Nursing home neglect and abuse are on the rise locally, state-wide and nationally. So, too, are lawsuits against nursing homes due to the alarming statistics related to the problem. Consider the following information:

*Experts suggest that for every one case of nursing abuse, exploitation or neglect that is reported, there are five more that go unreported.

*Perhaps as many as one and two million Americans age 65 or older have been exploited, neglected or otherwise mistreated by someone on whom they depended for care and/or protection. However, as few as 1 in 14 of these incidents are actually brought to the attention of public authorities.

•The percentage of nursing home residents under the age of 65 has doubled in the last decade from 7 to 14%. At the same time the average age of the resident has dropped from 83 to 79.

•Five percent of the older adults in the United States reside in nursing facilities (1.8 million of the 36 million over the age of 65). Of these, three-fourths or 75% of the residents are female. In addition, clearly half or 50% are 85 years of age and older.

Researchers also found that the average cost of a room in a private nursing home is expected to triple in the next decade. (Elder care is considered to be a coming industry of note as our population ages).

Families should sit down with their aging loved ones and begin to plan for a future that is respectful and loving. They need to be part of the conversation about a solution.

Greg Baumgartner is a and the founder of the Baumgartner law firm, a Texas personal injury law firm dedicated to helping families of people injured or killed in accidents. For a free no obligation consultation with Texas personal injury attorneys call the Baumgartner law firm at 281-587-1111 or toll free at 1(866) 758-4529.

Share on Facebook

There has been a lot of news coming out lately about the American auto industry – and most of it is good. First, it’s nice to know that America is finally back on top when it comes to manufacturing, design and sales. In my opinion the pendulum was bound to swing back in favor of American auto makers eventually – and it seems that is has according to media sources. One commentator offered an interesting observation as to one reason for this. It seems that today’s young buyers do not want to be caught in the same type of vehicle their parents drove. So their parents’ parents drove American – then their parents drove Japanese (foreign) – so to reclaim their sense of independent thinking they have returned to the American auto market! (An interesting psychoanalysis of the auto market…)

Green vehicles are entering the market with greater speed now. Drivers are looking for authentic alternatives to gas-powered engines and their choices are increasing constantly. It seems every manufacturer has a green car to offer the driving public. However, of late there have been some surprising setbacks – most notably with the batteries. Several tests have shown they may have a propensity to catch fire –and a car fire is never a good thing in the potential driver’s mind. One manufacturer has offered to buy back the vehicles from their customers until the ‘problem is solved’ but few have taken them up on the offer. What follows is a short reminder to car companies:

Safety first – then green.

Greg Baumgartner is a car fire attorney and the founder of the Baumgartner law firm, a Texas personal injury law firm dedicated to helping families of people injured or killed in accidents. For a free no obligation consultation with a Texas personal injury attorney call the Baumgartner law firm at 281-587-1111.

Share on Facebook

Intoxicated driving is a regular topic of this blog. We have discussed it from just about every point of view – but today’s topic is a different take on drunk driving than we have ever considered before.

A local mother lost her daughter to a drunk driver two years ago – and another youth was also killed. This woman has chosen to bring the cause of ‘drunk driving’ to the public’s attention by creating a Facebook page on which she regularly posts photos and other relative information that highlights people who have been arrested for ‘drunk driving’ within her county along. Strangers to the site will probably be shocked to find that there are approximately 600 people on the page – including a police officer, attorney and other average citizens.

The site is meant to be a tribute to her daughter as well as a blatant reminder that drunk driving is a huge problem in her county. It is mind boggling to imagine the number of arrests multiplied by all of the counties within the state of Texas alone – and then across the country. There are literally thousands of people stopped an detained each day for suspected DUIs – representing a huge potential for catastrophic injuries and deaths that may have been averted in each instance.

If you believe that someone is drinking and driving – contact your local law enforcement – and allow them to take it from there. Don’t be a statistic and do not ride drunk.

Finally, this story is a wonderful example of the positive role social media can play in people’s lives and how a tragedy can turn out to help prevent future loss of life.

Greg Baumgartner is a Houston personal injury lawyer and the founder of the Baumgartner law firm, which is dedicated to helping personal injury victims seek civil justice. If you would like to speak with a Houston injury lawyer call the Baumgartner firm.

Share on Facebook

Statistics show that there were over a thousand serious injuries of children in daycare last year alone that required medical attention and/or hospitalization. Under the circumstances I believe it would be valuable to provide families with guidelines established by some of the most well-known child guidance oversight organizations in the country to reduce the potential for a day care accident.

