What is a hospital patient fall risk assessment?

by Paul Mankin

What is a hospital patient fall risk assessment?

Hospitals deal with patients of all degrees and ranges of issues throughout the days and weeks. These run from general issues such as a day visit for a sprain, to overnight stays due to prolonged treatments. In all of these situations, the chances of the patients being unstable on their feet, due to either medications or the injuries and side effects, are decently moderate to high. Because of this, there is a chance of a slip and fall injury happening, which can possibly lead to claims and lawsuits against the hospital.

However, some of these slip and fall accidents can be easily prevented, or at least spotted a bit quicker. This can be done with a test known as a hospital patient fall risk assessment. But, what exactly is a fall risk assessment? To understand that, and how it impacts you as a possible patient, you must first be able to recognize and understand what a slip and fall accident is.

What is a Slip and Fall Accident?

A slip and fall accident is categorized as common issue, one that can happen with relative ease, and without warning. In a hospital slip and fall incident or claim, the slip and fall will generally be tied to, or attempted to be tied to, a problem at the hospital. This can range from such things as a loose floorboard or tile catching the foot of a guest, to a patient taking too many prescription medications that cause them to become unsteady on their feet.

No matter the reason, a slip and fall case that is linked to something that the hospital did can be quite strenuous on the hospital and patient, as the patient attempts to get proper compensation for the accident, and the hospital attempts to dispute the accident, as they are generally labeled as “Never Events”. This is also due to possible cases of false claims made by other patients or visitors to the hospital that makes the staff take such measures, but one way they attempt to combat this issue is to have a fall risk assessment performed on patients at the hospital.

What is a Hospital Patient Fall Risk Assessment?

For patients, a fall risk assessment can be necessary for the hospital to assess the internal and external risk factors that may determine if a patient is more likely to slip or fall while in their care. These risk factors help to determine if the patient needs more attentive help, such as an overnight attendant and extra medical equipment and ambulaters, or if the patient is more functional than others, and is able to maneuver around easily and without fault.

There are two main categories of risk factors that are used during a Hospital Patient Fall Risk Assessment (“HPFRA”). These are Extrinsic and Intrinsic values.

Extrinsic values refer to outside influences that may be problematic to a patient, such as poor lighting in the hallways, slippery floors due to construction or water, or uneven flooring. They can also include such things that are short term, such as clutter built up due to a long day, or from a recent shipment of equipment made to the hospital.

Intrinsic risk factors are factors that occur within the patient’s body that generally cannot be seen. These include such things as impaired vision (cataracts, poor depth perception, etc.), prior impaired mobility or balance issues, and such things like low blood pressure and muscle weakness. All of these are taken into account when making a Fall Risk Assessment for a patient in the hospital’s care.

How does a HPFRA protect the Hospital?

An assessment of a patient can help to shed light on possible future events that may occur. For example, during a fall risk assessment, if the staff find out that the patient has risk factors inherently associated with persistent seizures and delirium, they would be able to assess that the patient may need more attentive care than others in what is known as unanticipated physiological falls.

There are also other anticipated physiological falls that can be foreseen, such as a patient having a history of falling over frequently, or a patient having an obvious and glaring abnormal or unstable gait that may make them more prone to falling or slipping.

How does a HPFRA affect your claim?

If you are a current patient at a hospital and have had a patient fall risk assessment completed on you, it can be both a blessing and a possible problem if you end up having a fall. If you were judged as having risk factors associated with anticipated and unanticipated physiological falls, and they do not place the proper staff and equipment to help you, they would be liable for that case, due to them being negligent on their part.

However, if you were assessed to be of a bit healthier state of mind and body, and end up having a slip and fall accident, it may be more difficult to prove and connect the hospital to the reason you fell, as you were assessed to be more aware and understanding of your surroundings.

by Paul Mankin

Can you sue a hospital for a slip and fall injury?

