Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

The holiday season is a great time to visit your elderly or sick loved one at an Illinois nursing home. Not only will your family get to spend quality time together, but the visit also gives you an opportunity to check on your loved one and make sure that he or she is getting the proper care and attention and is not the victim of nursing home abuse or neglect.

What to Watch Out for During Your Nursing Home Visit:

• Check your loved one’s skin of bruises, unexplained irritations, or bedsores.
• Notice whether he or she is properly groomed. Dirty clothing, ingrown nails, messy hair, or body odor can be signs that that the nursing home workers are neglecting your loved one’s personal hygiene.
• Ask yourself if your loved one has lost weight or doesn’t seem interested in eating.
• Check your loved one’s personal belonging to make sure nothing has been stolen.
• Look at how efficient (or not) nursing home workers are at responding to calls or maintaining your loved one’s care schedule.

If possible, talk to your loved one. Find out about the quality of care he or she is receiving. Inquire if your loved one feels happy, safe, and secure at the nursing home. Ask if anyone is hurting your loved one or if he or she is afraid of anyone at the nursing home.

It is also a good idea to talk to the nursing home supervisor and/or other workers to get an update about your loved one’s care and condition. This will let them know that you have “got your loved one’s back,” are monitoring his or her care and condition, and you will not tolerate any abuse. It also gives you an opportunity to discuss any complaints or grievances your loved one might have and make sure that any problems are remedied.

If you believe that your loved one is a victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, you should take steps to remove your loved one from the Illinois care facility as soon as possible.

Related Web Resource:

Illinois Nursing Homes

Continue reading " Thanksgiving Visits At Illinois Nursing Homes Can Be A Time To Make Sure That Your Loved One is Getting the Proper Care " »

A former nursing home resident who says he was wrongfully discharged from the residence and left in an unfurnished apartment with a four-day supply of medications and just $30 is suing parent company Petersen Health Care of Illinois. Harold Edwards is accusing the now-closed Meadowlawn Health Care Center of nursing home negligence, recklessness, dependent adult abuse, breach of contract, and taking inappropriate actions when he complained about the quality of care its workers were giving him.

The former resident also claims the nursing home was not properly staffed, did not properly administer medicines, and caused him emotional trauma when he saw other residents being harmed. This is the second nursing home neglect lawsuit filed against Meadowlawn. The nursing home closed last year after the US government revoked its Medicaid and Medicare funds and steps were taken to revoke its license.

In Trina Curtis’s lawsuit against Peterson Health Care, she accused Meadowlawn workers of failing to properly care for her mother’s wounds. Because her mother did not get the proper medical attention, Curtis says Janet Martin developed “uncontrolled” issues, such as dehydration, improper diet, and life-threatening medical complications.

Curtis also claims the elderly resident became completely disabled, experienced pain and suffering, and lost the ability to have a normal life. Martin's resulting health complications required that she undergo extensive medical treatments. She died in 2006, three weeks after she left Meadowlawn and was transferred to Muscatine Care Center.

In the last two years, Meadowlawn has been fined a number of times for improper nursing home care. The nursing home received its final fine after it made nursing home residents move out without giving them much option or notice.

Former resident sues now-closed nursing home, Quad-City Times, November 23, 2008

Shuttered nursing home sued for malpractice, Quad-City Times, November 30, 2007

Related Web Resource:

Petersen Health Care of Illinois, Manta.com

In Cook County Circuit Court, the daughter of an elderly woman who died after being attacked while staying at an Illinois nursing home is suing Lexington Health Care Center of Streamwood and nursing home resident Vonda Messino for her wrongful death. The lawsuit accuses Messino of attacking Mary Ann Flynn at the nursing home on November 24, 2006, while contending that the assault incident either contributed to or caused Flynn’s death.

Flynn sustained bruises in the attack and suffered a stroke before dying. She was a resident at the Illinois nursing home because she was suffering from hypertension, dementia, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder.

According to the Illinois wrongful death lawsuit, Messino had threatened Flynn with violence on several occasions. The threats were made in front of nursing home staffers who were aware that Messino possessed an inclination for violence.