1. Plan to spend a half-day visiting the sites. This will allow you to see the manner in which children and adults interact over long periods of time. What do adults do when a child cries? What is the supervision like? Check their credentials and those of all staff members.

1. Take a thorough tour of the facility – both indoors and outdoors. Is it child-friendly? It is clean and sanitary? How are meals and snacks prepared, served and then cleaned up? Are there children in diapers? What is the manner in which diapered babies are changed? How are the diapers disposed of?

1. Do they offer an educational program for children beginning at the youngest ages? How do they keep parents appraised of the curriculum? Are activities age — appropriate? What is the ratio of adults to children? What are the sleeping facilities like? Is the school licensed? Are there a lot of stimulating and fun toys and books for children?

1. How are children punished or how is inappropriate behavior addressed?

If you are not comfortable with your child’s daycare arrangements your job will be compromised. Take the time to make the best daycare choice for your child. If your child has been injured in a day care and you would like a no obligation consultation with a day care accident lawyer in Houston, call the Baumgartner Law Firm for a free consultation.

Share on Facebook

Millions of mothers and fathers entrust the care of their child (or children) to daycare centers each week as they head out to make the wages necessary to keep their family afloat financially. Certainly most of them would prefer to remain at home and care for the child themselves because we all know that there is no one who will look out for your child with the same authentic concern than the parent.

Unfortunately, working is a necessity for most of us and even when we believe we have located the perfect substitute ‘parenting’ group we still hold our breaths as we hand our children over. And with good reason as it turns out because statistics show that thousands of children receive injuries of one sort or another and some quite serious while at daycare each day.

There are times when the injuries are very serious. Take, for instance, the case of the mother whose child rolled off a changing table and hit the floor when he had been left unattended. Even though the daycare center claimed the child was fine – the mother took her son straightaway to the emergency room where they discovered he had a fractured skull and concussion. Other examples like broken arms, and legs occur much more frequently in day care accidents than you would believe.

Parents frequently pulled their child out of that daycare center immediately and then sue them for negligence and sometimes even punitive damages.  Even when the child eventually recovers – the parents (particularly the mother) often have a hard time not feeling guilty for entrusting their little one to the day care after a day care accident.

Greg Baumgartner is a Houston Day care accident lawyer and the founder of the Baumgartner Law Firm, which is dedicated to helping personal injury victims seek civil justice. If you would like to speak with a child injury lawyer call the Baumgartner firm.

No fee Guarantee!

Share on Facebook

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is a branch of the U.S. Department of Labor created in 1970 and charged with preventing work-related injuries, illnesses and occupational fatalities. They do this in large part by creating and enforcing work-place safety standards. These federal regulations cover private and public sector employment. Of course, it should come as no surprise that the organization and its edicts are often quite controversial. Employers like to complain that the cost of these regulations is prohibitive. Yet, studies show that there are long-term benefits in reduced costs to companies in the form of fewer workman’s compensation claims and onsite injuries (when regulations are adhered to). Let us consider some of the most recent standards at construction worksites endorsed by OSHA.

*OSHA has developed a series of measures to help prevent heat illnesses of outdoor workers when the heat index rises above 91 degrees.

*OSHA developed the standards to ensure the safety of crane hoisted personnel platforms – common site where skyscrapers are being erected.

*OSHA recently fined a company for not being in compliance with standards to prevent cave-ins (for workers who are working below ground in any number of scenarios).

In addition, OSHA has set standards for everything from mandatory safety training to exposure to asbestos and bloodborne pathogens to permissible protective equipment.

Safety regulations are to be posted and visible for employees as well as incorporated into employee handbooks. Most companies require employees to initial or otherwise indicate that they have read all safety requirements of the job for which they will be employed.

In the end, OSHA plays an important part in keeping Americans safe on the job.

Additionally, after a serious on the job injury or a construction accident the violation of the rules set out by OSHA can be a powerful tool to Texas personal injury attorneys.

Share on Facebook

The Baumgartner law firm is proud to sponsor the website–stopTexasdrunkdriving.com. The intention of the website is to raise awareness of the problems that Texas families face in battling drunk driving accidents.

It was not many years ago that many prominent political leaders fought hard to keep open containers legal on Texas highways. We have come a long way since the days when drunken driving accidents were not subject to the same penalties as they are today. Not only are DWI accidents resulting in stiff fines and jail time, but also civil cases have been generous in awarding the innocent victim substantial damages from a drunk driving accident.