Going into a hospital should be a relatively simple matter. If you are going to visit a family member or friend, you would assume that the visit would be easy, and no risk on your part. You should be able to simply walk in and either receive treatment, or know that your safety, and the safety of the patient in question you are going to visit is also of the utmost importanceThe same goes for those that are patients at the hospital as well. If you are admitted into the hospital, you should feel safe and secure, as the hospital is supposed to be a place of healing, and improvement.

Although a hospital is known for its safety and recuperation, many do have their fair share of issues. Complications and accidents can occur on site, and incidents may sometimes go unnoticed. One such type of accident is the slip and fall accidents, where you may end up sustaining heavy injuries due to a fault of the hospital. If this occurs, you need to look to get reimbursement for your injuries and complications that were a result of the hospital’s negligence.

The question, though, is: is that even possible? Can you even sue a hospital? To understand this issue, we need to understand what a slip and fall injury is.

What is a Slip and Fall Injury?

So what constitutes a slip and fall, and how is it classified? A slip in fall, by definition, is when an injury is sustained by either losing your footing, or being tripped up by an object or situation that is not standard in that specific situation. This can be caused by many different forms, from loose floorboards, to a spill not being cleaned up. If this occurs, the person or company that is in charge, or has responsibility for the establishment, will usually be held accountable if the cause can be connected to them.

When can it be charged to Hospitals?

It can be difficult to get a hospital to admit that a slip and fall incident is because of them. This is so difficult, that many slip and fall cases are classified as “Never Events”. This title indicates that the incident should practically never occur under their supervision.

The primary way a hospital can be liable and charged with a slip and fall incident is if the hospital can be linked to the cause of the incident. For instance, if the hospital staff were informed of a spill or puddle that had built up due to a leaky pipe in the walls, and failed to clean it up in a timely manner, then they would be liable for negligence.

On a more serious note, if a slip and fall incident is tied to a medical diagnosis or decision then the doctor could be charged with medical malpractice. Such reasons can include a prescription of medications causing a patient to black out as a side effect, or for them to become unstable on their feet.

Why Negligence and Medical Malpractice Matter for Causation

Although it may seem like the descriptions of negligence and medical malpractice are just there to help identify an issue, their importance is much more significant. Depending on your situation, as well as who is involved, escalating or de-escalating a case from one to the other could mean your claim and lawsuit going through the courts, or it being abandoned.

Negligence is the softer of the two options. In this case, you were either in the wrong place at the wrong time inside the hospital, or it was just a very unfortunate situation. In these cases, the claim will be smaller, and the amount of damages that you are able to claim will be more short-term related. Since negligence is seen as more indirect causation, the lawsuit will be aimed more at the hospital in general, and not a specific person or group.

Medical malpractice is a much more direct, but difficult, path to take. Since a medical malpractice lawsuit deals with a specific doctor or attendant, the impact and causation will usually be quite clear if it is established. If a doctor or attendant is seen as being a direct cause of the slip and fall, the claims can be both short-term and long-term. Ailments may also be recurring, which if tied to the slip and fall, can also be paid out in the future.

Who should you contact?

If you feel like you have a case against a hospital, the road will be long and treacherous. Make sure not to traverse that road alone, as the hospital will try to siphon any chance out of you to not have to pay out the settlement.

Contact and hire an experienced medical attorney. Having an experienced legal representative will ensure you aren’t swindled or caught in any loopholes. They will also be able to help you understand the legal jargon and situations that might present themselves to you.

Remember, you deserve to be covered, and to be taken care of. Do not settle for less.

by Paul Mankin

Hospital Slip and Fall – What must be proven to be successful

Imagine that you are walking to visit your relative in the hospital. They just underwent Chemotherapy, and you are there to wish them a good recovery and spend some quality time with them. They are on the 4th floor of the building in hall A, so you go ahead and take the stairs up to meet them. Along the way, you accidentally slip and fall off of a damaged step that came apart as you put some weight on it. Because of this, you fall and injure your arm inside of the hospital stairway. Are you entitled to compensation for the accident that occurred?

