Liability for Cargo-Related Truck Accidents
When cargo is loaded on a truck, it should be properly distributed in the truck’s bed or trailer, and it should be tied down or secured to ensure that it does not shift during transit. There are multiple ways in which cargo that was not loaded properly can lead to truck accidents, including:
How Nursing Home Neglect Can Lead to Bedsores and Fall Injuries
Nursing homes and assisted living facilities provide essential services for many people who are elderly or disabled. Those who are unable to care for themselves can benefit by living in a facility where staff members can make sure they are receiving the proper medical treatment and nutrition while also socializing with others and participating in activities they enjoy. Unfortunately, some nursing homes do not provide the proper care for their residents. This may occur because a facility is understaffed or because staff members do not have the proper training to address patients’ needs. In these cases, residents may suffer serious harm due to nursing home neglect, including injuries such as bedsores or falls.
Neglect Leading to Injuries for Nursing Home Residents
A nursing home’s staff should provide the necessary assistance to address a resident’s daily needs. If a facility does not have enough staff members to fully provide for everyone’s needs, or if staff fail to regularly check on patients and address any issues they are experiencing, a person can suffer serious harm. Bedsores and falls can affect patients in these cases, and they can not only cause a great deal of pain and discomfort, but they can have a negative impact on a person’s overall health.
Car Accidents Involving Teen Drivers Increase During the “100 Deadliest Days of Summer”
The summer months offer many opportunities for people to travel and enjoy the outdoors. However, this increased amount of travel also brings the risk of car accidents. This is especially true for teen drivers, who will be spending more time on the road while they are on vacation from school. Safety advocates have deemed the months between Memorial Day and Labor Day as the “100 deadliest days of summer” for teens. During this time, the number of teens killed in car accidents is 26% higher than during the rest of the year. Those who are injured in car accidents involving teen drivers will need to work with a skilled attorney to determine their options for receiving financial compensation.
Safety Issues Involving Teen Drivers
Inexperience is one of the primary reasons why teenagers become involved in car accidents. While teens are usually required to take driver’s education courses and receive training from their parents on how to drive safely, they simply do not have the amount of time behind the wheel that provides older drivers with an understanding of how to avoid dangerous accidents. In addition, teens are prone to risk-taking, and they may not fully consider the consequences of their actions. As a result, the decisions made by teen drivers can lead to collisions that cause injuries to themselves, passengers in their vehicle, people in other vehicles, or pedestrians and bicyclists.
Types of Driver Negligence That Can Lead to Bicycle Accidents
As the weather continues to warm up this spring, many Illinois residents are looking to enjoy the outdoors, and bicycling provides a great way to do so. In addition to getting fresh air, bicyclists can improve their health through exercise and save on transportation costs. However, these benefits also come with certain risks, since bicyclists can be seriously injured if they are involved in a collision with a motor vehicle. In many cases, bicycle accidents are caused by the negligence of drivers. Injured bicyclists can work with an attorney to establish liability for their accident and pursue compensation for their injuries.
Negligence That Can Cause Dangerous Bike Accidents
Drivers are required to share the road with bicycles, but many people fail to take the proper measures to protect the safety of bicyclists, either because they do not notice bicycles or because they do not respect bicyclists’ rights. Drivers may strike bicycles and cause serious injuries for a number of reasons, including:
Texting While Driving and Other Distractions Can Lead to Deadly Crashes
Even though driving is a daily activity for most people, it can still be dangerous. A small mistake by a driver can lead to a serious car accident involving injuries to drivers or passengers and extensive property damage. Because of these risks, drivers should always be sure they are following traffic laws and avoiding behaviors that could put themselves or others at risk. Unfortunately, many drivers fail to drive safely, and one of the most common ways that they act negligently is by driving while distracted.
Dangerous Types of Distracted Driving
Because driving is something people do every day, it can be easy for a person to fail to pay complete attention to the road around them. This is especially true for people who are driving on familiar routes, such as the roads they take to and from work. A person’s mind may wander, and instead of focusing on driving, they may look at signs and billboards, people in other vehicles, or buildings and objects on the side of the road.
From our office in Plainfield, Illinois, we serve clients in Will County, DuPage County, Kendall County, Kane County, Joliet, Naperville, Romeoville, Bolingbrook, Aurora, Lemont, Crest Hill, Shorewood, Lockport, Woodridge, Wheaton, Oswego, Yorkville, Homer Glen, Lisle, and surrounding communities.
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