Flynn’s daughter is accusing nursing home workers of nursing home negligence. Her lawsuit cites their alleged failure to protect Flynn from neglect and abuse, failure to notify Flynn’s family in a timely manner about the attack, failure to let them know that her condition had changed, and failure to hire nurses who had the proper training to supervise residents so that they wouldn’t attack other residents. The lawsuit also claims that properly trained nurses would have known to transfer Flynn to a medical hospital for her protection.

In addition to claiming battery, Flynn’s daughter is seeking over $250,000 plus interest and costs.

Nursing Home Residents Attacking Other Residents
Illinois nursing home staffers are supposed to protect residents from assaults—whether by staffers, other residents, or others. A 2004 article on Findarticles.com about the health care industry says data gathered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports that some 80,000 US nursing home residents exhibited aggressive behavior the week before they were assessed with the Minimum Data Set.

A resident at a nursing home who exhibits violent tendencies can pose both a physical and psychological threat to other residents. Nursing homes can be held liable for premises liability, personal injury, or wrongful death if the residential care facility fails to take the proper measures to protect residents and others on the premise from becoming the victims of violent crimes.

Streamwood nursing home death sparks lawsuit, The Courier News, November 22, 2008

When residents attack residents, FindArticles.com, August 2004

Related Web Resources:

Lexington Health Care Center of Streamwood

Nursing Homes in Illinois, Illinois Department of Public Health

Continue reading " Streamwood Nursing Home is Defendant in Illinois Wrongful Death Lawsuit " »

The Illinois company that previously owned The Pavilion of Forest Park has pleaded guilty to the felony gross neglect of a Long Term Care Facility Resident, which is a Class 4 felony conviction. Forest Park, LLC was the owner of the nursing home when 48-year-old Shirley Massey was a resident there from May 2002 until her death four months later.

In September 2005, a Cook County grand jury indicted the nursing home operator and Dr. Jason Garti, the homes former medical director and wound care physician, with the gross neglect of Shirley Massey. Following Forest Park LLC’s guilty plea, a Cook County Circuit Court judge ordered the company to pay $75,000 for prosecution and investigation expenses, as well as a $25,000 fine. Judge James Schreier also sentenced the company to 30 months conditional discharge.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan vowed to continue filing criminal charges against any nursing home companies that are guilty of nursing home neglect or abuse. The charges against Forest Park, LLC stem from an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Massey’s death. According to Court testimony, the 48-year-old woman was taken to the Loyola Hospital emergency room when bedsores were discovered on her body. There was also tissue damage to her bones. Hospital workers said this was the worst case of decibitus ulcers they had ever dealt with.

By pleading guilty to gross neglect, the Illinois nursing operator was acknowledging responsibility when Dr. Garti failed to provide Massey with standard care because he did not properly examine her and come up with a plan to take care of her condition.

Bedsores
Bedsores commonly affects nursing home residents, many of whom are forced to lie in bed for long periods of time because of their deteriorating condition or poor health. With the proper care, bedsores are preventable.

Guilty plea in nursing home neglect case, Chicago Breaking News, November 17, 2008

Former Nursing Home Operator Guilty of Neglect, Illinois Attorney General

Related Web Resources:

Bedsores, Health A to Z

Pressure ulcers, Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

Continue reading " Forest Park, Illinois Nursing Home Operator Pleads Guilty to Felony Gross Neglect in Patient’s Death " »

A US nursing home continues to come under fire following a 370-page report released earlier this month citing the care center with committing 28 violations. The Health Department’s probe into to patient care at the Whispering Pines Nursing Center began a few months ago after family members of one female resident complained that there were massive bruises on her face, neck and chest.

Carol Crow has Alzheimer’s disease. Her family maintains that she was clearly the victim of an assault crime, and her husband Jack says that she told him that a man knocked her over and beat her until she became unconscious. Nursing home workers, however, denied that any abuse or assault occurred. They said that she likely sustained her injuries during a fall accident. The nursing home has been cited for failing to fully investigate the abuse accusations in Crow’s case.

The care facility also received a citation for failing to provide an HIV-positive patient who is sexually active with condoms. Also in the report, one nursing home resident is noted for complaining that another resident assaulted him on a daily basis. The patient eventually broke his hip and femur before dying a month later. Whispering Pines had been given until November 28th to correct every violation.

