New Hours of Service for Commercial Trucks..........

The American Trucking Associations filed a petition for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to review the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s final hours of safety rules.  The new hours of service rules (HOS) reduce by twelve hours the maximum number of hours that a commercial truck driver can work within a single week.  Under the old rules, the drivers could work on average 82 hours per week.  The proposed HOS rules reduced that number to 70 hours per week and mandate a thirty-minute rest period within every eight hours worked.  The new rules let stand the 11-hour daily driving limit within a 14-hour, non-extendable window from the start of the workday, following 10 consecutive hours off duty, which advocates had opposed because of possible risks to public safety on the highways.

 Bettina Altizer- Attorney at Law

Altizer and Altizer

324 Washington Avenue

Roanoke, Virginia, 24016

540-345-2000

Some Tips for Choosing a Long Term Care Facility

The Joint Commission has some tips for choosing a nursing home or other long term care facility.  Such a decision should not be made hastily and without proper research.  Here are some selected tips from the Commission, which should give you a good start:

How is the organization staffed during evenings and weekends?  How many nurses are on duty?  What is the ratio of nursing assistants to residents?  How are medical situations handled that are beyond the organization’s capabilities?

Do you know the organizations philosophy about end-of-life decisions?  Are residents and their families involved in decisions that will prolong life with artificial means?

Does the organization have a resident and family council?  How are often are the meetings?  How does management deal with suggestions from the councils, families, and residents?

Does the organization monitor itself or does it rely only on state oversight?

In an emergency, can the organization provide care or make arrangements for care to be provided?

These are just a few things to consider when you are faced with placing a loved one in a nursing home.  Remember, you are placing the safety and well-being of someone very dear to you in the hands of staff and personnel that you do not know.  Make no assumptions and do your homework.

Bettina Altizer- Attorney at Law

324 Washington Avenue

Roanoke, Virginia, 24016

540-491-0015

Have you been Affected by an Automobile Accident ?

The Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety want to know if you have been affected by an automobile crash.  Since 1989, this group has worked with “survivor advocates” to advance and protect highway safety legislation throughout the country. These “survivor advocates” have either personally been involved in an automobile collision or have had a loved one killed or injured in a car wreck. 

The Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety are building a network of survivor advocates. If you would like to join their efforts to change laws and improve highway and auto safety, you can visit their website at www.saferoads.org to complete a form to join their survivor Advocates network. 

If you have been injured in an automobile collision, please call us.  At Altizer & Altizer, our mission is personal care for your personal injury.  We have over fifty years of experience handling automobile wrecks.  And when you make an appointment with one of our attorneys, you will meet with that attorney – not a paralegal.  And there is no fee for an initial consultation at Altizer & Altizer.  You can contact us at 540-345-2000 or toll free at 800-310-5777, or visit us at our website, www.AltizerLaw.com.

Protect Your Legal Rights with a Health Care Directive

The Commonwealth of Virginia is preparing to launch a statewide Advance Health Care Directives Registry that will provide a free, secure tool to store important documents that protect your legal rights and ensure your medical wishes are honored if you are unable to manage your own care.  These documents would include your advance medical directive or medical power of attorney, do-not-resuscitate orders, and other specifics of your health care wishes.

While development of the registry is virtually complete, there have been unforeseen administrative delays.  The draft regulations are expected to be put to an expedited public comment period in January, which would enable the launch of the registry 60 days later.

The December 2011 issue of Virginia Lawyer reported that without advanced planning, health care decisions are left to family members.  This Registry will relieve loved ones of that burden and ensures that your loved ones and your health providers know what your wishes are in the event that you become incapacitated and unable to make your wishes known.  When you sign up for the registry, you will enter basic information, create an account, and select a password and PIN.  You will then receive an identification card containing your personal registry information so that health care providers can access your information.  Your information can also be shared with family and loved ones.

To sign up for this registry, visit https://www.virginiaregistry.org.  If you do not have a computer, you can still participate in the registry by calling 1-800-224-0791.

 Bettina Altizer- Attorney at Law

Altizer and Altizer

324 Washington Avenue

Roanoke, Virginia, 24016

540-345-2000