Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

A federal judge is ordering for-profit assisted living facility operators in Illinois to stop holding meetings and circulating information sheets designed to scare psychiatric patients into staying at nursing homes instead of transferring to supportive community housing. US. District Judge William Hart’s ruling was made public today and stems from a proposed court settlement that offers supportive residential living situations to about 4,500 psychiatric residents who are now residing in assisted living facilities referred to as Institutions for Mental Diseases.

The nursing homes recently started giving out information sheets to IMD residents and their families recommending that they turn down the settlement, which they said intentionally did not provide enough specifics about the plan and was going to take away certain protections from the psychiatric patients that did opt to move into the new housing facilities.

Hart called the information sheets “misleading, while containing certain passages that were incendiary and inaccurate. He also told nursing operators that they could no longer interact with psychiatric residents without the consent of the attorneys who are representing the mentally ill patients and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Our Chicago nursing home neglect and abuse law firm has been monitoring this story, and we recently published a blog post about the issue. We cannot stress enough that assisted living facilities are supposed to serve the best interests of each patient. Failure to provide the proper care that a nursing home resident needs is nursing home neglect.

Because of their mental health issues, some psychiatric residents may very well be better served by moving into supportive community housing, while others may be getting the care that they need at an assisted living facility. Some residents may be too dangerous to house along with the general nursing home population, in which case an assisted living facility may be placing the safety of the other patients at risk by allowing a mentally ill resident to live there.

Judge: Nursing home operators misled psychiatric patients, ChicagoBreakingNews, July 28, 2010

ACLU Says For-Profit Illinois Nursing Homes Trying to Scare Psychiatric Patients so They Won’t Leave, ChicagoNursingHomeAbuseLawyerBlog, July 24, 2010

Settlement reached in Illinois lawsuit over mentally ill, Pantagraph.com, March 15, 2010

Related Web Resources:
ACLU of Illinois

The Proposed Consent Degree (PDF)

Continue reading "Judge Orders For-Profit Illinois Nursing Homes to Stop Scaring Psychiatric Patients Out of Transferring to Community Housing " »

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed court papers accusing for-profit assisted living facility operators in Illinois of employing scare tactics to convince psychiatric residents to stay at nursing homes instead of transferring to supportive community housing, which state authorities have pledged to provide for approximately 4,500 patients. The Illinois nursing homes are denying the allegations. They say that they are genuinely worried about whether the state will actually provide the housing and services that they’ve promised.

A proposed consent degree, which is waiting for a federal judge’s final approval, gives psychiatric patients the option of leaving their nursing home and moving into housing that is more appropriate for their needs. The community housing program will provide therapy, substance-abuse programs, life-skills training, job training, and other services. Interested patients would have to pass a screening before being allowed to enter the program. The ACLU became concerned when certain nursing homes, known as Institutions for Mental Disease, began circulating information sheets to patients and families claiming that the proposed decree may eliminate certain protections for residents that do choose to move out.

In recent months, there have been calls to provide better nursing care and protections for nursing home patients. Not only have some assisted living facilities become victims of Chicago nursing home abuse and violence perpetrated by felons and mentally ill residents, but there has been growing concern that nursing homes may not be the best place for giving psychiatric patients to get the proper care that they too need.

Our Chicago, Illinois nursing home neglect lawyers are appalled at how many people continue to suffer because of Cook County nursing home negligence. We work hard to obtain our clients’ financial recovery.

Nursing homes launch 'desperate attempt' to keep psychiatric patients, ACLU says, Chicago Tribune, July 21, 2010

Mentally Ill in Illinois Win Right to Community Care, Psychiatric News, April 16, 2010

Related Web Resources:
American Civil Liberties Union

Illinois Department of Public Health

Seven years after Juanita Jackson’s death, a jury has ordered nursing home operators Trans Healthcare Inc. and Trans Healthcare Management to pay $114 million for the nursing home negligence that contributed to her wrongful death. Jackson, 76, fractured her upper arm and suffered closed head trauma during a fall accident, which took place within two weeks of her admission to IHS of Florida, Auburndale in March 2003. The nursing facility is now called Auburndale Oaks Healthcare Center.

By May 2003, Jackson had numerous bedsores and was dehydrated and malnourished. Her family decided to remove her from the nursing home. She died on July 6, 2003.