Situations like these may seem a bit far-fetched, but are actually a reality for many that visit hospitals around the nation. Not only that, they can occur to those that we love dearly, the patients within the walls of the hospital itself. Situations like these tend to be swept under the rug, as they are some of the most common and easiest to prevent, so much so that they are often dubbed “Never Events” by medical staff. It can be extremely difficult to get a case forward if they do occur, but if you feel like you do have a solid claim, these are the main points you need to worry about.

What is a Slip and Fall/ “Never Event”

To start, you will need a decent understanding of what a hospital slip and fall accident entails. Unlike workplace slip and fall accidents, there can be different types of these “Never Events” that can either be due to negligence or malpractice on the part of the hospital. A hospital slip and fall is, true to its name, a slip and fall accident that occurs on hospital grounds.

These accidents can occur for a number of reasons, ranging from an improper clean up of a liquid spill, to an improper diagnosis that put a patient at risk. Either way, the injured can come out with injuries ranging from light sprains to life-threatening brain injuries.

Who is to blame for a “Never Event”?

When it comes to who is in the wrong, there can be multiple factors and groups that are possible culprits. As a patient or visitor to the hospital, you may look towards the staff and faculty as the primary suspects to blame for the accident occurring. However, the staff of the facility may see it as your own fault for slipping and falling, as they may believe that they have given those, like yourself, proper warning and caution before you entered.

In these situations, it is impossible to say that only one group is in the wrong. An accident occurs due to a lapse in judgement on both sides, whether small or large. However, the one to blame is generally the one that is seen as negligent in some fashion, or that there were other factors in play, in accordance with the laws and guidelines laid out.

What needs to be Proven for Negligence?

In cases where there may have been some oversight by the hospital staff, a case of negligence may be the written claim. Proving the case of negligence, however, can be a bit more complicated. Negligence, on its own, is the understanding that the party in question, which is usually the hospital staff, did not take proper care of the facilities or of any immediate accidents that may have occurred prior to the slip and fall. Such cases can be seen in examples like:

• A liquid spill not being mopped up properly
• Exposed wiring or damaged stairs/walkways
• Damaged or unsteady railings and covers

In these situations, if there is a clear connection between one of these types of negligent behavior of the staff, and the ensuing fall, then there would be proven negligence on the hospital. The negligence would come from them knowing of the dangerous scenario, and choosing to not take care of it properly, or right away, leaving those areas as possible areas of concerns for patients and guests.

What needs to be Proven for Malpractice?

Malpractice connections can be a bit more difficult to prove. With these such cases, the chances of the hospital pushing harder against your claim will become more likely. This is because the linking of the accident is directly tied to a medical diagnosis or decision made by a doctor or physician at the hospital, and not just a temporary lapse in judgement.

There are many instances of possible malpractice situations. These can be, but are not limited to:

• A misdiagnosis by a doctor
• Overprescribing drugs or medicine with increased risks of side effects
• Misreading the condition of a patient, resulting in improper medical care

Many of these are egregious errors that can result in heavy injuries, and possible death if not dealt with properly. To prove that the slip and fall accident is connected to the error of the physician in question, you will generally need hard evidence, such as the medicine bottles stating that the side effects cause drowsiness and unsteadiness when walking. It can also come in the form of a written statement on the doctor’s orders, or a comprehension of a patient’s last exam stating the incorrect diagnosis. Any of these can be used in proving that a Malpractice claim for the slip and fall event has merit going forward.

by Paul Mankin

How to Bring a Slip and Fall claim against Kaiser Permanente?

Bringing claims for a slip and fall case can be challenging no matter who it is against. As the victim, you may feel like you are being shut down and kept in the dark about your situation, and that others are trying to worm their way out of having to properly settle a claim.

The difficulty can be drastically increased when dealing with large consortiums, like Kaiser Permanente. With how large the group is, and how much ground they tend to cover, it can be extremely daunting when facing their possible team of lawyers. Here are the steps you need to take when dealing with a claim against the likes of Kaiser Permanente.

