On the front page of today’s Star Tribune, investigative reporter Chris Serres questions the effectiveness of the Minnesota Department of Health’s commitment to protecting residents of Minnesota nursing homes. This is an issue that the Kosieradzki Smith Law Firm has been adamantly pursuing for years. The Star Tribune article, entitled “Minnesota health…
Today’s Star Tribune has a front-page article focusing on the dangers of forced arbitration clauses contained in nursing home and assisted living admission agreements. The article features a Kosieradzki Smith Law Firm case and Joel Smith (left). Investigative reporter Chris Serres warns: “Over mounting objections from consumer groups and regulators, arbitration agreements…
This past Monday morning, Joel Smith was in court in Austin, Minnesota, pursuing a punitive damages claim against the St. Mark’s Lutheran Home nursing home. The case involves an overdose of Fentanyl (a potent narcotic). The nurse who caused the overdose testified that she had not been trained or supervised…
Mark Kosieradzki and Joel Smith have reached a successful settlement of a significant wrongful death action against a St. Paul assisted living facility, Cerenity Residence on Humboldt. On a frozen November morning, a visitor looked outside through a second-floor window and saw a woman’s body lying on the facility’s back…
As reported in today’s Star Tribune, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has reversed its earlier decision regarding the death of resident at the Minnesota Veterans Home-Minneapolis nursing home. The MDH originally determined that the Minnesota Veterans Home-Minneapolis did not neglect the resident. As the Star Tribune reports, “Reversing a previous conclusion,…
Trial Guides, a legal media company that brings trial lawyers cutting edge trial strategies by the nation’s leading trial lawyers, jury consultants and experts, has just announced the release of its latest offering — “Using 30(b)(6) to Win Your Case.” The video captures Mark Kosieradzki in action, teaching other trial lawyers from…
Andrew Gross recently spoke to the Texas Trial Lawyers – Nursing Home Section regarding the use of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to hold Texas nursing homes accountable for their violations of resident rights. In Texas, private nursing homes have begun selling their licenses to the county, which then enters into…
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a new rule this past Wednesday that prohibits nursing homes from forcing binding arbitration on residents. For years, many nursing homes in Minnesota and throughout the country included clauses in their admission contracts that required patients and families to agree in…
Caretakers are supposed to be there to easy your loved one’s pain, not steal that relief from them. But that’s what several recent cases from Minnesota are showing: caretakers being caught using painkillers intended for patients and nursing home residents. Most recently, a staff member at Birchwood Arbors assisted living…
A recent survey administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found that nursing home services ranks as the worst end-of-life care alternative in terms of care experience, behind home care and inpatient care. The survey collected data from patients and caregivers in various hospice settings, including skilled and…