According to the nursing home abuse lawsuit, nursing home workers knew that the elderly woman was at risk of falling but failed to put in place adequate fall prevention methods. The plaintiffs are contending that Jackson never fully recovered from her fall injuries and resulting health issues.

Fall accidents can lead to serious injuries for nursing home patients. Many are already too frail to properly recovery recover from fall injuries, which can be very painful and debilitating. They also can lead to serious complications and the deterioration of one’s health.

Nursing homes know that many of their residents are prone to fall accidents and they are required to implement the proper systems, procedures, and fall prevention mechanisms, as well as make sure that there are enough properly trained staffers, to prevent these accidents from happening. For example, some nursing home patients cannot get out of their beds without help. Some residents require the help of more than one nursing home worker or even a lift when going from a bed to a wheelchair. Having handrails installed down long hallways can also help. Adequate supervision of residents is essential. Failure to act to prevent fall accidents can be grounds for a Chicago, Illinois nursing home negligence case.

Polk County Jury Awards $114 Million in Nursing Home Lawsuit, The Ledger, July 21, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Falls, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Fall Prevention, StopFalls.org

Continue reading "Jury Awards $114 Million Nursing Home Abuse Verdict in 76-Year-Old’s Wrongful Death" »

Governor Pat Quinn signed into a law a bill designed to protect seniors from Illinois elder financial abuse. Under the new law, financial institutions must play a stronger part in identifying and reporting this type of fraud.

Per Senate Bill 3267, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Illinois Department on Aging must put together training standards for employees of financial institutions that directly interact with clients. Part of that training will teach them how to recognize signs of financial abuse and the steps they should take to report the exploitations.

Our Chicago elder financial abuse lawyers are here to fight for the compensation owed to our clients for their financial losses caused by elder abuse. It is important that you discuss your case with an experienced law firm that handles elder financial fraud and Chicago nursing home neglect and abuse.

During the fiscal year 2009, Illinois received over 6,200 reports of possible Illinois elder financial abuse cases. Yet financial institutions reported just 3% of these incidents. Nationally, according to a 2009 MetLife study, each year there may be up to 1 million victims of elder financial fraud in this country alone. Many victims are women in their 70’s and 80’s that may be isolated, cognitively impaired, or too trusting. Elder male seniors suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia are also at risk of becoming victims of elder financial fraud.

It is an act of elder abuse to take financial advantage of seniors by stealing money from them, investing their money in stocks and other financial instruments that are too high risk for them, or financially exploiting them in any other way.

Growing number of seniors are victims of financial abuse, Chicago Tribune, July 4, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Department on Aging

Financial Abuse, National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse

James Niles is suing 21 defendants for her mother’s Illinois wrongful death following a fall accident in 2006. Neida Niles was 66.

She fractured her hip in April 2007 when she fell while undergoing routine kidney dialysis at the Jacksonville Dialysis Center. She was then admitted to Passavant Area Hospital for treatment of her fractured hip, pressure ulcers, and a skin infection.

Neida passed away at a Springfield, Illinois hospital on August 31, 2007. Now, Niles is claiming that his mother’s death could have been prevented.

In his Illinois wrongful death lawsuit, he is accusing Passavant and Prairie Village Healthcare Center, his mother’s nursing home, of failing to prevent and treat her pressure sores and the breakdown of her skin. He also claims that they did not properly treat her wounds or perform daily skin treatments to prevent infection.

He also contends that Gambro Healthcare, Prairie Village, and Jacksonville Dialysis failed to properly assess his mother’s fall risk status and whether additional safety precautions needed to be implemented for her. He is accusing the assisted living facility of providing inadequate nursing care and inadequate staffing.

Niles filed his complaint under the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act, the Illinois Wrongful Death Act, and the Illinois Survival Act. Other defendants named include Care Plus Management, Care Plus Rehabilitative Services, the owners of Care Plus and Prairie Village, and several Prairie Village employees, including 10 of its nurses. He is seeking unspecified damages for himself and his two siblings.

Chicago Nursing Home Neglect
Assisted living facilities are responsible for making sure that patients do not develop bedsores. Or, if they do, that they are treated immediately and correctly so that their condition does not grow worse. Infected bedsores and skin conditions can lead to serious health complications and even death. Failure to properly treat bedsores may be considered Chicago nursing home neglect.

