North Carolina Lawyers Blog

Each year, approximately two million nursing home residents are the victims of abuse or negligence. People are living longer than ever before, which means nursing homes everywhere are operating at full capacity, often with an overburdened and under-trained staff. Unfortunately, as the number of elderly persons entering nurse homes increases, so too will the number of cases of nursing home abuse and negligence.

Elder abuse takes a number of different forms. Physical abuse is one kind, and it consists of acts of force or violence that result in injuries or physical pain. Physical abuse can be anything from striking and shaking to the improper use of physical restraints or force-feeding. Another type is sexual abuse, which is defined as nonconsensual sexual contact. Emotional abuse is a third form of nursing home abuse. Emotional abuse occurs when the victim suffers mental anguish or emotional distress. Emotional abuse ranges from insults and humiliation to harassment and intimidation.

Financial abuse is another serious issue. Financial abuse or exploitation is the illegal or improper use of a resident’s money or assets. Examples include stealing, forging a patient’s signature, cashing a patient’s check without their permission and abusing fiduciary powers.

Most nursing home abuse, however, is not the result of isolated incidents. Ongoing neglect is the cause of the majority of injuries suffered by nursing home residents. Neglect occurs when the nursing home fails to fulfill the duty of care it owes to its residents. Examples of neglect include failing to provide residents with food and water and failing to rotate bedridden patients so as to prevent pressure sores. Neglect can lead to bedsores, malnutrition and dehydration.

Nursing home residents are highly vulnerable. Physical and mental limitations can leave them unable to defend themselves. In fact, they may not even be capable of reporting the abuse. That is why it is important that the family members of a nursing home resident remain alert to the possible signs of nursing home abuse and negligence.

Bedsores are one of the top indications of nursing home neglect. Unexplained cuts, sprains, bruises and other physical injuries are also important warning signs. The behavior of the nursing home staff can be indicative of abuse as well. Suspicious behavior can include refusing to allow the resident to have visitors or not allowing visitors to be alone with the resident.

Those who have been the victims of nursing home abuse can take legal action in order to pursue compensation for their losses. If the abused resident is unable to initiate litigation, a family member can bring an action on the victim’s behalf. Legal action in North Carolina can be taken against the nursing home, particular staff members or both.

Contact Younce & Vtipil for more information about how we can help you rightfully claim the benefits you deserve - (919) 661-9000

Traffic accidents and motor vehicle collisions are a leading cause of death in the United States. Millions of people are seriously injured in car accidents every year, while tens of thousands die. According to research performed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there is a car accident every 10 seconds in the United States. One third of them will result in an injury.

The vast majority of car accidents are caused by negligence on the part of one or both drivers. Negligence is a legal term that means a failure to act with reasonable care under the prevailing circumstances. Common acts of driver negligence include failing to obey traffic signals and speeding. If a person is negligent in operating a motor vehicle and injures someone as a result of that negligence, they may be required to financially compensate the injured person.

Car accidents, of course, do not always involve only passenger vehicles. Commercial trucks are also involved in collisions. Because of their size and power, truck accidents usually result in severe injuries to one or more of the parties involved. In fact, around 5,000 people are killed every year in accidents involving large trucks. Two particularly deadly types of trucking accidents are truck underride (a vehicle sliding underneath a truck) and truck override (a truck running over a vehicle in front of it).

Like truck accidents, accidents involving motorcycles frequently result in fatalities. Unlike a car, motorcycles provide riders with virtually no protection. An object striking a motorcyclist will have direct contact with the cyclist’s body. Motorcyclists are also at a great risk of being thrown from their bike. As a result, the cyclist could collide with the roadway or strike a fixed object, leading to further injuries.

Approximately two thirds of all motorcycle accidents are caused by the driver of a motor vehicle failing to yield to the cyclist’s right of way. With the other party so often at fault, many motorcyclists will find themselves in the position of having to seek compensation from the responsible person.

A person who is injured in a traffic accident can seek compensation for their injuries and expenses. Certain family members of a person who was killed in a traffic accident also have a right to pursue legal action against the responsible party. Road accident victims often turn to litigation when the settlement offered by the insurance company is inadequate to cover their losses.

