When we need to use the health care system, we do our best to choose the right doctor and trust that we will receive the highest quality of care. Unfortunately, for too many patients are injured every year when medical providers don’t fallow patient’s safety rules and makes medical mistakes. Medical errors can result in a life time of harm and can cause disastrous consequences to families. If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of a medical error, call the Sweeney Law Firm now at 1-866-793-6339.

Preventable medical errors pose a real risk and are responsible for billions in unnecessary health care costs.  The good news is that some major hospitals are taking important steps to determine how  errors happen and how they can be prevented.

When Indiana medical errors happen it’s important to do a thorough investigation so it doesn’t happen again to other patients.  If you or a loved one were the victim of a medical mistake or have questions about what happened when you received medical care, call the Sweeney law firm now. 

1-866-793-6339 (Toll Free) 

1-260-420-3137 (Local) 

1-260-969-0321 (Fax)

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Did you know that falls are the leading cause to injury death to those over the age of sixty five? Millions of people in the United States are injured every year to falls that could have been prevented had basic safety measures been followed.

The Sweeney Law Firm understands how a serious fall can turn you world upside down. If you or a loved one suffered serious injuries in a fall call the Sweeney Law Firm now.

We offer free consultation and we will never charge a fee unless we make a recovery for you.

If you or a loved one has been injured due to a fall in Indiana, contact The Sweeney law firm today for a Free Consultation. 

INDIANA NURSING ACCIDENT LAWYERS

1-866-793-6339 (Toll Free) 

1-260-420-3137 (Local) 

1-260-969-0321 (Fax)

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David Farnbauch has been selected by his peers to be included in the 21st Edition of The Best Lawyers in
 America for his work in in the practice areas of Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs and Personal
 Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs.

Congratulations on being included for at least five years, and being recognized in this exclusive selection by your peers as one of the best in your specialty. Through this distinction you have proven to be a consistent and dedicated member of the law community and deserve to be recognized.

Inclusion in Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive and rigorous peer-review survey comprising more than 5.5 million confidential evaluations by top attorneys. For more than three decades, Best Lawyers has been regarded by both the profession and the public-as the most credible and definitive guide to legal excellence in the United States.

Because no fee or purchase is required, being listed in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor.

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Host 1: Welcome back to InSight, we are joined now by Dave Farnbaugh from the Sweeney Law Firm. So Dave, there are some medical malpractice laws that are unique to Indiana and there have been a number of news stories lately regarding medical errors and medical malpractice. Tell us about those.

Dave: Well, we’ve seen a lot of news stories lately that medical malpractice was at the forefront. There was a big news story a few weeks back about a local pain physician who the attorney general is pursuing and there’s been the epidemic in Massachusetts with the fungal meningitis. So there has been a lot of news on the topic of medical malpractice and what I thought we’d do today is spend a little bit of time explaining to people maybe some of the laws that govern medical malpractice here in the state of Indiana that are surprising when they talk to people that are unique to Indiana. Most people don’t realize that in the state of Indiana we have a cap on medical malpractice damages.

Host 2: So you can only sue for so much.

Dave: Right, it’s $1,250,000 and that’s shocking when I tell a lot of people, since we handle birth injury cases where a little baby during the delivery can be harmed and require a lifetime of medical treatment. That could realistically cost tens of millions of dollars. In Indiana we have a hard cap of $1,250,000 so it doesn’t matter how much harm is cause, you’re capped out at a $1,250,000. When I tell people that they’re completely shocked. How could that be that there could be this ceiling on the amount of damages in respective to the amount of harm?

Host 2: Is there anything that somebody could do about that if they are in that sort of situation?

Dave: No, in fact there was a recent case where attorneys tried to challenge the cap and the Indiana Supreme Court, this was primarily on procedural grounds, just ruled that the cap is gonna stay in place. So its been a law since 1976 we’ve had a cap on damages. We’ve adjusted it for different time frames, but the current cap is $1,250,000 which with today’s medical cost is woefully inadequate.