Recording the Incident

Although it may seem like a moot point, or that it is not necessary for something as simple as this kind of incident, recording the incident in full detail is important for the proceedings to occur. The simple act of having either a video recording, written record, or photographed evidence, of the event and cause will help to solidify your case against Kaiser Permanante.

When the event occurs, it is best not to discuss any in depth details with any personnel affiliated with Kaiser Permanante. This is because any details or words that you give may be used against you in court later on.

Identifying Causation

Next, you must be able to identify a slip and fall accident when it occurs. Identifying the reasons that separate a regular fall and a slip and fall incident is key in pushing a claim forward.

The key point is understanding when the cause is not your own, or at least only partially your own. A slip and fall refers to a case wherein a victim slips or falls on the premises of another entity, and suffers an injury due to the accident.

The next is understanding if the cause of the accident was due to their negligence, or due to their medical procedures that they have prescribed to you. Such instances of this would be slipping on a spill on their premises that they did not label, or falling due to a medical prescription prescribed by a doctor of Kaiser Permanente. Both would hold substantial weight if tied to Kaiser Permanente.

Build your Case

After you have identified that kaiser Permanente are responsible for your injuries during the slip and fall incident, make sure to keep all relevant information throughout the healing process and legal proceedings. This will be important when bringing evidence to court, as well as how much you will claim on your lawsuit.

Relevant information can include, but is not limited to:

• Medical bills and diagnoses
• Documentation of incident
• Lost wage notices/loss of job notices
• Doctor’s visits notes and testing documentation

These above situations, if tied to the slip and fall incident, help to identify what needs to be covered, as well as what should be claimed in your lawsuit or legal case. Depending on the definitions of the case, such as if it was based on negligence or medical malpractice, you may be entitled to short-term coverage, as well as coverage for long-term problems and issues down the road. These can be anything from broken and fractured bones, to permanent motor function loss in the body. If an issue has had a financial impact on you, it may be entitled to compensation.

Hire a legal representative

Once you feel like you have a solid base in your case, it is time to hire a proper legal representative. Finding a legal representative to speak in your place has many advantages, but they will mainly be able to help guide you along the process. Bringing a claim against a large corporation such as Kaiser Permanente can come with many walls and problems that you may run into. Having a legal representative that understands these situations and is able to clearly define the problems that need to be fixed ensures that you have a solid case with no chance of mishaps occurring.

They will also help in organizing and cementing your information and records for the case. Your legal representative will be able to help tell you what is necessary to keep, and what to get rid of. They can identify if a certain loss will be claimable, or if it will be discarded during the proceedings. This way, you are only focused on the relevant information, and not any fluff that might tag along.

Do not Speak for Yourself

The last part of your case when bringing it up to Kaiser Permanente is to not speak for yourself at legal hearings or discussions. This includes any meetings between the parties involved (yourself and Kaiser Permanente), and any court hearings that you both may need to attend.

This may seem counterproductive, but it is extremely important, just as it was to not speak to a Kaiser Permanente representative during the time of the accident. This is because your words may be used against you at any point, and at any time. For instance, if you were to state after the accident, “You feel fine, and nothing really hurts,” that may be used to prove that your injuries are nothing more than superficial wounds, even if they have escalated to aggressive injuries. Not only that, but also stating that you may be willing to settle can lead to your case being damaged and possibly overturned.

Instead of speaking for yourself, always speak through your legal representative. They understand what is best, and are able to help navigate any discussions or proceedings that may occur. They will help to safeguard you against possible malicious probes by Kaiser Permanente, and ensure that you get compensated for your lost wages or payments, as well as be compensated for injuries that were sustained under the responsibility of Kaiser Permanente.

by Paul Mankin

What are five of the most important patient handling practices to prevent San Diego slip and fall injuries?

Preventing hospital patient slips and falls should be of utmost importance if you work at a medical facility. This is due to the nature of medical facilities and hospitals, as patients should be safer at these places than other areas.

As such, there are plenty of ways to help increase the safety points of a facility. Certain practices and routines can be implemented to help maintain a high level of safety and assistance to patients, no matter who comes in. Here are the top five patient handling practices that hospitals should do to help prevent the risk of a slip and fall injury.