Nursing Home Abuse ad Neglect
Not only are nursing home workers supposed to provide residents with the proper care and medical attention, but they are also supposed to make sure that patients do not become the victims of nursing home abuse or neglect or are placed in a situation that could endanger their lives. Endangering a patient's life either through nursing home neglect, abuse, inadequate security, or another cause can be grounds for a nursing home abuse or neglect lawsuit.

Norman nursing home cited in report, NewsOK, November 19, 2008

Investigation finds nursing home deficiencies, Norman Transcript, November 19, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Family faults Norman nursing home, The Oklahoma Daily, September 26, 2008

Nursing Homes, A Perfect Cause

Continue reading " Whispering Pines Nursing Home Cited for 28 Violations Related to Negligent Patient Care " »

The widow of a man who died of sepsis and renal failure as a result of dehydration is suing an East Moline nursing home for negligence leading to his death. Charles Mead died at age 79 in May 2007. He was a resident at Parkview Terrace.

He moved into the East Moline nursing home on May 14, 2007 after undergoing a medical procedure. Following his admission to the nursing residence, workers determined he was at risk for dehydration. It became the responsibility of staffers to monitor Charles’s fluid and food intake.

One week after he was admitted to the home, a nursing home worker noticed that the 79-year-old resident had medications running out of his mouth and that he appeared lethargic and nonresponsive. The staffer made a note to continue observing him.

Mary, who came to visit him that same morning, noted the same symptoms. It was then that a staffer called an ambulance so Charles could be taken to the emergency room.

According to Mary, the ER doctor told her that Charles’s dehydration was the worst case he had ever witnessed. Charles died 36 hours after being admitted to the hospital.

Following an investigation, the Illinois Department of Public Health found that Parkview Terrace workers neglected to record how much food and fluids Mead was taking each day, even though his care plan required that they monitor his meals. Two doctors that were interviewed about Charles’s case said that the elderly resident appeared to have become dehydrated over a period of several of days before he was taken to the hospital.

Dehydration
Dehydration occurs when a person loses more fluids than he or she takes into the body. The human body is made up of 2/3rds water. A person who is dehydrated does not have enough water left in the body for normal function.

While mild cases of dehydration are easily remedied and/or often go unnoticed, dehydration—especially for the sick or the elderly—can lead to broken bones, low blood pressure, lethargy, tooth decay, other illnesses and complications, and even death. Nursing home negligence or abuse, inadequate staffing, and inadequate training are common problems that can cause a resident to suffer from dehydration.

East Moline nursing home sued for negligence, Quad-City Times, November 13, 2008

Malnutrition And Dehydration Plague Nursing Home Residents, The Commonwealth Fund, June 7, 2000

Related Web Resources:

Dehydration, Medicine.net

Parkview Terrace, Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Report, Nursing Home Ratings.com

While seniors, age 65 and over, are considered more susceptible to serious injuries during fall accidents than their younger counterparts, many experts and medical professionals now see falls as accidents that can be prevented.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say 1.8 million Americans older than 65 are injured in fall accidents every year. While some elderly people easily recover from these falls, for others, the fall accident can be the beginning of a series of emotional problems and physical health issues, such as depression, a feeling of isolation, loss of confidence, infection, pneumonia, and muscle loss.

Older people may take a longer time to recover from broken bones and fractured hips. According to the CDC, 1 out of ever 4 patients older than age 65 dies within a year of undergoing hip surgery. A weakened immune system, adverse reactions to taking multiple medications, and other ongoing health conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, or urinary incontinence, can lead to further complications.

In 2005, 433,000 seniors were treated in hospitals following fall accidents, while 15,800 seniors died because they were injured in fall accidents.

Falls in Nursing Homes
The CDC says that 1,800 elderly adults residing in nursing homes die every year in fall accidents, and the average nursing home (100 beds) reports 100 – 200 fall accidents annually.

Steps Nursing Homes Can Take to Prevent Fall Accidents:

• Create an environment where it is easy for residents to move around without falling. Modifications might included raised toilets, handrails in hallways, and lowered beds.
• Review a patient's list of medications to see whether the benefits outweigh the risks. Some medications can cause dizziness.
• Provide patients with hip pads to reduce the impact of a fall accident.
• Installing alarms to warn nurses when patients fall.

Nursing home negligence can be a contributing cause of fall accidents.