21 named in 2007 death suit, My Journal Courier, July 14, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Homes in Illinois, Illinois Department of Public Health

What are Bed Sores?, Disabled World

The Champaign County Nursing Home is under investigation over another complaint related to its nursing care. The Illinois Department of Public Health is conducting the probe.

The incident in question took place in May when a female resident had to receive 24 stitches after she was hurt while an agency aide was transferring her. According to a sign that was posted on her door, no less than two people were supposed to transfer her.

The Urbana, Illinois nursing home says that the nursing aide involved in the incident will not be working at the assisted living facility again. However, the Champaign County Nursing Home is facing a possible fine.

Fall Accidents at Illinois Nursing Homes
Fall injuries and other injuries can occur when transferring a nursing home resident from a bed to a wheelchair, from the chair to a toilet, from the toilet to a car, or from a chair to a bed. Some patients may require use of a special lift or the help of more than one nursing home worker. It is important that nursing home employees follow any specific instructions for providing each patient with the correct assistance so that the resident doesn’t get hurt. Failure to provide that care can be reason for a Chicago nursing home neglect lawsuit if a patient is injured as a result of this type of negligent nursing care.

It was just in May that the public health department fined the Urbana nursing home $50,000 for violating state public health regulations (four $10,000 fines by the state and $10,000 on behalf of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services). Already this year, the assisted living facility has faced payment losses and fines totaling over $100,000. Most of the penalties, however, have been lowered to a loss of about $14,000 in federal funding.

State investigates another complaint over patient care at Champaign County Nursing Home, The News-Gazette, July 13, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Department of Public Health

Falls in Nursing Homes, CDC

Continue reading "Illinois Nursing Home Under Investigation Again for Possible Negligent Nursing Care" »

New details in a whistleblower lawsuit accusing Chicago nursing home operators Philip and Morris Esformes of getting kickbacks from pharmaceutical company Omnicare Inc. were submitted in court documents last week. The latest filing is intended to support civil allegations that Omnicare inflated the purchase price it paid for a pharmacy company belonging to the father and son.

Allegedly, $16 million of the $32 million Omnicare paid for Total Pharmacy was a kickback to obtain long-term pharmacy contracts with close to 36 nursing homes owned by the Esformeses. It is against the law for pharmacies to pay nursing home owners to get them to use Medicare or Medicaid money to purchase its products.

According to the whistleblower case, Omnicare CEO Joel Gemunder offered $15 million for Total Pharmacy for three-year contracts with Esformes nursing homes (as well as $20 million for five-year contracts and $25 million for 10-year contracts). Omnicare allegedly ended up paying $25 million and allowed Total Pharmacy to keep $7 million in accounts receivables.

The latest documents included copies of handwritten notes from a March 2004 meeting between Gemunder and Morris Esformes, including notes that allegedly show Morris consenting to backdate nursing home pharmacy contracts. The Esformeses, who are part owners of at least 28 Florida and Illinois nursing homes, have denied any wrongdoing. The family owns a number of Chicago area nursing homes, including Burnham Healthcare and Presidential Pavilion.

The Esformeses have also been accused of involvement in a patient-brokering scam that sent nursing home residents to psychiatric hospitals for unnecessary treatment. They were not charged in relation to these allegations and denied that they did anything wrong.

Our Chicago nursing home abuse attorneys are committed to making sure that victims of Chicago nursing home neglect or abuse are compensated for the harm that they’ve suffered at the hands of a negligent assisted living facility. If you believe that your loved one is receiving improper medical care or being harmed or abused, there are ways to hold the parties responsible for Chicago nursing home negligence.

More details surface in nursing home case, Chicago Tribune, July 9, 2010

Chicago, Illinois Nursing Home Negligence?: Kickback Scam Links Convicted Doctor to Assisted Living Facility Operator, Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer, April 30, 2010

The month of July is Elder Abuse Awareness Month in Illinois. Over the next few weeks, communities will sponsor events aimed at creating greater awareness about this problem, which the US Administration on Aging says continues to affect about 700,000 to 3.5 million elderly persons in the US each year. Unfortunately, these figures are low estimates when you consider that only one out of every five abuse cases is reported.