The other interesting thing that’s unique about Indiana Medical Malpractice Law is the notion that we have a medical review panel that decides on the merits of cases before you can file a lawsuit. It’s the only area of law that I’m aware of in Indiana where you’re sort of judged by your peers. When you file a medical malpractice lawsuit in the state of Indiana, if you sue physicians, a panel of three physicians is convened to decide whether the case has merits. That’s unique. If you sue a lawyer, there’s not a panel of three lawyers or an architect. But if you sue a physician in the state of Indiana there’s a medical review panel that’s formed to decide the merits of your case.

Host 2: One, I would think, just in theory that that’s a little harder to get past because their obviously cognisant of the fact that these are their peers in their industry. So I would think that it’s almost like you gotta go two steps and that first step I would think is challenging. 

Dave: Well it is challenging because it’s a situation where a lot of times physicians know one another and they attend the same seminars and what not. So it is difficult. I think cases that tend to fall in the grey area of medical malpractice, I think a lot of times physicians do get the benefit of the doubt with their peers on the medical review panel. Which makes it a lot more challenging for patients and consumers to try to get justice if there’s a medical malpractice case. So we have some very unique and challenging laws that present some hurdles to patients when they are the victims of medical malpractice in the state of Indiana.

Host 2: Well obviously you’re the expert on that and it is very hard to digest all of the rules and what you need to do so if somebody thinks they have a medical malpractice suit the best thing to do is contact you guys. Because you guys definitely tell them whether or not they should proceed. 

Dave: Ya, oftentimes we get a lot of calls and we explain to people, “Look, we’re sorry for what happened to you but it appears there’s no malpractice. Occasionally we do get calls where the cases are meritorious. So the only way you’re ever going to find out if you have a meritorious medical malpractice is to call an attorney who specializes in that area.

Host 2: Well if you have a question about medical malpractice, give the guys at Sweeney Law Firm a call – they can help you out today.

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Host 1: Welcome back to InSight with Dave Farnbaugh who has been kind enough to join us again. We are talking about nursing home care and it’s such an important topic. President Obama was reelected yesterday and that obviously will raise some issues because that’s going to mean that Obama Care is not being repealed. So what does that mean for nursing home care?

Dave Farnbaugh: Well, it’s a practical matter, I think what it’s going to mean is that most people are saying that when it is really fully phased in – the reimbursements to nursing homes and other providers is going to be scaled back. As a practical matter, if reimbursements are going to be scaled back, in my mind, what that’s going to result in is probably nursing homes trying to accomplish their staffing needs with fewer people. There is sort of an old adage in our business that no matter what type of an injury occurs in a nursing home, whether that be pressure sores, falls, dehydration, or whatever harm occurs in a nursing home – usually relates from under-staffing. If you had adequate staff to take care of the residents based on their needs and their what we call acuity then most injuries in nursing homes wouldn’t occur. But if you don’t have enough staff, people have a lot of needs and you don’t have enough people to cover the various wings and halls in a nursing home. That’s where most of the injuries occur.

Host 2: Is that what you’re seeing? As the Sweeney Law Firm is handling all these cases against nursing homes, is that the trend you see is that it’s under-staffing?

Dave Farnbaugh: I think that’s a big part of it. It’s under-staffing. One of the ways you can reduce your overhead cost if you own a nursing home is reduce staff. The other thing that we see is unfortunately less resources and time to train people. The people that are employed to work in nursing homes are going into it, caring and compassionate people, that’s why they’re in a nursing home. Everybody’s motivation is good who runs a nursing home. Nobody wants to see somebody get hurt in a nursing home, but these are people that have a lot of needs and these people that work there, nurse’s aids and nurses, they require a lot of training for the specific needs of the elderly. So we see often times when we sue nursing homes that the training is inadequate and that results to injuries. That’s one of the trends we’re seeing. One of the more disturbing trends that we’re seeing nowadays in cases against nursing homes is the notion now that some nursing homes are not carrying liability insurance. It’s hard to believe. In Indiana, if you drive a car, you have to have insurance. In the state of Indiana, it’s pretty remarkable, if you own a nursing home, you don’t have to carry liability insurance. I tell people that and they’re stunned. Another trend that we’re seeing is a lot of nursing homes are asking families when they’re doing their admission paper work to sign an agreement that says you’re going to give up your right to make a legal claim against a nursing home. It’s called forced arbitration, where you agree that if you have some sort of dispute with a nursing home or someone’s injured in connection with nursing home care, you have to sign an arbitration agreement that calls for your case to be decided by someone that’s an arbitrary for the nursing home industry. That’s not exactly the fairest way to handle a dispute. Those are some of the things we see. What we’ve done at our office is put a lot of information on our website. If you go to our website, you’re going to find a section on nursing homes that contains a lot of helpful information for consumers about what to look for in placing their loved one in a nursing home, what are some of the things to look for, questions to ask, and those sorts of things. We really think that we’ve really developed a fountain of information for all things related to nursing home and nursing home care.