Hourly Rounds

When it comes to an important type of patient handling, none can be prioritized more than making hourly rounds to each of the patients that reside within the hospital. Although it may seem self-explanatory, checking in with a patient frequently can ensure that their needs are met in a quick and efficient manner.

Although making the rounds is generally within a hospital staff’s list of duties, there are some things that can be properly improved upon with making the rounds to ensure that the time is being efficiently and effectively used.

MAKE CHECKLISTS

Having a checklist will help twofold when making the rounds for patients. First, it will assist in remembering and understanding any general questions that may need to be asked towards a patient. General questions may seem like they can be skipped often. However, they can be vital to ensure that a patient is well taken care of and in stable condition.

The second reason is that it will keep staff in line with the facility standards. Ensuring that a staff member asks every priority question that is necessary, as well as checking any vitals that must be checked, can ensure that one patient is not given less care than another.

ROUTINE INSPECTIONS

An hourly round will also keep staff on top of any hazards or possible conditional issues within a patient’s room. Have staff not only assess the patient, but the state of the room as well. If there are too few items, or items in disarray, it may be necessary for the staff member to help collect and organize the items in a safer style.

Proper Assessments of Patients

Another priority measure in place to assist against slip and fall accidents is to do proper risk assessments of a patient that is being admitted. These assessments can be used to test a number of different symptoms, such as physiological risk, mental risks, and susceptibility to falls and injuries.

Utilizing these tests and assessments can help to identify at risk patients, as well as any possible dangers and situations that may need to be secured and taken care of before a patient has a chance to face those hazards. Situations such as making sure a patient understands to not move on their own, and keeping a patient closer to a restroom than others can help to mitigate such situations from occurring.

Create Fall Prevention Care Planning

Fall Prevention Care Planning is the process of taking a patient’s risk assessment and tests, and modifying and creating a specific care plan for them. This is used to personalize the care and treatment to a certain patient, as each patient’s needs differ as time passes. These care planning processes should involve things such as:

• Possible altered mental state
• Impaired gait or mobility
• Frequent restroom needs
• Perception and visual impairments
• High-Risk Medications

Taking these symptoms into account, the fall prevention care planning should take each possible risk, and create an outline of how to deal with situations that are either common or uncommon for the patient.

Involve Family in the Fall Prevention Care Planning

The next important patient handling practice is to help key in family members and consistent visitors of the patient on the care plan. This is a type of upgrade to the basics of the fall prevention care planning. As the patient tends to have family and friends visit, allowing them an understanding of where the patient stands in terms of a stable pattern will allow them to also keep an eye on the patient while they visit.

As the family visit, they can be aware of looking for certain signs, such as unstable steps, or lapses in judgement if a patient attempts to stand or move about. These signs, if told about beforehand, can give hospital staff an extra set of eyes to help look after the patient in question.

Integrate and Refine Patient handling Practices to Fit your Facility

The fifth important patient handling practice is to incorporate the above to fit your facility. This may seem counterintuitive, but making sure not to overwork the staff or change things too drastically can mean the drastic improvement of the system in place, or the imploding of the system available for patient care.

Ensure that the practices being implemented fit for your current situations. If your hospital does not have enough staff to do hourly rotations, look to shorten the rounds, yet still be efficient through management of separate floor visits. If the hospital primarily deals with high risk patients, it may be necessary to properly prepare for it by always keeping the risk assessments at a higher level than normal. If the facility usually deals with lower and minor injuries, the practices for rounds may be elongated as the patients do not constant attendance.

If you have been involved in a hospital slip and fall accident, contact us at 1-800-219-3577 for a free no obligation case evaluation from experienced San Diego slip and fall lawyers.

by Paul Mankin

Who is Garnishing My Wages and How Do I Stop Them?

Who is Garnishing My Wages and How Do I Stop Them?

