Miami Nursing Home Negligence Lawyer

North Platte native involved in NFL labor talks

Jim McFarland, a North Platte native, was a pretty good prep quarterback at North Platte High School back in the mid-60s. After his high school playing career he walked on at Nebraska and became an all-conference tight end before moving on to a six-year pro football career with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Miami Dolphins. McFarland went on to earn a law degree at Cornell Law School and now practices law in Lincoln.

Aside from his typical work as a Lincoln lawyer, McFarland is active in the negotiations between the NFL Player's Association and the NFL as they try to negotiate a settlement to the NFL lockout of current NFL players.

The major issues for the players and owners are:

n A longer season - Expansion of the 16-game regular season to an 18-game season

n More money - From the $9.4 billion pro football revenue pie the owners now take $1.3 billion off the top for operating expenses and the players get roughly 60 percent of the remaining revenues. In the new agreement, the owners want to increase their cut off the top to $2 billion before the players begin to get their share. The owners say they need this extra money for the construction of new stadiums or the renovations of old ones.

n Rookie wage scale - Both sides tend to agree there is far too much money paid to unproven rookies who may not have successful pro football careers, but walk away with millions when released. Both sides should find this to be an easy fix but the players want any saving on this issue shifted to veteran players and retired players.

n Improved pension benefits for old-timers long ago retired - An older generation of professional football fans will remember the names of Merlin Olson, Jim Otto, Conrad Dobler, LeRoy Kelley and dozens of other pro players who finished their NFL careers and settled into a life of broken bodies, destitution and other severe health issues.

Nursing Home Abuse And Employee Culpability

One of the tragic sins against the elderly revolves around nursing home abuse and neglect. The elderly are often scared of reporting any incidents of abuse because they are afraid of the repercussions. They often feel that if they complain they will suffer even more abuse.

And what is even sadder is that when a victim of elderly neglect or abuse finally gets the courage to stand up for himself or herself they often realize that they can't find anyone who has enough courage to help them.

Most long term care residents will probably report abusive behavior to an innocent employee that they like and trust. Even though the resident is putting their faith into this person the employee may very well choose to sweep this information under the rug.

However, once an employee of a nursing home is given this information, he or she becomes as culpable as the person who perpetrated the neglect, abuse, or medical malpractice.

Nonetheless, the staff of nursing homes often choose to not report instances of medical malpractice, abuse and neglect that they are made aware of by their patients. This probably happens because the staff member is worried that if they report the allegations they will soon find themselves without a job.

If an employee is innocent of abusing his or her patients in a nursing home and feels that patients in the facility are being abused then it is their responsibility to get in touch with a reputable nursing home abuse attorney.

Sure, it will take courage on the part of the employee. However, by confiding in the attorney the employee will be better able to assess the situation. And the lawyer will be able to advise the employee about how they could effectively deal with the neglect, abuse, or medical malpractice that is happening where they work.

The alternative is not doing anything. Aside from being culpable, covering up such incidents paves the way for more incidents of medical malpractice, abuse, and neglect. Then, if a staff member has been apprised of the situation and hasn't reported it, he or she is equally responsible for the results of the abuse.

By speaking with a competent nursing home lawyer the innocent employee will have a better understanding of the intricacies of the laws that relate to failing to report abuse cases and covering up such incidents.

Even if a patient's mental capacity is questionable, once they report an abusive situation it is still advisable and suitable for the employee to seek the council of an attorney. And, if a patient habitually reports abuse - whether it actually exists or not - the employee is still legally obligated to report these incidents.

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