We’ve all seen the television news magazines exposés on babysitter surveillance (also known as “nanny cams”). But more and more, unfortunately, the news pieces are likely to feature “Granny Cams” instead.

As the U.S. population ages, more people are headed to nursing homes or have regular home health care. And, just as children are in a vulnerable position in relation to their caregivers, nursing home patients are likewise vulnerable and unable to fully communicate. A camera may be just what you need to put your mind at ease.  

Supporters of the nursing home cameras believe that they could weed out elder abuse by nursing home employees as well as document poor care and neglect. Not surprisingly, nursing home owners believe that this surveillance is an invasion of privacy of residents and staff.  

Is the use of a “granny cam” the same, under the law, as a “nanny cam”? Can it lead to civil lawsuits or a criminal investigation or charge? Unfortunately, the law in this area is not uniform across all 50 states and many of the legal issues have not been dealt with yet by the courts. You will probably need to have a specific conversation with a licensed attorney in your area to determine how to approach nursing home surveillance.     

Just as with nanny cams, visible video cameras (not hidden in any way) are generally not illegal if they are in a non-private place. If the camera records sound as well as video, you must comply with federal and state wiretapping and eavesdropping laws. You will need consent of one or all parties to any recorded conversation, depending on your jurisdiction.   

Hidden cameras are a little stickier. There is a federal law which makes it a crime to secretly capture photo or video images of people in places and situations in which they have an expectation of privacy, such as bathrooms, dressing rooms, locker rooms, hotel rooms and tanning salons. A nursing home bedroom would probably make the list as well.  Most states now have laws similar to the federal laws.  

In the case of a “granny cam” though, some additional concerns are raised.   The two issues often raised in this situation are (1) the ability of the nursing home patient to consent to the surveillance and (2) the privacy of any roommate.  

If the patient has not been deemed incompetent by a court, he or she may be able to legally consent to any recording. If the patient is less than competent for any reason, a legally-appointed guardian or attorney-in-fact (someone given authority by power of attorney) may be able to give consent. In some states, consent by someone other than a competent resident may not be adequate to support the recording.  

The second issue is a privacy concern. Many nursing homes have double rooms. In that case, it is the best practice to obtain written consent from any roommate or legal representative of the roommate. The surveillance could very well record the dressing and undressing of both patients as well as bathing and medical treatments.  

The state attorney general in New York has used hidden cameras (with the consent of the patient’s family) to record and prosecutor elder abuse. A few other states (New Mexico and Texas) have specific laws which provide the requirements for use of a “granny cam”. The factors include notification of the nursing home of the use of the camera and consent of any roommate or representative of the roommate. 

Although some states, like Virginia, have adopted nursing home licensing regulations which cover video surveillance, most states have not passed specific legislation regarding nursing home surveillance. The resident (or, more likely, his or her family) must perform the installation and pay for any maintenance costs.  

Ultimately, your goal with a granny cam surveillance system is to prevent any abuse or neglect of your loved one – and not to catch an employee perpetrating a crime upon the patient. So, you may be best off considering a heart-to-heart conversation with the facility administration about your desire to perform surveillance. And don’t forget to talk to your loved one’s roommate or his family about obtaining consent from them as well.

A personal injury lawyer is an attorney who represents an individual who claims to have been injured physically and/or emotionally as the result of trauma caused by the negligence of another person, group, or government agency. A personal injury law firm in Minneapolis MN has experience with law in regards to damages to a person, their property, and other civil wrongs. They deal with tort law. This is a body of law that addresses civil wrong doings that are not contract related.

Instead of attempting to represent yourself for any compensation resulting from an accident, a personal injury lawyer knows the best way to proceed. They can also advise you on the amount to ask for when going to trial. An experienced personal injury lawyer can make sure that the other party does not try to take advantage of you and that you get what you deserve from the trial. The court will determine the loss and damage done to you and then it is up to the attorney, who has personal injury experience, to ensure that a fair settlement is agreed upon on your behalf.

