On behalf of Busald Funk Zevely, P.S.C. posted in Wrongful Death on Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Fatal car accidents are always considered horrific, especially when the victim is a 5-year-old child. A recent car accident that occurred on a Kentucky highway claimed the life a 5-year-old boy, who was a passenger in one of the vehicles.
The car accident occurred at approximately 4:00 a.m. this past weekend. A report from the local police officer, who responded to the accident scene, stated the accident involved a van and a car. It was reported the van sideswiped the car while the vehicles were traveling on the highway. When the van collided with the car, the impact of the collision sent the car into a rock wall.
On behalf of Busald Funk Zevely, P.S.C. posted in Car Accidents on Monday, May 14, 2012
This past week, Kentucky police responded to a fatal three-vehicle accident. Two of the motorists involved sustained injuries and one of the motorists died at the scene of the accident.
The car accident began when the driver of the first vehicle attempted to pass the second vehicle on Kentucky State Route 121. The first vehicle had been traveling in the southbound lane and entered into the northbound lane to pass the second vehicle, something that is done every day.
On behalf of Busald Funk Zevely, P.S.C. posted in Nursing Homes on Thursday, May 10, 2012
When hurricane Katrina hit, it caused more damage than anyone was prepared for. Aside from the property damage and personal losses, there were many other areas of society that were not equipped to handle the looming disaster. Nursing homes were one of those areas. In one nursing home alone, 35 people lost their lives under horrible circumstances -- like drowning in their own beds, unable to move -- because the nursing home staff was not equipped to handle the evacuation. One investigation found that a minimum of 139 nursing-home residents paid the price for the staff and owner's neglect.
Kentucky is considered one of the top 10 disaster-prone states in which 1.2 million people call a nursing facility their home. A recent Department of Health and Human Services showed that many nursing homes across the nation are ill-equipped to handle a natural disaster.
On behalf of Busald Funk Zevely, P.S.C. posted in Nursing Homes on Tuesday, May 8, 2012
When we place our loved ones in a nursing home, we are placing not only their care but their complete well-being in the nursing home staff. Nursing home neglect occurs when the staff members or owners do not take their duty seriously. Neglect can cause incredible pain and damage to those who reside in the home's care.
Typically, we hear about a staff's failure to watch the elderly patients closely, a failure to properly care for their hygiene or other medically-related failures. According to a recent study, Kentucky nursing homes may be putting their residents at serious risk if a natural disaster were to strike.
On behalf of Busald Funk Zevely, P.S.C. posted in Truck Accidents on Friday, May 4, 2012
Kentucky truck accidents usually have a high probability of injury due to the fact semi-trucks are usually larger and heavier than the motor vehicles that are involved in the accident. Since the semi-truck is heavier, the other party in the accident is generally the party that incurs the greater injury. What happens when a semi-truck is involved in an accident with something that is bigger and heavier?
The answer became apparent when a semi-truck accident recently happened in Kentucky. At approximately 11:20 a.m., a semi-truck was waiting for a train to pass when the semi-truck and train collided.
On behalf of Busald Funk Zevely, P.S.C. posted in Car Accidents on Monday, April 30, 2012
In the movie "Avatar," the main character is a paraplegic who is able to walk again through the use of the futuristic technology, a type of super-advanced prosthetic exoskeleton. When he finally is able to use the technology, he bursts into a run with the energy of new life.
While the movie's scale of technology is not precisely available to a car accident victim who has suffered spinal cord damage, several rehab centers in the U.S. offer a twenty-first century version. The rehab centers use a prosthetic exoskeleton that is strapped to a person's body. In the initial trials, the exoskeleton has proved very effective.
On behalf of Busald Funk Zevely, P.S.C. posted in Workers' Compensation on Friday, April 27, 2012
Workers' compensation is a type of insurance benefit designed to help employees who are injured during the course of their employment. Workers' compensation laws are determined by individual state laws, and Kentucky has its own area of law regarding workers' compensation. Generally employers are required to obtain workers' compensation insurance or the employer can choose to be self-insured. Either way, the employer is required to provide this benefit to their employees and can face severe penalties for noncompliance.
Although Kentucky has its own laws regarding workers' compensation, a North Carolina ruling shows how employer responsibilities related to workers' compensation are constantly changing. North Carolina is requiring expedited workers' compensation payments. The expedited payments are for lost wages and medical payments. The regulation further states that if an employer does not expedite these payments, the employer may face a jail sentence.
On behalf of Busald Funk Zevely, P.S.C. posted in Workers' Compensation on Monday, April 23, 2012
A failure to properly maintain the premises can cause a workplace accident to occur almost anywhere and at any time. Regardless of how unusual or uncommon the circumstances of the accident may be, employees who are left injured as a result of the failure to keep the premises safe can seek workers' compensation benefits for the time that they are left recovering.
Two workers were injured last year with serious injuries caused by just the type of uncommon circumstances talked about above. The workplace accident not only caused current employees to fear one of the most taken-for-granted parts of our day, but caught national attention after a toilet exploded.
On behalf of Busald Funk Zevely, P.S.C. posted in Wrongful Death on Friday, April 20, 2012
Our last post discussed workplace safety, specifically the need for safety in mines in Kentucky and elsewhere. When safety measures are not followed, the results can be disastrous or even deadly.
In 2010, during a controlled blast an employee of a Florida mining company went missing after a blast occurred in the mines. To date, the employee who went missing during the blast has not been found. The missing man's family recently filed a wrongful death lawsuit and named the mining company as the defendant in the lawsuit.
On behalf of Busald Funk Zevely, P.S.C. posted in Workers' Compensation on Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Oxford Resource Partners is a coal mining firm that employs workers in mines located in Ohio and Kentucky. The firm reported that 27 out of their 35 mines kept the sites free of any workplace accidents for the entire 2011 calendar year. The firm claims that safety is number one on their list, but they recently received 20 citations from the Mine Safety and Health Administration after a set of inspections conducted in February.
The citations were issued for one specific mine near Cadiz but could have occurred at any of the mines. There were ten citations for what were considered low negligence issues while ten were considered moderate negligence. According to the report, 11 of these issues not only could, but were likely to cause possible injury or illness to workers.