Once Just an Aging Sign, Falls Merit Complex Care, New York Times, November 7, 2008

Falls in Nursing Homes, CDC

Related Web Resources:

A Home Fall Prevention Checklist for Older Adults, CDC (PDF)

Preventing slip and fall accidents in nursing homes and long-term care facilities

Continue reading " Nursing Homes Can Take Steps to Prevent Fall Accidents " »

An 84-year-old nursing home resident who was attacked by a fellow resident has died. Raul Saldivar sustained a skull fracture after another nursing home resident came into his room on Friday night and started hitting him with some medical equipment. Saldivar died on Monday.

According to investigators, the alleged attacker thought that he had entered his own room and that Saldivar was occupying his bed. The 48-year-old man was transferred to a mental health facility after the attack. The district attorney’s office is evaluating whether to press criminal charges against him.

Unfortunately, crimes at nursing homes are not uncommon. The Web Site, Everyblock.com, compiles a list of crimes at Chicago nursing homes. Incidents in the last three weeks alone have included:

• 3 incidents of simple assault
• 4 theft crimes
• 7 incidents of simple battery
• 2 incidents involving aggravated battery

Other crimes that can occur at nursing home include nursing home abuse, neglect, sexual assault, rape, and murder.

Nursing homes are supposed to create a safe environment for residents. When failure to put in place and enforce the proper security measures allows a nursing home resident or visitor to become the victim of a violent crime, the home can be held liable for premises liability, personal injury, or wrongful death.

If you or someone you love was attacked, assaulted, or robbed by another nursing home resident, a nursing home staffer, or another person at an Illinois nursing home, it is important that you report the incident to police immediately.

Man dies after attack allegedly by fellow nursing home resident, Chron.com, November 11, 2008

Crimes by place: Nursing home / retirement home, Everyblock.com

Related Web Resources:

Nursing homes advised to report crimes to law enforcement, The Norman Transcript, November 8, 2008
Breaux: Nursing home crimes underreported, CNN.com, March 4, 2002

Continue reading " Nursing Homes Must Create An Environment Where Residents Are Protected From Violent Crimes " »

Lake County has finalized its $1 million settlement to the family of an 83-year-old Alzheimer’s patient who was the victim of nursing home negligence. Helen Menneke, 83, died in 2005 while living at the Winchester House nursing home in Libertyville.

Menneke, who was suffering from dementia, was admitted to the Illinois nursing home in January 2004. She was already having problems walking steadily at this time.

Her family’s nursing home negligence lawyer contends that not only did the home fail to conduct a full fall assessment on Menneke, but also, no steps were taken during the first eight months of her stay to prevent fall accidents even though the 83-year-old fell six times.

It wasn’t until September 2004 that nurses installed bed alarms to let them know when Menneke was not in her bed. Despite stricter precautions, however, Menneke fell another two times, fracturing her elbow and arm and sustaining a brain injury.

Fall Accidents
Fall accidents are the number one cause of injuries that can land seniors (over age 65) in the emergency room. The older a person becomes, the greater their chances are of sustaining a serious injury during a fall accident.

• 70% of accidental deaths involving victims 75 years of age and older are caused by fall accidents.
• 90% of hip fractures occur during falls.
• Every year, 60% of residents in nursing homes are involved in fall accidents.

Winchester House has now put in place stricter polices for monitoring nursing home residents who are prone to fall accidents. While Lake County reached a settlement agreement with Menneke's family a few months ago, the payments were not finalized until last week.

If your loved one got hurt in a fall accident at a nursing home because he or she was being neglected by nurses or other staff workers, you can take steps to hold the nursing home and its employees liable.

County pays family $1M in negligence case, Lake County News-Sun, November 7, 2008

$1 million settlement in Libertyville nursing home case, Daily Herald, November 6, 2008

Falls in the Elderly, American Family Physician

Related Web Resources:

What Causes Falls in the Elderly?, AAFP.org

Winchester House

Continue reading " Lake County Pays Family $1 Million for Nursing Home Negligence " »

Federal and Illinois litigators have removed a Forest Park nursing home off a Federal Watch List of the worst residential care facilities in the United States. The decision to remove Berkshire Nursing and Rehab from the list of over 100 substandard care facilities comes after a series of inspections showed improvement in resident care at the home.