Host 2: Well that’s a great place for people to go, we’re all in some situation where we need to be aware or know what we would do if we need a nursing home for ourselves or a loved one. Check that out at SweeneyLawFirm.com. If you think that you may have a case of need advice, you can give them a call at 420-3137

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Host 1: Welcome back to InSight, we are joined now by Dave Farnbaugh from the Sweeney Law Firm. So Dave, there are some medical malpractice laws that are unique to Indiana and there have been a number of news stories lately regarding medical errors and medical malpractice. Tell us about those.

Dave: Well, we’ve seen a lot of news stories lately that medical malpractice was at the forefront. There was a big news story a few weeks back about a local pain physician who the attorney general is pursuing and there’s been the epidemic in Massachusetts with the fungal meningitis. So there has been a lot of news on the topic of medical malpractice and what I thought we’d do today is spend a little bit of time explaining to people maybe some of the laws that govern medical malpractice here in the state of Indiana that are surprising when they talk to people that are unique to Indiana. Most people don’t realize that in the state of Indiana we have a cap on medical malpractice damages.

Host 2: So you can only sue for so much.

Dave: Right, it’s $1,250,000 and that’s shocking when I tell a lot of people, since we handle birth injury cases where a little baby during the delivery can be harmed and require a lifetime of medical treatment. That could realistically cost tens of millions of dollars. In Indiana we have a hard cap of $1,250,000 so it doesn’t matter how much harm is cause, you’re capped out at a $1,250,000. When I tell people that they’re completely shocked. How could that be that there could be this ceiling on the amount of damages in respective to the amount of harm?

Host 2: Is there anything that somebody could do about that if they are in that sort of situation?

Dave: No, in fact there was a recent case where attorneys tried to challenge the cap and the Indiana Supreme Court, this was primarily on procedural grounds, just ruled that the cap is gonna stay in place. So its been a law since 1976 we’ve had a cap on damages. We’ve adjusted it for different time frames, but the current cap is $1,250,000 which with today’s medical cost is woefully inadequate.

The other interesting thing that’s unique about Indiana Medical Malpractice Law is the notion that we have a medical review panel that decides on the merits of cases before you can file a lawsuit. It’s the only area of law that I’m aware of in Indiana where you’re sort of judged by your peers. When you file a medical malpractice lawsuit in the state of Indiana, if you sue physicians, a panel of three physicians is convened to decide whether the case has merits. That’s unique. If you sue a lawyer, there’s not a panel of three lawyers or an architect. But if you sue a physician in the state of Indiana there’s a medical review panel that’s formed to decide the merits of your case.

Host 2: One, I would think, just in theory that that’s a little harder to get past because their obviously cognisant of the fact that these are their peers in their industry. So I would think that it’s almost like you gotta go two steps and that first step I would think is challenging. 

Dave: Well it is challenging because it’s a situation where a lot of times physicians know one another and they attend the same seminars and what not. So it is difficult. I think cases that tend to fall in the grey area of medical malpractice, I think a lot of times physicians do get the benefit of the doubt with their peers on the medical review panel. Which makes it a lot more challenging for patients and consumers to try to get justice if there’s a medical malpractice case. So we have some very unique and challenging laws that present some hurdles to patients when they are the victims of medical malpractice in the state of Indiana.

Host 2: Well obviously you’re the expert on that and it is very hard to digest all of the rules and what you need to do so if somebody thinks they have a medical malpractice suit the best thing to do is contact you guys. Because you guys definitely tell them whether or not they should proceed. 

