September 2013

Constitution Day Special: Brought To You By The 7th

Submitted by Roxanne DeMarco on Tue, 09/17/2013 - 15:21

In honor of Constitution Day, we are highlighting seven ways the 7th Amendment has made America safer.

For those of you without a pocket Constitution, the 7th Amendment is your right to a trial by jury.  It allows you to access the civil justice system and hold corporations accountable when they injure and kill innocent Americans, pollute our environment and endanger our children.  As we know all too well, if no one is accountable, no one is safe.

Vulnerable Nursing Home Patients Need Ability to Sue in Court as Government Agencies Fail to Protect Them

Submitted by Public Justice on Thu, 09/12/2013 - 09:37

This post was originally published on Public Justice’s blog and can be found here.

By Leslie Bailey, Staff Attorney, Public Justice 

According to a new report just released by the Center for Investigative Reporting and reported by KQED, the failure of California regulators to adequately investigate and pursue claims of abuse and misconduct by nursing assistants and health aids is “putting the elderly, sick, and disabled at risk.” In fact, the regulators that are charged with protecting vulnerable patients in nursing homes and assisted living facilities are either conducting “cursory and indifferent” investigations, or simply closing cases without taking any action at all. The report underscores how critically important it is for people to have the ability to sue when loved ones are harmed by nursing home neglect—or worse.