At our Chicago nursing home neglect and abuse law firm, we are dedicated to combating Illinois elder abuse and making sure that our clients and their families are compensated for injuries and deaths caused by Illinois nursing home negligence. There are steps that you can take to protect your loved one from Chicago elder abuse including:

• Before choosing your loved one’s nursing home, actually visit the assisted living facility and personally inspect the place.
• Talk to nursing home workers at each facility and watch how they interact with patients.
• Observe the residents to see whether they seem happy and comfortable at the nursing home.
• Check out the Medicare Web site to see how the assisted living facility fared under the federal rating.
• Once your loved one is admitted to a nursing home, visit and call regularly.
• Watch out for signs of elder abuse or neglect.

According to the Illinois Department on Aging, there are up to 80,000 Illinois elder abuse victims each year. The state is encouraging people to "Break the Silence" and report any suspected elder abuse and neglect incidents. Remember that elder abuse takes place in Illinois nursing homes and in private settings. Chicago, Illinois elder abuse and neglect can lead to physical injuries, emotional trauma, health complications, sepsis, elder financial abuse, clogged breathing tubes, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, malnutrition, dehydration, choking accidents, wandering accidents, fall accidents, bedsores, and death.

Help prevent elder abuse, Chicago Tribune, June 25, 2010

Illinois Department on Aging urges people to “Break the Silence” and report suspected incidents of Elder Abuse, Illinois Department on Aging, June 14, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Department on Aging

Elder Abuse and Neglect Act

US Administration on Aging

Nursing Home Compare, Medicare.gov

51-year-old Jean Engstrom has died. She was discovered drowned in a bathtub on Sunday in the West Rogers Park assisted living facility where she lived. The water was still running. Engstrom, who was mentally ill, was a Warren Park Nursing Pavilion resident. Cook County medical examiner's office officials say they were unable to verify whether the nursing home death was an accident, a homicide, or a suicide. It is unclear at this time whether Chicago, Illinois nursing home abuse or neglect was even a factor.

Drowning Accidents
It can just take seconds for someone to become submerged in water and find that they cannot surface for air. Four minutes without oxygen can lead to permanent brain damage and even death. It doesn’t take a swimming pool or an ocean full of water for someone to drown. People have been known to drown in mere inches of water in a bathtub, a bucket, a toilet, or from water covering up the mouth and face. Many drowning victims are unable to call for help.

Chicago Nursing Home Negligence
Chicago nursing homes are supposed to provide their patients with the customized supervision that each of them needs. Depending on their physical and mental state, some residents need assistance and monitoring when they are bathing. Some assisted living facility patients may be so mentally ill that they may be prone to committing suicide unless they are closely monitored. Chicago nursing homes are also supposed to protect their patients from becoming victims of murder, physical assault, sexual assault, elder financial abuse, nursing home abuse, and nursing neglect.

Woman drowns in tub at Rogers Park nursing home, Chicago Sun-Times, July 5, 2010

Bathtub drowning investigation continues, Chicago Tribune, July 5, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Drowning Facts, YMCA

Water-Related Injuries: Fact Sheet, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Continue reading "Chicago Nursing Home Patient Drowns in Bathtub" »

The executor of Adele V. Kennett is suing the Alhambra Care Center for Illinois nursing home negligence. Kennett lived at the Illinois nursing home until March 21, 2009 when she was transferred to a Staunton hospital where she was diagnosed with a Stage III sacral decubitus ulcer, a number of Stage II and Stage I decubitus ulcers on her lower extremities, a urinary tract infection, and dehydration.

In her Illinois wrongful death lawsuit, Beverly Law claims that Kennett developed her health issues because nursing home workers failed to notify her next-of-kin and doctor about the changes in her condition, neglected to hire enough staff members so that patients’ needs were met, did not provide patients with necessary nursing care, and neglected to put in place a program that would prevent and treat pressure sores.

Law claims that the actions of the employees at the assisted living facility caused Kennett’s bedsores and subsequent death on April 9, 2009. She contends that the decedent’s injuries and death has caused the estate to incur substantial medical bills.

Law is seeking over $100,000 plus costs and other relief.

Stage IV bedsores:Full-thickness skin loss, loss of subcutaneous tissue that may even impact bone and muscle. Damage to joints and tendons.

Stage III bedsores: Symptoms can include full-thickness loss of skin, significant tissue damage, higher risk of tissue death or infection.

Stage II bedsores: Broken skin, blistering, redness, irritation, partial-thickness skin loss affecting the dermis and epidermis, or skin ulcers.

Stage I bedsores: Tenderness, pain, and redness.