Some of the losses for which traffic accident victims may be compensated include:
•    Medical care
•    Damage to their vehicle and other personal property
•    Rental car fees
•    Lost wages
•    Pain and suffering
•    Emotional distress

Obtaining professional NC Legal Representation evens the playing field for the accident victim. Insurance companies have a team of in-house lawyers and expert investigators. An attorney can help ensure that the victim’s interests are fully and fairly represented.

Contact Younce & Vtipil for more information about how we can help you rightfully claim the benefits you deserve - (919) 661-9000

Social Security Disability is a benefit provided to disabled workers through the Social Security Administration. For purposes of Social Security Disability benefits, a very specific definition of “disabled” is used. To qualify, a person must be unable to perform “substantial gainful activity” because of a physical or mental impairment that is expected to last a minimum of 12 months or will result in death within a year.

The Social Security Administration determines whether the definition has been satisfied by comparing your impairment to the criteria laid out in the listing book. This book describes numerous physical and mental impairments and sets forth a threshold level of severity for each impairment. The applicant’s condition must meet or exceed this threshold in order to satisfy the Administration’s definition of disabled.

It is important to note that the inability to perform your current job doesn’t qualify a person as disabled. The determination is based on whether or not you could perform any job that currently exists in the national economy. In addition to your health, your age, training, skills and work experience factor into this decision.

There is no minimum age you must reach before you can receive Social Security Disability. Rather, in order to qualify for Social Security Disability, you must have worked recently and for a long enough period of time. This determination is based on a system of credits. A certain amount of money earned equals one credit, and you can earn up to a maximum of four credits per year. The number of credits you must have in order to receive Social Security Disability depends on both your age and when you became disabled. In general, however, you need a total of forty credits, twenty of which you have earned in the last ten years.

Around 75% of all Social Security Disability claims are initially rejected. If your claim is rejected, you can appeal the decision. There are three separate levels of appeals. An initial rejection by the Social Security Administration can be appealed by requesting a hearing before an administrative law judge. If your application is rejected at the hearing, you can then request that the decision be reviewed by the Appeals Council. Should the review result in a rejection, the last step is to file a lawsuit in the federal court system.

Applying for and receiving Social Security Disability benefits is a lengthy process, sometimes lasting for years. For those who are seeking benefits, the most important thing is to remain patient and not give up. An attorney can help guide you through the legal maze and take advantage of opportunities to expedite the application and appeals processes.

Contact Younce & Vtipil for more information about how we can help you rightfully claim the benefits you deserve.

In the most basic terms, medical malpractice means a mistake made by a medical professional that results in injury or death. More specifically, medical professionals must perform their duties in accordance with the accepted standards of their profession. Failure to meet these standards is negligence. In addition to doctors, negligence on the part of the hospital, a nurse or any member of the medical staff can also be the cause of malpractice.

Medical malpractice takes many shapes. There are the egregious errors, such as amputating the wrong limb, that make headlines. This type of extreme negligence is rare, however. Most cases of medical malpractice involve less obvious, but still extremely dangerous, mistakes and oversights. For instance, a patient can be seriously injured if a doctor prescribes the wrong type of medication or administers the wrong dosage. Failure to diagnosis and improper diagnoses are two common acts of malpractice. Medical malpractice also includes mismanaged labor and injury to a child during birth.

Medical malpractice claims the lives of 100,000 patients each year in the United States. Hundreds of thousands more are injured. A person who has been hurt by medical malpractice, or the family of someone who died as a result of malpractice, can seek compensation for their losses by taking legal action.

In order to bring a successful medical malpractice claim, you must prove three things:

1. The medical professional failed to follow established standards of medical practice.

2. The negligence on the part of the medical professional resulted in the patient’s injuries.

3. The specific damages caused by the medical malpractice.

Compensation awarded in successful medical malpractice lawsuits may cover both economic and non-economic losses. Economic damages represent expenses such as medical bills and lost wages. Non-economic damages, on the other hand, represent the losses that cannot as easily be assigned a monetary value. Examples include pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life due to disability.

