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 September
2007
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Register Your Valuables Online
The
Mesquite,
Texas police
department
has created
a unique Web
site that
allows
anyone to
register the
serial
numbers of
valuable
property
such as
televisions,
stereos,
etc. The
police can
then scan
the database
when they
recover
property
they suspect
has been
stolen.
This service
is available
free, and is
open to
anyone in
the world,
not just
residents of
Mesquite.
Free Legal Advice?
Yes, at Kraft &
Associates we are glad to provide our clients
and friends with free information on a variety
of subjects. If you want details about how to
lower your automobile insurance rates,
Texas Workers' Compensation law or
Social Security Disability claims, please
contact us and we will send you any of these
brochures without charge or obligation. |
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Suite 1300
2777 Stemmons Freeway
Dallas, TX 75207
(214) 999-9999
(817) 999-9999
(800) 989-9999
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FOR THE RECORD |
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This is an expansion of a subject first mentioned in last month's newsletter.
Medicare will no longer pay for medical bills resulting from doctor or hospital negligence. Specifically, Medicare will no longer pay the extra costs of treating preventable errors, injuries and infections that occur in hospitals. Private insurers are considering similar changes.This could save millions of dollars for Medicare, but my hope is that it will cause doctors and hospitals to be more careful with patients, and make fewer medical errors. Unfortunately, as personal injury lawyers have learned over many years, the quickest way to get hospitals to provide better patient care is to make it costly for them not to do so. Now, if they're not going to be paid for correcting their negligence, maybe they will commit fewer errors.
Among the conditions that will be affected are bedsores, or pressure ulcers; injuries caused by falls; and infections resulting from the prolonged use of catheters in blood vessels or the bladder.
In addition, Medicare says it will not pay for the treatment of “serious preventable events” such as leaving a sponge or other object in a patient during surgery and providing a patient with incompatible blood or blood products.
Some of the complications for which Medicare will not pay, under the new policy, are caused by common strains of staphylococcus bacteria. Other life-threatening staphylococcal infections may be added to the list in the future, Medicare officials said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that patients develop 1.7 million infections in hospitals each year, and it says those infections cause or contribute to the death of 99,000 people a year — about 270 a day.
Hospitals now may do more testing of patients upon admittance, to see if there are pre-existing infections. The hospitals would not, of course, be liable for infections that patients already had before going to the hospital.
Hospitals and doctors are forbidden by law to bill patients for portions of medical bills that Medicare refuses to pay. So this rule change could not result in patients being billed for additional charges just because Medicare refuses to pay.
Dr. Kenneth W. Kizer, an expert on patient safety who was the top health official at the Department of Veterans Affairs from 1994 to 1999, said: “I applaud the intent of the new Medicare rules, but I worry that hospitals will figure out ways to get around them. The new policy should be part of a larger initiative to require the reporting of health care events that everyone agrees should never happen. Any such effort must include a mechanism to make sure hospitals comply."
The new rules might not be perfect, and may be amended somewhat. But overall, this should be a major victory for medical patients and their advocates. If doctors and hospitals know that they won't be paid for their mistakes, there will be a natural instinct for them to make fewer errors in the future.
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| FOR
YOUR INFORMATION |
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Elderly
Texas
Drivers
Must Get
Licenses
Renewed
In
Person
A new
Texas
law,
referred
to as
"Katie's
Law"
went
into
effect
September
1, 2007,
and
imposes
new
requirements
on
elderly
drivers.
Drivers
aged 79
and
older
will
have to
renew
their
driver
licenses
in
person,
rather
than
over the
Internet
or
through
the
mail.
And
drivers
85 and
older
will
have to
renew
their
licenses
every
two
years,
and also must
pass a
vision
test.
The law
is named
for
Katherine
"Katie"
Bolka of
Dallas.
She died
after a
90-year-old
driver
ran a
red
light
and hit
her
vehicle
at a
Dallas
intersection
in 2006.
There is
no
requirement
in the
new law
for
elderly
drivers
to take
a
driving
test,
and
drivers
do not
have to
renew
their
licenses
before
the
current
expiration
date.
The
Dallas
Morning
News
recently
listed
arguments
for and
against
the new
law:
SUPPORTERS SAY:
• Restrictions would make the road safer by forcing older drivers to demonstrate their continuing fitness to drive.
• Insurance company data shows that drivers 80 and older are often high risks because their vision and reflexes have deteriorated.
