Archive for September, 2009

The La Crosse County Public Health Nursing Department will be having a fall prevention fair from 1 to 3pm today at the La Crosse County Health and Human Services Building. The event will be held in the basement of the auditorium.

The event will include medication reviews, screenings and Tai Chi demonstrations in addition to the various health booth exhibits.

Wisconsin has one of the highest rates of fall-related deaths, hospitalizations and emergency department visits among older adults.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report today, saying that the Nursing Home Compare ratings system maybe missing a significant number of under-performing facilities.

Currently, the ratings system identifies 136 nursing homes as “special focus facilities.” Any nursing home given this title is subject to more frequent inspections because of their living conditions. The GAO says there maybe four times as many homes, or 580, that could be considered among the nation’s worst.

Senator Herb Kohl, D-Wis., has said that lawmakers should consider expanding the program. Sen. Kohl is the chairman of the Senate Aging Committee and requested the study with Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

The GAO said it made that suggestion two years and Federal officials agreed with the concept, but they didn’t have the resources. The 580 homes identified by the GAO as the worst-performing represents almost 4% of the nation’s nursing homes.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and lawmakers are considering different approaches.

According to the report, Wisconsin has 3 nursing homes in addition to the original 4 that perform “most poorly.” You can read the report here.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula, S.C. is a Wisconsin law firm with a devoted nursing home abuse practice. Our nursing home abuse and neglect trial team is the largest in the state and has successfully represented abused and neglected nursing home residents throughout Wisconsin.

After June of 2010 it will be illegal for motorists to drive without insurance. The mandatory insurance law just approved as part of the state budget won’t make motorists prove they have insurance unless they are pulled over by the police for an unrelated traffic violation.

The Department of Transportation is still ironing out the details, but we know this much:

• Wisconsin drivers will be required to carry with them proof, e.g. a card or a letter from an insurer.
• If a driver is stopped on suspicion of a traffic violation, the officer can ask for proof of insurance. A $10 ticket can be issued if the driver has insurance, but fails to provide proof. Those who don’t have insurance may be fined up to $500.
• Underinsured motorist coverage will be required for state drivers on new or renewed policies starting November 1st.
• Motorists will need to have a policy providing at least $50,000 in bodily injury coverage for one person, $100,000 in bodily injury coverage per accident and $15,000 to cover property damage.

The state of Wisconsin’s drunken driving campaign and subsequent enforcement came to a headway this past Labor Day with more than 1,200 arrests.

The campaign, part of the national effort called “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.,” ran from August 21 through Labor Day. It included 2,700 officers from more than 320 police departments, sheriff’s offices and the State Patrol.

In addition to the OWI citations, authorities issued 52,000 additional citations, including:

• 9,155 speeding violations
• 5,432 seat belt citations
• 2,401 operating after revocation or suspension citations
• 847 traffic sign or traffic light citations
• 221 open intoxicant citations
• 145 child safety restraint citations

The campaign also led to the arrest of 65 felons, 211 people arrested for drugs and 413 arrests for outstanding warrants.

Last year, authorities made 37,000 were convicted of drunken driving, or the equivalent of the city of Beloit.

Johnson & Johnson is voluntarily recalling 57 lots of infants’ and children’s liquid Tylenol because of possible bacterial contamination.

Nearly two dozen varieties made between April and June are part of the recall. Those varieties include, but are not limited to:

• Children’s Tylenol Suspension 4 oz. Grape
• Infants’ Tylenol Grape Suspension Drops 1/4 oz.
• Children’s Tylenol Plus Cold/Allergy 4 oz. Bubble Gum

A sample from the lot showed that an inactive ingredient didn’t meet internal testing requirements. The company also said that B. cepacia bacteria were detected in the raw materials used to make the products, but no bacteria were found in the finished products.

Please click on the following link for more information:

http://www.tylenol.com/page.jhtml?id=tylenol/children/main.inc

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm handling faulty product cases through out the state.  Our personal injury lawyers have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.

A female driver was killed Monday morning in a two-vehicle crash on Highway PQ in the town of Christiana, according to the Dane County Sheriff’s Office.

One motorist was driving eastbound on Highway PQ in a Chevrolet Suburban when he crossed the center line and struck a westbound vehicle, whose driver was killed.

The driver of the Suburban was transported to a local hospital with serious, but non-life threatening injuries.

A preliminary investigation points to inattentive driving as the cause of the crash, which remains under investigation by the Dane County Sheriff’s Office.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm handling wrongful death cases throughout the state.  Our Wisconsin injury attorneys have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.

A motorcyclist died Sunday afternoon in a collision with a car.

The man on the motorcycle was heading south on Wauwatosa Road when a car going northbound tried to turn west onto Sherman Road.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene and the driver of the car was arrested for Homicide by Intoxicated use of a motor vehicle.

The Cedarburg Police Department said no further information would be released.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm handling motorcycle accident cases through out the state.  Our Wisconsin injury attorneys have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.

Wisconsin State Journal writer Jason Stein posted the criminal status for drunken driving in the surrounding midwest states. They are as follows:

Illinois

First and second offenses are class A misdemeanors, third and subsequent offenses are class 4 felonies

Iowa

First offense is serious misdemeanor, second offense within 12 years is aggravated misdemeanor, third or subsequent offense is class D felony

Michigan

First and second offenses are misdemeanors, third or subsequent offenses within 10 years are felonies

Minnesota

Fourth-degree drunk driving (no aggravating factors): Misdemeanor

Third-degree drunk driving (one aggravating factor): Gross misdemeanor

Second-degree drunk-driving (two aggravating factors): Gross misdemeanor

First-degree drunk driving (three or more aggravating factors): Felony

Aggravating Factors: (1) any prior drunk-driving offense; (2) driving with an alcohol concentration higher than 0.20; or, (3) driving with a passenger less than 16 years old if the passenger is more than 36 months younger than the driver.

Wisconsin

First offense is a municipal offense; the second through fourth offenses are misdemeanor, and the fifth and subsequent are a Class H felony which is punishable by a fine not to exceed $10,000 or a term of imprisonment not to exceed 6 years, or both.

_______

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm representing victims of drunken driving accidents throughout the state.  Our Wisconsin injury attorneys have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.

A 24-year-old Milwaukee motorcyclist was killed in a hit-and-run crash early Sunday morning.

Brandon Boston was riding along Green Bay Avenue when an SUV traveling in the opposite direction turned in front of him. Boston died at the hospital.

According to the police, the driver of the SUV did not stop after the crash. The driver of the SUV was later arrested at his home.

Authorities believe alcohol may have been involved.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm handling motorcycle accident cases through out the state.  Our Wisconsin injury attorneys have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.

The mortgage crisis sent Wall Street scurrying for the next big idea. They may have found it…

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula, S.C. is a Wisconsin law firm with a devoted nursing home abusepractice. Our nursing home abuse and neglect trial team is the largest in the state and has successfully represented abused and neglected nursing home residents throughout Wisconsin.