There are steps that nursing homes must take to prevent, diagnose, and treat pressure sores before they reach a stage where they can cause serious health issues, complications, or death. Unfortunately, each year Chicago, Illinois nursing home neglect causes many patients to develop decubitus ulcers that can prove fatal.

Alhambra Care Center sued over resident's care, The Record, June 30, 2010

Coding for Decubitus Ulcer, For the Record, January 17, 2005

Related Web Resources:
Bedsores, MayoClinic

Nursing Homes, Chicago, Illinois

A nursing home resident who is wanted by the law was arrested on June 24 during a compliance check raid on the Virgil Calvert Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in East St. Louis, Illinois. Rotherford Davis, 61, is wanted on a drug-possession charge.

The raid was part of Operation Guardian, a program that involves unannounced visits to nursing homes that allows officials to check whether an assisted living facility has any compliance and safety issues. The initiative, launched by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, is intended to protect nursing home patients.

Unfortunately, some criminals have been using Illinois assisted living facilities as safe houses where they can hide. It is a violation of the law for a nursing home operator to fail to identify that there is a fugitive living at a long-term care facility. Virgil Calvert’s owner did not know that Davis was a wanted man. However, nursing homes are supposed to conduct background checks on prospective residents and employees to determine whether they have criminal records and if any of them pose a danger to the other patients.

There are nursing home residents that have suffered severe injuries because they were sexually assaulted, physically assaulted, or murdered by a fellow resident or a nursing worker with a violent past. Many of these injuries and deaths could have been prevented if only the nursing home did their job by screening out dangerous people and implementing safety measures in the event that a resident with a violent record was admitted. Nursing homes can be held liable for Illinois nursing home negligence if their failure to act allowed a patient’s personal injuries or wrongful death to occur.

Since launching Operation Guardian last February, 12 Illinois nursing homes have been inspected during these unannounced visits. Police have found 61 people that are wanted on arrest warrants for crimes ranging from disorderly conduct to attempted murder to sexual offenses. 12 arrests have been made. Many arrests could not be made because the patients were too sick to be transported from the facility or there were geographic limits to the warrants. According to Madigan’s deputy chief of Staff Kara Madigan, every raid has turned up at least one person wanted by the law.

Our Chicago, Illinois nursing home neglect and abuse lawyers very familiar with the harm residents can suffer when living alongside residents that have raped or murdered in the past.

Fugitive arrested in raid on nursing home, BND.com, June 25, 2010

Shocking Number of Fugitives Hiding in East St. Louis Nursing Homes, RiverFront Times, June 25, 2010

Related Web Resources:

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan

Nursing Home Safety Task Force

Continue reading "Illinois Nursing Home Sweep Leads to Fugitive’s Arrest" »

A jury has awarded the family of Burr Needham $4.85 M for his nursing home death. Needham died of a morphine overdose while undergoing physical therapy for a nondisplaced hip fracture at Mercy Memorial Nursing Center in 2002.

The County medical examiner had ruled his death a homicide caused by acute morphine intoxication. Yet the nursing home staff couldn’t account for the morphine that was administered to Needham.

In their nursing home negligence lawsuit, Needham’s family accused Dr. Arun Gupta and five nurses of being responsible for the medication overdose. Last week, the jury agreed, awarding $3 million to Needham’s wife, who died in 2007, for noneconomic loss of society and companionship, $1.5 million for Needham’s own pain and suffering, and $350,000 for damages, including burial expenses and other valuables and gifts Mrs. Needham would have received from her husband prior to her death. A judge had dismissed the wrongful death lawsuit in 2008 but a three-judge panel on the state’s Court of Appeals reinstated it in 2009.

Morphine Overdose
Taking too much morphine can prove fatal. Signs of a morphine overdose include:

• Hypotension
• Bradycardia
• Shallow and slowed breathing
• Limp muscles
• Severe drowsiness
• Fluid in the lungs
• Limp muscles
• Clammy skin
• Small pupils

Morphine is used for pain control. It is important that the correct dosage is administered to the patient so that he or she doesn’t overdose, become addicted, or suffer other health complications. Failure to properly administer this powerful drug at an assisted living facility can be grounds for a Chicago, Illinois nursing home neglect and abuse complaint.

Family wins $4.85 million for nursing home death, Toledo Blade, June 29, 2010

Morphine Uses, MedTV

Related Web Resource:
National Center on Elder Abuse