Orangeburg Personal Injury Law Blog

When our elderly loved ones reach the point when they can no longer care for themselves, we often search for a nursing home to provide them with the care they need. Sadly, not all nursing homes offer the same quality of care in South Carolina and elsewhere. In fact, some nursing homes downright neglect residents and commit nursing home fraud by pocketing money intended for the residents.

Recently, three Georgia nursing homes were busted by the FBI for subjecting residents to horrid conditions over several years while the owner kept $32 million in payments from Medicare and Medicaid for himself. The owner was convicted of defrauding Medicare and Medicaid earlier this month. He could also potentially face personal injury lawsuits brought by nursing home residents and their families.

Unfortunately, medical errors are quite common in South Carolina and the rest of the United States. These errors can occur for a variety of reasons, and miscommunication is one of them. This is why a recent study suggested that providing professional translators in hospitals for non-English-speaking patients is one way to cut down on medical malpractice.

The study found that serious medical errors were around twice as likely to occur in hospitals where there were no translators or the translators had only limited experience. The lead researcher said the study shows the importance of not only having translators available in hospitals, but providing translators with enough training.

There's no question that making a call or sending a text message is distracting to a driver and could cause a car accident. But just how dangerous of a distraction is it? And who should be responsible for remedying it? Those are the questions safety officials and industry heads are currently grappling with.

Similarly, a survey by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety revealed that while 94 percent of drivers consider texting while driving "a serious threat" and 87 percent are in favor of a texting ban, nearly 70 percent of drivers admit to talking on their cellphones while driving.

Unfortunately, this weekend was a tragic one on South Carolina roads. Officials have reported that at least nine people were killed in South Carolina car accidents over the weekend, including two teenage girls.

Officials said the two teens were killed when the car they were riding in veered off the road, flipped and collided with a tree in St. Helena Island on Saturday evening. A third teenage girl sitting in the back seat was injured in the wreck and was flown to Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah for treatment.