If you have to ask who is garnishing your wages, you probably did not receive proper service of the original lawsuit’s complaint and judgment against you or the motion and order to garnish your wages after the judgment was entered. This means that money is coming out of your paycheck every pay period and you don’t know who is taking it! However, it should be fairly easy to determine who is garnishing your wages, it is stopping them that may not be so easy.

Who is Garnishing My Wages?

A wage garnishment can only occur after a lawsuit is filed, a judgment is obtained, and proper service of the garnishment order is provided to your employer. The garnishment order tells your employer how much you owe, to whom you owe it, how much they should withhold from your paychecks each pay period, and where to send the withholding. So, the place to start in order to determine who is garnishing your wages is your employer. They will have a copy of the garnishment order which will tell you who is garnishing your wages and will give you the case or cause number so that you can provide it to the court in order to gather the information you will need to stop the garnishment.

How Do I Stop a Wage Garnishment?

Once you have determined who is garnishing your wages and you have a case or cause number, you need to call the court in your county and ask for a docket sheet so that you can figure out what happened in the case. After that, you will likely need to hire a consumer attorney to help you stop the garnishment, as the process will depend on how and when it was ordered, who is garnishing your wages, and what your current financial situation looks like. There are three basic ways you can stop a wage garnishment:

• Negotiating with the creditor or debt collector to repay the debt on your own
• Setting the garnishment aside or vacating it by court order
• Filing for bankruptcy protection

Negotiation with the creditor or debt collector might be difficult as they are unlikely to stop garnishing your wages based on your promise to pay a weekly or monthly amount towards the debt on your own. The wage garnishment ensures that they are paid a set amount on a regular basis, so you don’t really have much of a bargaining chip at this point.

If you can show that you never received proper notice of the original lawsuit that lead to the garnishment, you might be able to get the garnishment order set aside or vacated and get a hearing to determine if you in fact owe the debt and if so, how much you can afford to pay towards it, either on your own, or via a voluntary wage assignment, which could reduce the amount you pay each pay period.

If you owe the debt and cannot repay it, you may want to consider filing for bankruptcy protection. A chapter 7 bankruptcy would stop the garnishment and prohibit the creditor or debt collector from ever attempting to collect on the debt again.

If someone is garnishing your wages and you cannot afford to pay them, please contact our office at 1-800-219-3577, for a free, no obligation consultation. 

by Paul Mankin

Who is calling me from 1-855-207-1892?

Are you receiving harassing phone calls from 1-855-207-1892? This phone number belongs to Ability Recovery Services LLC, a collection agency located in DuPont, Pennsylvania. The collection agency collects for telecommunication companies, healthcare providers, educational institutions, and utility companies.

Contact Information

284 Main St

DuPont, PA 18641-1960

Phone: 1-855-207-1892

http://www.abilityrecoveryservices.com/

According to the debt collection agencies website, it collects in a “professional manner, with integrity, and responsibility”. A look at some of the online complaints filed against agency would seem to tell a different story. The BBB reports 252 complaints against Ability Recovery Services LLC in the last three years and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) lists 377 since 2015. A majority of these complaints allege that the collection agencies representatives are rude, use profane and abusive language, and frequently hang up on consumers. The agency is also accused of reporting false credit information to the credit reporting bureaus. Almost all of which are FDCPA violations.

If you are getting harassing phone calls from 1-855-207-1892 and the representatives use profane, obscene, or abusive language, or harass or abuse you in any other way, they may be in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The FDCPA is a federal law that prohibits debt collectors from using unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices in order to collect on a debt.

If you are being harassed or abused by Ability Recovery Services, LLC, it is time they are held accountable for their actions. Please call our office at 1-800-219-3577, for a free, no obligation case review.  We will also explain how to stop harassing phone calls.

by Paul Mankin

What is an Adverse Action by a Creditor?