By their very nature, medical malpractice cases are complex. Expert testimony may be needed, and complicated medical issues must be explored. There is also the challenge of ensuring adequate compensation for injuries with side-effects that have not fully manifested themselves. Victims of medical malpractice often hire attorneys to act on their behalf and initiate the litigation. The attorney will handle tasks such as finding medical experts to testify and ensuring that the relevant medical reports and documents are submitted into evidence.

Employees are sometimes seriously injured on the job. Workers’ compensation exists to provide financial compensation for their injuries and related expenses. Virtually all employers are legally required, on both the federal and state levels, to carry workers’ compensation insurance. The practical result is that all workers are covered by workers’ compensation.

Injuries incurred in a workplace accident, such as falling or getting a body part caught in machinery, are covered by workers’ compensation. Injuries sustained in the course of carrying out normal day-to-day work activities are also covered. A common example is carpal tunnel syndrome. The overarching standard for determining whether a given injury is covered by workers’ compensation is whether the injury occurred within the course and scope of a work-related activity.

Workers’ compensations laws vary from state to state, but general categories of medical expenses are covered in the majority of the states. Medical care covers a wide variety of expenses, such as surgery, hospital bills, prescription medication, physical therapy, nursing care and special medical equipment, such as hearing aids and crutches. The injured worker will continue to receive compensation for medical care for as long as it is reasonable and necessary to treat the injury.

Workers’ compensation benefits employees and employers alike. It simplifies the compensation process for both parties. Also, workers’ compensation eliminates the need for litigation, saving them both from expensive and protracted court battles.

Workers’ compensation benefits are not granted by a court. Rather, an administrative agency decides whether the worker should receive the benefits requested. An attorney can be very helpful during this process by ensuring that proper medical documentation is included in your workers’ compensation file. Attorneys can also see to it that all relevant evidence is presented during the administrative hearing.

Note that you must hold the status of employee in order to be covered by workers’ compensation. Those who work for a given employer as an independent contractor are not eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. The employee/independent contractor distinction is a frequently contested issued.

Whenever possible, employers prefer to consider a worker an independent contractor because it saves them money on taxes and insurance premiums. In some cases, the injured person justly, and legally, deserves the status of employee. An attorney can challenge the employer’s classification of the worker. If successful, the worker can then seek workers’ compensation benefits.

A personal injury is an injury incurred as the result of a negligent or intentional act committed by another person or party. Personal injury is the general term used to describe the area of the law that helps these injured persons obtain compensation. It is a far-reaching area of the law because there are numerous acts that can result in a personal injury. Some of the most common causes include car accidents, medical malpractice, accidents in the work place, product liability and premises liability.

While a physical injury is probably the first thing that comes to mind, psychological and financial injuries are considered personal injuries as well. In fact, damage to a person’s reputation, such as slander, may also be grounds for a personal injury claim. Damage to personal property is another loss for which a victim can seek compensation.

Negligence is the most common grounds for a personal injury claim. A person is negligent when they fail to act with the prudence that a reasonable person in the same circumstances would have used. Negligence occurs because a person or party has created an unreasonable risk that resulted in the injury of another person. Proving negligence is critical to the success of a personal injury claim. It is one element of a personal injury claim where the legal knowledge of an attorney is particularly beneficial.

Each and every person has a legal duty to act so as to avoid imposing unreasonable risks on others. When a person violates that duty, and someone is injured because of it, then they may be financially responsible for the damages suffered. In some cases, more than one person or party is responsible for the victim’s injuries. An attorney who is experienced in personal injury law can ensure that all responsible parties are held accountable.

Medical care, such as doctor bills and hospital charges, is an obvious category of expenses for which a victim can be compensated. Compensation for pain and suffering is also frequently sought. Other losses potentially eligible for compensation include lost wages and work benefits and even the inability to engage in normal life activities. The goal is to put the victim back into the position that they would have been in had the incident not occurred.