Unfortunately, many accidents occur yearly and even daily. Whether you have experienced a car accident, wrongful death, or medical malpractice, for example, there are many benefits from hiring an experienced personal injury law firm to represent your case.

The many situations that can lead to the hiring of a personal injury law firm include: Vehicle accidents, boat accidents, plane crashes, medical malpractice, bus accidents, wrongful death, amputation injuries, and brain injuries, to name a few.

If you live in the state of Minnesota, there is a no-fault insurance law. This entitles a person to compensation for the losses suffered in an accident, even if the accident was partly the individual’s fault. This law can help compensate for loss of wages, and other activities of daily living. If the incident was mainly someone else’s fault, you may be compensated for pain and suffering as well.

The best way to see if you qualify for the Minnesota no-fault insurance law is to hire an experienced personal injury lawyer in Minnesota (Minneapolis is a good city to go for this service).

When in an accident, first contact emergency personnel. If you become injured, one of the first steps you should take – after medical help has been enlisted – is to contact your insurance company. An experienced personal injury lawyer should be contacted to guide you through the process of compensation for physical and emotional losses.

It is important to choose an attorney who has a history of being with clients until the end of the settlement and that satisfactory compensations were met.

Another benefit to hiring and experienced personal injury lawyer is that they will do all of the “homework” for you. You should contact an injury lawyer as soon as possible after the accident. And they, in turn, should act swiftly in obtaining and preserving evidence from the scene of the incident. This is one less thing for you to worry about when injuries have taken place, causing emotional and physical trauma. An experienced attorney will also contact witnesses and focus on other important factors related to the accident.

The information you obtain from this article is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.

In 1985 a movie came out staring Richard Pryor and John Candy called “Brewster’s Millions.”  The plot: A minor league baseball player has to waste $30m in 30 days in order to inherit $300m; however he’s not allowed to tell anyone about the $300m deal.  It sounds easy but it is not because he could not have any assets to show for his wasteful spending.  They had limitations such as how much you could give to charity and lose gambling etc. 

The movie illustrates how difficult it is to spend that amount of money and to not have anything to show for it.  It is funny how our government can spend $700 Billion of our tax money and easily have nothing to show for it.  The roads are not fixed.  Traffic congestion is at an all time high.  My health care costs are not paid for, the school districts waste our tax dollars on stuff that does not help educate my children, and the list goes on and on.

Getting back to the movie, one of the biggest ways to waste money is to run for public office. Richard Pryor’s character learned that and decided to run for Mayor of New York City.  In that seen he made a very interesting observation.  He pondered the question, “Why are the candidates spending millions of dollars to run for public office when the job itself pays about a fraction of what is being spent to run for office?”

Do any of you ever wonder that same question?  I believe the President of the United States which is the highest paying job in our Federal Government which $400,000 per year as of 2000.  The president also can get a pension that can pay him or her over $7M in paid benefits before they pass away.  Also keep in mind that most of the people that run for office are already rich like George Bush and are Multi-Millionaires.

So why spend $500M – $1B for a presidential campaign for a job that only returns a fraction of that.  The ROI there is not positive but negative.  Not only that who are the people that are donating all this money and why is it so important that their candidate win?  Because these are very rich people who want to get richer and stay rich.  They are paying for their government. Your $5 donation to Barack Obama or John McCain is not going to get you good government.  If these candidates want to be president so bad let them spend their own money.

They won’t because they are not stupid.  The system was created to keep the powerful in power and the weak out of office.  They do not want to do right by the American People.  They only want to do right for their friends.  Why aren’t more Americans standing up and asking these questions?  Why aren’t more Americans upset about how things are going on Main Street and Wall Street?  If you are so upset why do you only vote Republican or Democrat?  How about None of the Above?  Vote but make your vote count and show that you all have a lack of confidence in both candidates and you want and deserve more choices except for the same 2 people that they recycle every 4 years.

Join the revolution at 104inc.com and voice your opinion.  VOTE NONE OF THE ABOVE this November.