Massa Butler Giglione

[05/14/19]   Congratulations to partners Rudy Massa and Pete Giglione, who were named Pennsylvania Super Lawyers for 2019!

Pete was awarded the “Rising Star” recognition from 2010 through 2017, and named as a Super Lawyer since 2018.

NPR

Many older people diagnosed with Alzheimer's actually have dementia caused by something else. Without the right diagnosis, these people are less likely to get the best care.

NPR

The decrease is a stark example of how, in response to industry prodding, the Trump administration is rolling back Obama's aggressive regulation of health care services.

EDITORIAL: Getting their attention: Pennsylvania cracks down on nursing homes with big fines

post-gazette.com The state must make sure Pennsylvanians’ older years are spent as safely and comfortably as possible.

State getting tougher with nursing home fines, which doubled last year

post-gazette.com Pennsylvania Health Department assessed $2.3 million in penalties in 2018, but consumer advocates would also like tougher licensing actions.

Nursing Home Quality In America: All The States Ranked

https://patch.com/us/across-america/nursing-home-quality-america-all-states-ranked

patch.com Placing a loved one in a nursing home is among the hardest decisions you'll ever make. Here's how nursing homes in all the states stack up.

www.justice.org

The worst corporate conduct of this past year can be found in this report:

https://www.justice.org/sites/default/files/file-uploads/Corporate%20Misconduct%202018.pdf

justice.org

Overdoses, bedsores, broken bones: What happened when a private-equity firm sought to care for society’s most vulnerable

washingtonpost.com A rise in health-code violations at the second-largest nursing home chain in the United States began after the Carlyle Group orchestrated a deal that extracted $1.3 billion for investors but left the firm with untenable financial obligations, according to interviews and financial documents.

The Civil Justice System: Protecting Your Family

Do you believe that too many "frivolous lawsuits" are filed?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9FtCZej_7Q&feature=youtu.be

What's New in Aging: Survey information on long-term care costs

post-gazette.com Median annual charge for Pennsylvania nursing home private room now pegged at $121,363.

President's Challenge 5K Run/Walk/Wheel

Pre-registration available online through this Friday - - please join us! Great time for a very worthy cause.

events.r20.constantcontact.com Join us for our 18th annual President's Challenge 5K Run/Walk/Wheel to benefit the Pittsburgh Steelwheelers. You can Run, Walk, Wheel, or Hand Cycle. No bikes. Registration opens at 9am, Wheel/Cycle starts at 10am, Run/Walk starts at 10:10am. Located at North Park Boathouse. Parking is free. Family-...

[07/08/18]   ‘It’s Almost Like a Ghost Town.’ Most Nursing Homes Overstated Staffing for Years - The New York Timeshttps://apple.news/ARbPrPgReRvyJQ1mR06NmZA

Pennsylvania Record

pennrecord.com Pennsylvania Record provides an objective view at lawsuits in the Pennsylvania as well as an active forum for both sides of the argument so that all of us can decide for ourselves.

Nursing home patients in Pittsburgh often go back to hospital

Often times elderly nursing homes patients are allowed to develop preventable injuries in nursing homes, such as falls leading to fractures, dehydration, and infections, all leading to a hospitalization that should have never occured. If you, a friend, or family member is a victim of nursing home neglect, please call us for a free consultation.

triblive.com Nursing homes in Pittsburgh often send elderly patients back to the hospital within 30 days of their admission, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis. ...

“They Want Docile” | How Nursing Homes in the United States Overmedicate People with Dementia

hrw.org This report estimates that every week in US nursing facilities, more than 179,000 people, mostly older and living with dementia, are given antipsychotic drugs without an appropriate diagnosis. Facilities administer these drugs in many cases without obtaining informed consent from residents or their....

[05/17/18]   Congratulations to MBG partner Pete Giglione, who was named a 2018 Pennsylvania Super Lawyer!

Judge's absence during jury selection prompts new trial in UPMC negligence case

post-gazette.com The state Superior Court on Monday vacated an Allegheny County jury verdict and ordered a new trial in a negligence case involving Children’s Hospital of ...

Texas doctor faces $240 million health care fraud case

cnn.com A federal indictment charges Dr. Jorge Zamora-Quezada with involvement in a $240 million health care fraud case that funded a "lavish" and "opulent lifestyle."

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“I have discovered that doctors are really no longer permitted to be doctors. They can no longer treat nor prescribe medications unless the insurance companies say they can.”

Kosieradzki Smith Law Firm

Everyone realizes that we are not doing enough to protect our vulnerable adults, now is the time to change that.

Complaints About Nursing Home Evictions Rise, and Regulators Take Note

nytimes.com One reason for the evictions, legal advocates say, is that the residents’ better-paying Medicare coverage is ending and will be replaced by Medicaid.

Nursing homes sedate residents with dementia by misusing antipsychotic drugs, report finds

cnn.com Without proper diagnoses or informed consent, people with dementia in nursing homes are being controlled by antipsychotic drugs, Human Rights Watch finds. Separate GAO report finds gaps in reporting "critical incidents" at assisted living facilities including abuse.