• As the population ages, more older drivers will be on the road, so the restrictions are a good first step to ensuring safety.
OPPONENTS SAY:
• The state should focus safety efforts on drivers of all ages, not just the elderly.
• Research shows that drivers younger than 25 have higher accident rates than elderly drivers.
• Singling out elderly drivers threatens their independence and well-being.
• Elderly residents and their families should determine their fitness to continue driving.
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| FEATURED
EMPLOYEE |
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 Tommy K. Davis
Attorney
E-mail:
tdavis@kraftlaw.com
Mr.
Davis attended Texas A&M University
and Abilene Christian College. He received
his law degree in 1982 from the Texas Tech
School of Law. Mr. Davis is a former U.S.
Marine who served in Viet Nam. Before
joining this law firm in 1990, Mr.
Davis had extensive experience at other
local personal injury firms. He has
practiced in several areas of injury law
and now concentrates his practice on
Social Security Disability claims. Mr.
Davis has represented Social Security
Disability claimants in several thousand
hearings before Administrative Law Judges.
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| FEATURED
CASE |
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Our
law
firm
see
many
cases
involving
collisions
with
18-wheelers,
or
"big-rigs."
The
Teamsters'
union
and
truckers
in
general
have
been
protesting
the
recent
change
in
U.S.
policy
that
now
allows
Mexican
trucking
companies
to
drive
anywhere
in
the
United
States.
Previously,
the
law
required
Mexican
trucks
to
drive
no
farther
than
about
25
miles
into
Texas,
and
somewhat
farther
into
Arizona.
The
change
is a
part
of
NAFTA,
the
North
American
Free
Trade
Agreement.
While
there
very
well
may
be
economic
self-interests
at
play
in
these
protests,
the
Teamsters
say
their
primary
concern
is
the
safety
aspect
of
allowing
Mexican
trucks
onto
U.S.
highways.
The
United
States
plans
to
grant
permission
to
approximately
100
Mexican
trucking
companies
by
the
end
of
2007.
As
part
of a
one-year
pilot
program
intended
to
discover
whether
it
would
be
safe
to
eventually
allow
all
Mexican
trucking
companies
into
the
U.S.
Despite
assurances
from
the
government
of
the
United
States that
all
Mexican
trucks
will
be
inspected
for
drugs
and
for
illegal
immigrants,
that
the
trucks
will
meet
safety
regulations,
and
that
the
drivers
will
be
well-trained,
there
is
considerable
uncertainty
about
this
new
proposal among
many
Americans.
Because
the
main
highway
from
Mexico
into
the
U.S.
runs
through
the
Texas
cities
of
Laredo,
San
Antonio,
Austin,
Waco,
Dallas,
and
Fort
Worth,
we
may
find
out
soon
whether
Texas
drivers
will
be
exposed
to
unusual
dangers
from
the
Mexican
trucks.
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| HOW
CAN WE HELP YOU? |
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Our law firm has helped thousands of clients
over the years. Sometimes clients who use
our firm for one type of case may not
realize that there are other legal problems
we could help them solve.
We handle
most types of injury claims — including
automobile collisions, "slip and fall"
cases, injuries suffered as a result of
defective products, injuries resulting from
inadequate security, medical malpractice
claims, nursing home negligence claims,
prescription drug injuries and many others.
We invite you to call us about any
serious injury to see how we can help you.
Kraft & Associates also represents people
who have been denied their Social Security
Disability benefits. We can help at the
Initial stage, the Reconsideration stage or
the Hearing stage. We can help you, your
family or friends with any Immigration question.
Our law firm represents people who have immigration
problems of any kind, whether family-based
immigration or employment-based immigration.
We also help people who have problems
regarding family issues, such as divorce, child
support, adoption, modifications, enforcements,
attorney general disputes, paternity and other similar
matters. We also represent clients who have been
arrested or charged with committing a crime.
Please call us with any
legal questions you may have. If we cannot
represent you, we will attempt to refer you
to another attorney or to a government
agency that can help you. There is never any
charge or obligation for that first phone
call to us. |
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Copyright
© 1997- 2006 Kraft & Associates : Injury &
Disability Lawyers, P.C. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Personal Injury,
Automobile Accident, Wrongful Death, Nursing Home Negligence,
Social Security Disability.
DISCLAIMER:
This newsletter is presented by Kraft & Associates for
informational purposes only, and not as legal advice.
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