An “adverse action” occurs when a creditor makes a decision adverse to the interests of an applicant or borrower. The manners in which adverse actions may be and must be handled are regulated by the two main Federal consumer credit protection laws: the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Under Regulation B of the ECOA, an adverse action most commonly occurs when a creditor refuses to approve an application for credit in substantially the same amount or with substantially the same terms as requested by the applicant. An adverse action under the ECOA also includes the termination of an existing credit account, a change in terms of a credit account that are not also made to the others in a class of account holders, and the refusal to grant a request for increased credit on an existing account.

The ECOA also provides guidelines for what specifically does NOT count as an adverse action by a creditor or other qualifying credit decision maker under the ECOA. In general, an adverse action does not occur in situations where the applicant or borrower is obviously or demonstrably aware of the action, such as when an applicant expressly accepts a counteroffer in response to an application for credit or when a change to account terms is made with the account holder’s express agreement. A non-adverse action might also occur at point-of-sale transactions where an account transaction is denied in real time.

Notably, the ECOA does not consider an adverse action to have occurred where an action or forbearance on an account is taken in connection with inactivity, default, or delinquency as to that account. It is not considered an adverse action when a refusal to extend credit is based on a law prohibiting the creditor from making the requested extension or where the creditor does not offer the type of credit or credit plan requested.

Under Section 701(d)(6) of the FCRA, “adverse action” is defined more broadly than by the ECOA. An adverse action under the FCRA generally includes a denial or revocation of credit, a change to the terms of an existing credit account (formal or otherwise), or a denial of credit under substantially the same terms or in substantially the same amount as requested.

The FCRA also specifically broadens the scope of “adverse actions” from that defined under the ECOA by including the denial, cancellation, increase in any charge, reduction of coverage, adverse change in terms, or other adverse action in connection with the underwriting of insurance, existing or prospective.

The FCRA further considers an adverse action to encompass a denial of employment or other decision adverse to the interests of a current or prospective employee, a denial, cancellation, or adverse change in terms of a government license or benefit, and an action adverse to an application or transaction initiated by a consumer or related to the review of a consumer’s account.

While the ECOA and FCRA define “adverse action” under substantially similar terms, it is notable that while the ECOA terms apply to both individual consumers and businesses, the terms under the FCRA only apply to actions taken against individual consumers.

by Paul Mankin

What Happens When You Don’t Pay a Bill?

Juggling the bills can cause a lot of anxiety when there is not enough money to pay them all every month. This can be especially true if you are not sure what will happen when you don’t pay a bill. Late or unpaid bills can result in different actions being taken by the company who is owed money and it may depend on what type of company that is.

What Happens When You Don’t Pay a Bill for Monthly Services?

When you do not pay a bill for monthly services such as water, gas, electric, internet, or telephone services, the company will eventually shut off the service. If it does this, it may also add additional fees, such as reconnection fees, that you will have to pay in order to have the service turned back on. Most service companies will not shut off your service for one late bill, and will give you a date, shortly before or after the next month’s bill is due, by which you must pay in order to keep your service on. Sometimes utility companies will work with you to help you catch up your bill without having your service disconnected, so if you have a bill you cannot pay on time, it is best to call the company and ask if there are any options for extending the due date or the disconnect date.

What Happens When You Don’t Pay a Bill for a Loan or Mortgage?

Eventually a loan or mortgage company will sue you in order to collect on a past due account or foreclose on any property that is secured by the loan or mortgage. This can take several months and the lender may be willing to modify or restructure the loan instead of filing a lawsuit as long as you contact them as soon as you become unable to make timely payments. Once a lawsuit has been filed, it may be more difficult to get the bank or loan company to work with you, so it is best if you contact them as soon as the account becomes delinquent.

What Happens When You Don’t Pay a Bill to a Credit Card Company?

Most credit card companies will begin calling you to attempt to collect on a past due payment a few days after they are due and unpaid. Eventually they may sue you and attempt to garnish your wages. Credit card companies are generally willing to negotiate payment of your debt by lowering your interest rate for a short period of time, not charging late fees for a few months, or settling the entire amount of the debt for less than you owe. If you are being harassed by a credit card company, try negotiating with them first but if that does not work you should consider hiring a consumer protection lawyer to help you. An experienced consumer protection lawyer may be able to negotiate a repayment plan or settlement of the account and can advise you of any violations of consumer protection laws that the credit card company may have committed.