Care Suffers as More Nursing Homes Feed Money Into Corporate Webs

nytimes.com On average, injury and complaint rates are higher, and staffs smaller, at for-profit facilities that outsource goods and services to their owners’ other businesses.

State imposes one of largest nursing home fines ever on Squirrel Hill facility

post-gazette.com The Charles Morris Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Squirrel Hill has been slapped with a $235,000 fine — one of the largest penalties in the ...

The little red pill being pushed on the elderly

cnn.com CNN investigation exposes inappropriate use of drug called Nuedexta in nursing homes

TribLive

Four Western Pennsylvania nursing homes were cited for immediate jeopardy violations in the past year by the state Department of Health, according to Pennlive.

TribLive

Four Western Pennsylvania nursing homes were cited for immediate jeopardy violations in the past year by the state Department of Health, according to Pennlive.

The little red pill being pushed on the elderly

cnn.com CNN investigation exposes inappropriate use of drug called Nuedexta in nursing homes

5K Run / Walk / Wheel – WPTLA.ORG

Please bring your family and friends, and join us on October 21 in North Park for this fun event that benefits a great cause.

wptla.org

Trump Moves to Impede Consumer Lawsuits Against Nursing Homes

If you or a loved one requires admission to a nursing home in the near future, this article is a must-read.

nytimes.com The Trump administration’s effort to rollback regulations has reached nursing homes, with a new rule to press older Americans into binding arbitration rather than lawsuits.

[06/27/17]   PLEASE contact your representatives in Harrisburg and tell them to vote NO on H.R. 1215, the so-called "Protecting Access to Care Act of 2017."

This bill would limit non economic damages, such as pain and suffering and disfigurement (such as a loss of a limb) to $250,000. This is true even in cases where someone suffers devastating injuries such as permanent paralysis and brain damage.

This bill does nothing to protect injured people and only protects those who injure them.

A vote will take place this week, so please contact your local rep ASAP!

U.S. judge finds that Aetna deceived the public about its reasons for quitting Obamacare

latimes.com A judge finds Aetna's justification for pulling out of Obamacare largely bogus.

Sick, dying and raped in America's nursing homes

cnn.com Some of the victims can't speak. They rely on walkers and wheelchairs to leave their beds. They have been robbed of their memories. They come to nursing homes to be cared for.

Victim's family outraged after linen company is implicated in UPMC mold lawsuit

wtae.com Company supplies linens to 180 customers in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia including 22 UPMC hospitals.

Cuba's Had A Lung Cancer Vaccine For Years, And Now It's Coming To The U.S.

huffingtonpost.com President Barack Obama became the first president to visit Cuba in almost 90 years when he and first lady Michelle Obama traveled to the island nation in...

Pa. Attorney General files suit against O'Hara firm over care at 11 nursing homes

http://triblive.com/local/allegheny/11420756-74/care-center-residents

triblive.com The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office has filed a lawsuit against an O'Hara-based skilled nursing home chain for misrepresenting the level of care it can provide ...

Aging Edge | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/aging-edge/aging-edge-reports/2016/11/04/Attorney-general-sues-Grane-Healthcare-over-nursing-home-conditions-pennsylvania-pittsburgh/stories/201611040194

post-gazette.com Updates and resources on aging health, fitness, medical care, nutrition, housing, finances, insurance, investing, employment and more

Aging Edge | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

post-gazette.com Updates and resources on aging health, fitness, medical care, nutrition, housing, finances, insurance, investing, employment and more

New Alzheimer’s treatment fully restores memory function

sciencealert.com Australian researchers have come up with a non-invasive ultrasound technology that clears the brain of neurotoxic amyloid plaques - structures that are responsible for memory loss and a decline in cognitive function in Alzheimer’s patients.

Failing the Frail

Sad, but unfortunately not a surprise to our firm. We handle nursing home neglect and abuse cases in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, and our attorneys deal with the effects of understaffing and poor care every day.

pennlive.com A PennLive national analysis found that nearly half of the nation's nursing homes significantly over-reported staffing levels on Nursing Home Compare in 2014.

[10/08/16]   Congratulations to our Associate, Megan Carben, who just learned today that she passed the PA bar exam on her first attempt! Megan was a law clerk with our firm as a third-year law student at Duquesne University, and has now earned the distinction of adding "Esquire" to her name! Great job, Meg!

Nursing home operator from Chicago jailed as feds allege $1 billion scheme

chicagotribune.com For years, wealthy nursing home operator Philip Esformes seemed to live in perpetual motion, using private jets to travel between his Water Tower Place condominium and his mansions in Miami and Los Angeles.

Pa. nusing home chain agrees to pay $2M to settle shoddy care claims

triblive.com A Pennsylvania nursing home chain that operates 22 facilities statewide, including one in Westmoreland County, agreed to pay $2 million to settle claims of providing ...

Aging Edge | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

post-gazette.com Updates and resources on aging health, fitness, medical care, nutrition, housing, finances, insurance, investing, employment and more

Doctor Confesses: I Lied to Protect Colleague in Malpractice Suit

propublica.org A surgeon who lied about his partner’s skills on the witness stand has been haunted by the deception for nearly two decades.