Abuse can come in many different forms, including physical, emotional, and financial. Some of those types of abuse can manifest as neglect, sexual abuse, pushing, and yelling. When you make the tough decision to place your loved one in a long-term care facility, you expect their new community to take care of them as if you would. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case, as all types of abuse happen in nursing homes. And staff members aren’t the only people in your loved one’s nursing home who might abuse them, as fellow residents can cause abuse as well.

According to the National Institute on Aging, verbal abuse is a form of emotional abuse, but it can be much more than just yelling at a person. Verbal abuse can be a staff member insulting, threatening, blaming, or patronizing a patient. According to a study, verbal abuse was the most common form of abuse in assisted living facilities, with 203 instances of humiliating remarks occurring for every 1,000 residents per year.

Nobody deserves to be treated poorly, especially not older Americans who need the help of a long term care facility to live more comfortably. Though verbal abuse might sound like the least harmful form of abuse, it’s just as bad because it negatively impacts the patient’s mental and emotional state.  A study funded by the National Institute on Aging found that verbal mistreatment can be associated with a decrease in physical and mental health and leads to a lower quality of life.

When drivers are behind the wheel, they need to have their full attention on the task at hand: driving safely. Remaining in control of their vehicle, traveling at a safe speed, keeping a safe distance from other vehicles, and anticipating the mistakes other drivers could make are all mental and physical efforts a driver has to make to reduce the chances of an accident. Smartphones are a major distraction to drivers and prevent them from making these efforts. Because of the devastating car accidents a distracted driver can cause, West Virginia has laws that are meant to prevent drivers from using their phones.

If you’ve lost a loved one unexpectedly in a preventable manner, you know just how devastating the situation can be and how challenging it can be to move forward. When that happens, West Virginia law allows the surviving family members to come forward to seek compensation and justice for what happened with a wrongful death claim. However, the facts revolving around the death affect the type of claim that gets filed. Depending on the circumstances, it’s possible a manslaughter charge could be made. It’s important to understand the difference between the two, so you can give your family the best chance at a secure and stable future.

After an accident that causes an injury, whether minor or major, first responders will most likely come to the scene to either evaluate you or transfer you to a hospital for more care. You expect them to provide adequate care in the meantime, but sometimes the opposite happens. Emergency medical teams are sometimes understaffed, have a lot of people to tend to on the scene, or make the wrong decision during a crucial time, which can lead to negligence of some patients and cause injuries.

Immediately following an automobile crash, it’s imperative to seek medical attention as soon as possible. Not only will this ensure you receive necessary medical attention, but you’ll be maximizing your chances of recovering completely in addition to building the evidence your personal injury claim will need later.

While obtaining your medical records in West Virginia after a car accident isn’t particularly challenging, it’s important to understand your legal rights, how the process works, and how your records could be used in the event you file a car accident claim to seek compensation for your losses. Let’s start by taking a look at the laws pertaining to medical records in West Virginia.

It’s hard to make the decision to place a loved one into a nursing home. Even if you want to take care of them on your own, sometimes a facility has better resources available for your loved one in their old age. But it can be an even harder decision to remove them from the nursing home if it isn’t the right fit for their needs.

When a long term care facility is no longer working for your loved one, you should get in contact with an experienced lawyer from DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress in Charleston. We can help you stand up for your loved one if they have been mistreated by the nursing home who was supposed to be taking care of them. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons you might need to remove your loved one from a nursing home.

Deer collisions happen every year. They often happen without warning and can cause a lot of damage. There is a lot of information about deer crossing out there, but some information that’s passed around may not be accurate. It’s important to have correct information so you can drive safely. The team at DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, LLC want all West Virginia citizens to be prepared for deer crossing season and how to safely navigate the roads and avoid collisions.

When you go to a business to shop their inventory or just mill around, they become liable for your safety because you are on their premises. Though they are not liable for absolutely any injury you might suffer on their property since they cannot prevent every type of injury, there is an expected duty of care that they must provide for you.

We all hope to have a decent job that pays the bills so that we can live comfortably. But sometimes, those jobs come with unexpected dangers. Even though we need to work to be able to pay bills, some jobs are not worth the danger that they put you in.

Most of us have broken a bone at some point in our lives. Some have broken or fractured more bones than others, but for the most part, it’s a common experience. Since it’s such a typical occurrence, we might not always take a broken bone as seriously as we should.

When you experience a high-impact break, many things can go wrong that make the break a more serious injury. While millions of people break a bone every year, around 300 of those cases are compound fractures, according to an article published on the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).

A compound fracture, also known as an open fracture, is when the skin is punctured by the bone, exposing the wound to the outside air. This is when a broken bone becomes the most dangerous because there are risks for many complications. Whether you were injured in a car crash, while playing a sport, or in a slip and fall accident, you could use a lawyer for your case. Before we discuss legal action, let’s take a look at when a broken bone can be a more serious injury.