Dave: Ya, oftentimes we get a lot of calls and we explain to people, “Look, we’re sorry for what happened to you but it appears there’s no malpractice. Occasionally we do get calls where the cases are meritorious. So the only way you’re ever going to find out if you have a meritorious medical malpractice is to call an attorney who specializes in that area.

Host 2: Well if you have a question about medical malpractice, give the guys at Sweeney Law Firm a call – they can help you out today.

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Did you know that every year more than 1800 of our nation’s elderly lose their lives in nursing home falls. Those who survive nursing home falls frequently sustain debilitating hip fractures and head injuries that cause permanent disability and reduced quality of life.

The Sweeney law firm is committed to the safety of nursing home residents.

VICTIM OF INDIANA NURSING HOME ABUSE?

If your loved one has been injured as a result of nursing home neglect, call the Sweeney law firm now. 

1-866-793-6339 (Toll Free) 

1-260-420-3137 (Local) 

1-260-969-0321 (Fax)

Indiana Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers – The Sweeney Law Firm – 866.793.6339

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Host 1: Welcome back to InSight. We are joined now by Dave Farnbaugh with the Sweeney Law Firm and we’re going to talk today about nursing homes.This is something that lots of generations are dealing with today because whether you are getting ready to make that transition into a nursing home or you are moving your parents into a nursing home, we’re all sort of dealing with it and we want to be sure that we’re making the right choices. So, luckily we have the support of the Sweeney Law Firm and what are some of the questions that we should be asking when we call an attorney? Because really, we probably should be calling an attorney when we’re making some of those choices.

Dave Farnbaugh: Well I don’t know Emily that you would necesarily call an attorny before you would place your loved one in a nursing home. Maybe I can give the views some background on why this is a topic of some interest to me and our law firm. We’ve been handling nursing home cases, where we file cases against nursing homes, for the last 15 or 20 years and so during that period of time, you learn a lot about why people have to go into nursing homes. You learn a lot about the care that they receive and most notibly these lawsuits are brought because of safety issues that arise in lawsuits. It’s sort of an unfortunate reality that many many people that end up in a nursing home wind up with injuries or even death for that matter. This is something that has really became a particualr insterest with our law firm. We pursue a number of these cases. We do these cases all over the state so what we like to do when we have forms like this is to share information that we’ve learned or acquired over the years about how to prevent injuries to try to make a difference that way. What happens most frequently with nursing homes is someone is in a hospital, they have a serious medical condition that requires rehabilitation or a loved one needs skilled nursing care. They’ve developed alzheimers, dementia, or some other condition that requires skilled nursing care and suddenly a family is confronted with a decision. Where are we going to place Mom or Dad or a spouse for nursing care? Often times, we don’t give a lot of thought to that ahead of time. A lot of times, you’re at a hospital and the doctor comes in and says, “Look, we’re going to release you tomorrow. We’re going to be releasing you to a nursing home care.” People really haven’t given a lot of thought to where we are going to place Mom or Dad or a spouse. So, I guess the idea is that there is a lot of resources out there that are available now-a-days for people looking to do their homework and do research on what’s the best placement. And of coarse we feel, based upon our experience having to sue nursing homes and seeing some of the things that can happen from a safety stand point, that it’s important for consumers out there to research some of the problems or safety issues in nursing homes. Probably the best resource that’s out there is a website called medicare.gov or a lot of people can reach it by googleing “nursing home compare”. And when you go on the website for “nursing home compare”, you find that you can actually access information online with the various state departments of health (the Indiana State Department of Health). You can actually go online an research what they call “citations” or “f tags” where nursing homes have been cited by the Indiana department of health or a resident developed pressure sores or falls. There’s statistics on there. There’s plans of correction those sorts of things. You can actually do homework on nursing homes before you have to place your loved one. Indiana has an obvincemen program where those nursing home obvincemen, which are employed by the state. That office is there to help families with issues that arise from nursing home care. What we recommend to families is call the local obvincemen and ask them questions about which facilities have you had problems with? What recommendations would you make when we place our loved one in a nursing home? So there’s lots of resources that are available. Also, just check around with people before you place a loved one. What experiences have other families that you know have had in a nursing home. Have you noticed that there’s adequate staffing? One of the things that we’re going to talk about in the next segment is the staffing in nursing homes.