To the credit of Texas, we have come a long way in the fight to raise awareness of the dangers of drunken driving. We have much work to do and such efforts such as “don’t write drunk” that have been adopted in our neighboring states should be adopted here as well.

Local municipalities such as Houston have adopted “no refusal weekends” where a suspected drunk driver can and will be tested at the scene for alcohol. With New Year’s coming up, the Baumgartner law firm would encourage everyone to drive responsibly and designate a driver if you are apt to celebrate the new year with alcoholic beverages.

Greg Baumgartner is a Houston DWI accident injury lawyer and also the founder of the Baumgartner law firm. If you are loved one have been involved in an accident with a drunk driver and would like to speak with a Houston DUI accident injury attorney please call the Baumgartner law firm for a no obligation consultation.

Share on Facebook

Although every accident is unique, injuries sustained from 18 wheeler truck accidents usually fall into the following main categories:

*Orthopedic injuries. Bones can be fractured, crushed or severed. Each of these types of injuries require extensive medical care and take weeks if not months for recovery – if recovery is possible.

*Brain injuries. Semi-truck collisions can result in traumatic brain injuries of victims – and a full recovery is not always possible. The injury occurs either due to a direct blow to the head or from the rapid movement of the brain and head during impact. In addition, a brain injury can lead to secondary conditions such as intracranial pressure or cerebral edema. These latter injuries may not manifest themselves immediately.

*Burn injuries. Most people do not give much thought to the fact that there are a half a dozen types of flammable liquid in their vehicles that are subject to ignition under certain circumstances. Vehicle collisions may result in an explosion and/or fire that can lead to varying degrees of burn injuries. According to one source there are approximately 200,000 car fires annually and several hundred deaths as a result.

*Spinal cord, back and neck injuries. Whiplash is the most common example of these types of injuries – and it is a serious problem indeed. Whiplash manifests itself in a number of symptoms and could take months of intense therapy to relief. However, there are other types of spinal cord injuries including partial or full paralysis – in some cases this is permanent.

Of course there are residual emotional and psychological problems that we do not have time to address in this blog. It is safe to say that survivors of 18 wheeler truck accidents face months and years of varying types of rehabilitation – and for some their lives are forever altered.

Share on Facebook

It’s the time of year when people start planning their holiday vacations and among the top choices are trips aboard cruise ships. While on the surface these may seem to be a great choice – there have been a number of problems over the years that warrant the attention of persons who are considering a cruise.

The most ominous problems that have occurred on cruise ships are several high-profile disappearances – most of which have never been solved. According to one report nearly thirty people have disappeared off cruise ships in the last three years alone – and only 3 were ever found.

There are other crimes that have been committed more frequently than cruise line owners would care to admit. These include physical and sexual assault, rape and thefts. One source notes that there were 200 reports of sexual assault and rape and a handful of grand theft cases. Unfortunately when people are on vacation they tend to let their guard down and there are those on cruise ships that are watching for an opportunity to ‘strike’ when someone’s guard is down.

Another problem with cruise ships is the application of the law. Unlike the legal proceedings of countries – when ships are on the open sea they revert to maritime law. If you have any questions contact an offshore injury lawyer.

Share on Facebook

There have been some interesting advances made in treating patients with traumatic brain injuries (TBI). One reason for the renewed interest can be traced to the increase in wounded veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq who are suffering from TBI and those in the medical field who are anxious to provide relief to our wounded heroes. A medical journal outlined some of these treatments that include the following:

*Intense physical workouts including martial arts and yoga combined with meditation.

*Cognitive therapies that address – among other things – memory and processing skills, increasing attention spans, and socialization.

*An interesting new therapy involving the use of hyperbolic oxygen therapy. The thinking behind this is that after a traumatic brain injury there is less oxygen getting to the brain.which hampers all aspects of human functioning. The hyperbolic oxygen treatment ‘forces’ quantities of oxygen to the smaller blood vessels thereby increasing the patient’s cognitive abilities.

One treatment that is being used less and less is the prescription of antidepressants. Doctors are finding that this often masks the problems associated with traumatic brain injury instead of offering authentic treatment and relief of symptoms

As a truck accident attorney one of the problems I face with survivors is varying degrees of TBI and making sure they are getting cutting edge help. These new therapies should be adaptable to  truck accident victims as well as our soldiers.

Share on Facebook