On Saturday, April 10, 2010, roughly ten Little Rock Central High students involved in the forensics and debate program participated in the first annual Little Rock Central High Speech Competition sponsored by the Bailey & Oliver Law Firm.

Participants spoke for four to six minutes on the topic of what should happen with health care reform in America, if anything?  The students competed for a chance to win up to $300 in prize money.  Attorneys from Bailey & Oliver served as judges of the competition, which took place at Central High.  Competitors were judged on five criteria, including content, organization, knowledge of subject matter, delivery, and body language.

“It’s rare for adults to come to high school students to hear our views on a topic as important as health care, and we really appreciate the opportunity to share our views and to compete,” said Briana Sanders, a junior who finished second in the competition.  Junior Lindsey Garland finished first in the competition, while sophomore Sana Khan finished third.

Clarke Tucker, founder of the firm’s Little Rock office, said all of the attorneys were impressed with the students’ speeches.  “We could instantly tell that everyone who participated was extremely intelligent, articulate, and poised, and that they knew as much or more about health care reform than we did.”

Tucker, an alum of Central High and its debate program, credits much of his success with his experiences at Central High.  “The education I received here at Central High was tremendous and invaluable.  My experiences through activities like the debate program prepared me not only for the practice of law but also to value community and diversity.  Hopefully, this speech competition is something I can do for many years to give back in a small way to the school that gave so much to me.”

When the time comes that you must put a parent, spouse, or loved one in a nursing home, it will be one of the hardest decisions you will ever make.  When you come to that decision, you want a place that is safe and enjoyable for your loved one, where the staff is caring, and the medical care is good.

In order to find a nursing home with these criteria, you must research the nursing homes in your area first.  Unfortunately, many times the circumstances do not allow us to make an adequate search - more than 60 percent of new nursing home residents are admitted directly from hospitals who are likely eager to discharge the patient to a longer term facility.  Often, this results in a loved one getting sent to the nearest empty bed regardless of the quality of the home.  The first thing to keep in mind is, even if you find yourself in these circumstances, it's not too late to find a good nursing home and move your loved one there.

To start this search process, you can look up nursing homes in your area by going to medicare.gov and clicking on the "nursing home compare" tool.  This is a useful tool that allows you to compare different aspects of nursing homes in your state or local area.  The website also offers a useful brochure entitled Medicare's Guide to Choosing a Nursing Home, which can be found at http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/02174.pdf. 

Also remember that these rankings have their limits, and there is no substitute for visiting the nursing home itself.  When you visit a nursing home, take the checklist from the Nursing Home Compare website with you, which can be found at http://www.medicare.gov/nursing/checklist.pdf.

When you visit a nursing home, there are at least two topics you should ask about, "person-centered care" and "consistent assignment."  Person-centered care means that residents are allowed wake up and go to bed when they would like, eat when they would like, and for the most part, set their own schedules rather than adhering to the rigid schedule of the nursing home that forces all of its residents to do everything at the same time.  Consistent assignment means that the residents are cared for by the same staff members, nurses, and doctors on a regular basis.  This allows the residents to build relationships with the people caring for them, which always results in better care.

Another question you might ask is about staff turnover.  If there is less than 30% turnover on an annual basis, that is considered good.  If there is more than 50%, you might want to consider looking for another nursing home.  Of course, you should also use your own common sense and feel for the place when you visit a nursing home.

Lastly, every state has a long-term care ombudsman who is an advocate for nursing home residents and patients.  You should contact your local ombudsman when selecting a nursing home.  You can find the ombudsman for Arkansas or any other state at http://www.ltcombudsman.org/ombudsman.

Bailey & Oliver wishes you the best of luck with this difficult process.

Bailey & Oliver Law Firm has filed a class action against Lester E. Cox Medical Centers of Springfield, Missouri.

On February 24, the medical center revealed that 76 patients of the facility who received radiation treatment for brain tumors received radiation that exceeded "the intended, therapeutic dose."  The average radiation overdose was about 50 percent more than intended.  The incorrect dosage occurred because the machine was not calibrated correctly when it was installed in 2004.

Cox Health Centers acknowledged that it became aware of a possible problem in September 2009, yet it did not publicly disclose the problem until February 2010.  Bailey & Oliver contends that is wrongful concealment at the cost of patient safety.  The patients who received excessive radiation deserved to know about the incorrect dosage immediately.

Bailey & Oliver is pursuing this action on behalf of all patients of Cox Health Centers who were harmed by this excessive radiation.  If you know someone who has received radiation treatment at Cox Health Centers in Springfield, please contact the Bailey & Oliver law firm.

The Bailey & Oliver Law Firm filed a class action lawsuit against Toyota in February 2010 because of the dangerous defects inherent in Toyota’s electronic throttle control systems.

The proposed class includes all people of Arkansas who own or lease a Toyota, Lexus, or Scion vehicle that contains Toyota’s electronic throttle control system, which has been included in virtually every vehicle Toyota has produced since 2001 or 2002 and in some vehicles before that time as well.

The proposed class also specifically includes all people of Arkansas whose Toyota, Lexus, and Scion vehicle has suddenly and unintentionally accelerated in a dangerous manner.

On behalf of these class members, Bailey & Oliver is seeking to recover the decreased value of these defective Toyota vehicles, the actual damage inflicted upon the vehicles that have malfunctioned, and punitive damages against Toyota, among other remedies.

If you live in Arkansas and own or lease a Toyota, Lexus, or Scion, please contact the Bailey & Oliver Law Firm to discuss whether you might have a claim against Toyota or whether you might be included in the class action.

In the past week, Toyota has issued a voluntary recall of approximately 2.3 million vehicles.  Toyota says the concerning issue deals with "sticking accelerator pedal mechanisms in certain vehicles without the presence of floor mats."

Toyota says the condition is rare but more likely to become an issue after the pedal is worn.  On some occasions, the pedal may become stuck, causing the vehicle to accelerate out of the driver's control, which is the worst-case scenario.

The affected vehicles are as follows:

• 2009-2010 RAV4
• 2009-2010 Corolla
• 2009-2010 Matrix
• 2005-2010 Avalon
• 2007-2010 Camry
• 2010 Highlander
• 2007-2010 Tundra
• 2008-2010 Sequoia

Toyota says none of the following vehicles are affected: all Lexus vehicles, all Scion vehicles, as well as the Prius, Tacoma, Sienna, Venza, Solara, Yaris, 4Runner, FJ Cruiser, Land Cruiser, and select Camry models, including all Camry hybrids.

If you drive one of the affected vehicles, please call Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.  Regardless, please always remember to drive safely and be on the lookout for unsafe drivers.