What Happens When You Don’t Pay a Bill to a Doctor or Hospital?

The majority of healthcare providers who are owed money by consumers begin their collection process by sending bills marked “past due” or showing 30, 60, or 90 day past due columns. Many of them will ultimately turn your account over to a collection agency who may file a lawsuit if the amount owed is enough to make a lawsuit financially feasible. If they file a law suit and obtain a judgment against you, they will likely take the steps necessary to begin garnishing your wages if you do not make other arrangements to pay the judgment. If the amount past due is not enough to warrant the time and expense of a lawsuit, the collection agency will simply call and write letters attempting to collect on the debt. This can be become quite annoying and the company may violate consumer protection laws in their attempt to collect the debt. If you feel you are being harassed by a collection agency, you should contact a consumer protection lawyer to help you determine if you have a claim against them and to make them stop their harassment.

Consumer Protection Laws

Anytime a bill goes unpaid, the consumer becomes subject to collection efforts of the creditor or a debt collector. These efforts almost always entail phone calls that can become abusive. The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) was enacted to help protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, and abusive practices of debt collectors when attempting to collect a debt. The Act is federal, so it applies to consumers in every state; however it only applies to debt collectors (collection agencies) and does not generally apply to original creditors who attempt to collect on their own past due accounts. Many states have consumer protection laws that do apply to creditors and these laws oftentimes mirror the FDCPA in the practices that are prohibited. Under the FDCPA, a debt collector may not:

• Call a consumer before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m.
• Allow a consumers phone to ring continuously in order to annoy them
• Use profane or obscene language
• Threaten to have a consumer put in jail for not paying a bill
• Make false representations regarding the amount owed or the legal status of the debt
• Threaten to take any action it cannot legally take

This is just a partial list of what the Act prohibits debt collectors from doing and any collection tactic that is deceptive, abusive, or unfair may give a consumer a claim under the Act. Not only can a claim stop the debt collector from contacting the consumer, but it may also result in the debt collector having to pay the consumer for its violations.

If you are being harassed by a debt collector please contact our office for a free, no obligation consultation at 1-800-219-3577.

by Paul Mankin

Is Transworld Systems, Inc. Calling or Harassing You

Transworld Systems Inc.

Transworld Systems Inc. (Transworld) is a third-party debt collector that provides services to medical companies, dental companies, education facilities, Fortune 500 companies, and small businesses. Transworld was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Santa Rosa, California. According to its website, Transworld collected approximately $865 million in 2016.

Within the last three (3) years, consumers reported 283 complaints to the Better Business Bureau. In September 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a Government agency tasked with protecting consumers from unfair, deceptive or abusive debt collection practices, took action against Transworld for engaging in unlawful debt collection practices. The CFPB found that Transworld filed collection lawsuits in situations where the debt could not be proven or was time-barred pursuant to the statute of limitations.

When requested, a debt collector must provide proof of a debt. The Federal Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) allows consumers to request a creditor or debt collector to send proof of the debt. A consumer has thirty (30) days to dispute a debt and to request proof of the debt after being provided notice of the debt by the creditor or debt collector.

The FDCPA also prevents creditors and debt collectors from filing lawsuits against old debt. Debt collectors only have a certain number of years to file a lawsuit to collect on a debt. This is referred to as the statute of limitations. In California, there is a four (4) year statue of limitation for filing a lawsuit to collect a debt. Debts that are beyond the statute of limitations are considered “time-barred.”

Due to these violations of the FDCPA, Transworld was required to stop filing lawsuits that were time-barred, to stop attempting to collect debt without proper documentation, and to pay a $2.5 million civil penalty.

Creditors and debt collectors should be held accountable for these unethical and unlawful practices. If you are being harassed or subjected to any of these, deceptive, or abusive debt collection practices, it is time to hold Transworld accountable. Please contact our office for a free, no obligation consultation at 1-800-219-3577.