Host 2: There definitely are some advocates and people do need to do their homework. When we come back, like Dave said, “We’re going to talk about some of the substandard care and issues that are there. Stick with us, we’ll be right back on InSight.

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Host 1: Welcome back to InSight with Dave Farnbaugh who has been kind enough to join us again. We are talking about nursing home care and it’s such an important topic. President Obama was reelected yesterday and that obviously will raise some issues because that’s going to mean that Obama Care is not being repealed. So what does that mean for nursing home care?

Dave Farnbaugh: Well, it’s a practical matter, I think what it’s going to mean is that most people are saying that when it is really fully phased in – the reimbursements to nursing homes and other providers is going to be scaled back. As a practical matter, if reimbursements are going to be scaled back, in my mind, what that’s going to result in is probably nursing homes trying to accomplish their staffing needs with fewer people. There is sort of an old adage in our business that no matter what type of an injury occurs in a nursing home, whether that be pressure sores, falls, dehydration, or whatever harm occurs in a nursing home – usually relates from under-staffing. If you had adequate staff to take care of the residents based on their needs and their what we call acuity then most injuries in nursing homes wouldn’t occur. But if you don’t have enough staff, people have a lot of needs and you don’t have enough people to cover the various wings and halls in a nursing home. That’s where most of the injuries occur.

Host 2: Is that what you’re seeing? As the Sweeney Law Firm is handling all these cases against nursing homes, is that the trend you see is that it’s under-staffing?

Dave Farnbaugh: I think that’s a big part of it. It’s under-staffing. One of the ways you can reduce your overhead cost if you own a nursing home is reduce staff. The other thing that we see is unfortunately less resources and time to train people. The people that are employed to work in nursing homes are going into it, caring and compassionate people, that’s why they’re in a nursing home. Everybody’s motivation is good who runs a nursing home. Nobody wants to see somebody get hurt in a nursing home, but these are people that have a lot of needs and these people that work there, nurse’s aids and nurses, they require a lot of training for the specific needs of the elderly. So we see often times when we sue nursing homes that the training is inadequate and that results to injuries. That’s one of the trends we’re seeing. One of the more disturbing trends that we’re seeing nowadays in cases against nursing homes is the notion now that some nursing homes are not carrying liability insurance. It’s hard to believe. In Indiana, if you drive a car, you have to have insurance. In the state of Indiana, it’s pretty remarkable, if you own a nursing home, you don’t have to carry liability insurance. I tell people that and they’re stunned. Another trend that we’re seeing is a lot of nursing homes are asking families when they’re doing their admission paper work to sign an agreement that says you’re going to give up your right to make a legal claim against a nursing home. It’s called forced arbitration, where you agree that if you have some sort of dispute with a nursing home or someone’s injured in connection with nursing home care, you have to sign an arbitration agreement that calls for your case to be decided by someone that’s an arbitrary for the nursing home industry. That’s not exactly the fairest way to handle a dispute. Those are some of the things we see. What we’ve done at our office is put a lot of information on our website. If you go to our website, you’re going to find a section on nursing homes that contains a lot of helpful information for consumers about what to look for in placing their loved one in a nursing home, what are some of the things to look for, questions to ask, and those sorts of things. We really think that we’ve really developed a fountain of information for all things related to nursing home and nursing home care.

Host 2: Well that’s a great place for people to go, we’re all in some situation where we need to be aware or know what we would do if we need a nursing home for ourselves or a loved one. Check that out at SweeneyLawFirm.com. If you think that you may have a case of need advice, you can give them a call at 420-3137

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David Farnbauch and The Sweeney Law Firm has received a Tier 1 ranking in the 2013 Edition of U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” in the area of Medical Malpractice Law

This Tier 1 ranking was determined through The Sweeney Law firm’s overall evaluation, which was derived from a combination of our clients’ positive feedback and the high regard that lawyers from other firms in the same practice area have for our firm. 

Best Lawyers has been regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence in the United States for nearly three decades by the legal profession and the public.

Best Lawyers compiles lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. In the U.S., Best Lawyers publishes an annual referral guide, The nineteenth edition of The Best Lawyers In America (2013) includes 50,178 attorneys in 128 practice areas, covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and inclusion in this year’s publication is based on more than 4.3 million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers.

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