The list, which is put together by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, tries to identify long-term care facilities that have an inconsistent history of compliance. In order to “qualify” for “special focus facility” status, a facility must show a history of serious problems, such as nursing home abuse or neglect, over at least a three-year period. A nursing home that is placed on the list will be subject to more inspections. If problems continue to arise, enforcement efforts become more rigorous.

The Berkshire Nursing and Rehab, located on Roosevelt Road, was on the list for as a “special focus facility” for 39 months. Prior to coming under new ownership, the nursing home was called the Pavilion of Forest Park. The home’s current lead administrator and co-owner, David Berkowitz, says patient care improved after he turned over many staff posts, hired several new department heads, and implemented new training methods.

According to the Centers for Medical and Medicaid Services, nursing homes that are no longer listed as “special focus facilities” will have exhibited a significant improvement for about a year. However, the organization is quick to caution that just because a facility is no longer on this list does not mean that all issues have been resolved.

Unfortunately nursing home abuse and neglect continues to be a problem in many US nursing homes. Many times, victims of nursing home abuse and neglect are too frail or sick to report that they are being mistreated or not getting the proper care that they need.

Berkshire Nursing removed from federal watch list, Forest Park Review, November 4, 2008

Lawsuit is first for nursing home's new management, Forest Park Review, May 27, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Nursing Homes in Illinois

Continue reading " Illinois Nursing Home Improves Patient Care and is Removed from Federal Watch List of Substandard Care Facilities " »

The daughters of a man who died last year after being diagnosed with malnourishment, a urinary tract infection, and advance-stage bedsores are suing the Chicago nursing home where he resided for nursing home neglect. Stanley “Ted” Dancy was admitted to Washington Heights Nursing Home after doctors recommended that he undergo rehabilitation for an illness. Just one month after being admitted to the home, he was take to Mt. Sinai Hospital where his pressure sores and other symptoms were identified and treated. He was then admitted to a different nursing home.

According to Charlotte Parnell, one of Dancy’s daughters, her father’s condition was so far gone after he left the hospital that he was never able to recover. Dancy died on December 12, 2007.

In their Illinois nursing home abuse lawsuit, Parnell and her sister Delorise Darcy-Johnson are accusing the Chicago nursing home of contributing to their father’s death. They claim that the negligent care that Dancy received at the home led to the injuries he sustained leading up to his death.

Pressure Sores
Also known as bedsores, pressure sores occur to a particular part of the body that has experienced prolonged pressure and poor circulation, causing tissue and skin to break down. The skin initially turns red and is irritated until open sores develop. A pressure sore can lead to the destruction of bone and muscle.

There are four stages used to diagnose and treat pressure sores:

Stage 1: The skin remains red even after the pressure has been alleviated.
Stage 2: Layers of skin are gone. The pressure sore looks like an abrasion or blister.
Stage 3: No more skin remains on the sore and tissue is exposed.
Stage 4: Skin and tissue loss leads to exposure of muscle and bone.

Nursing home residents who are the victims of neglect have been known to suffer from malnutrition or sustain bedsores and UTI’s. If you suspect that your loved one is a victim of nursing home neglect, it is important that you take immediate steps to remove him or her from the Illinois residential care facility.

Sisters sue nursing home over death of father, The Daily Journal, November 6, 2008

Pressure Sores, Medline Plus

Related Web Resource:

Washington Heights Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Another four workers at the Medford Multicare Center for Living were charged with falsifying records and mistreating patients. These are the latest nursing home neglect-related arrests since the New York Attorney General’s Office began using surveillance cameras in nursing homes throughout the state to monitor for incidents of nursing home abuse and neglect.

The workers are licensed nurses Janet Coleman and Kim Purdum and certified nursing aides Marie Pierre and Paulette George. At their arraignment, all four nursing home workers pleaded not guilty.

Video surveillance footage shows Coleman failing to treat a resident’s ears for chafing and failing to clean his gastronomy tube. Pierre is seen failing to turn the same patient every two hours or change his underwear.

George is accused of only giving a resident baths in beds but failing to give him showers. Purdum did not follow doctor orders to give another resident daily blood tests to monitor doses of Coumadin. The patient began bleeding internally and was transported to a hospital.

These are not the first arrests in connection with the Medford Multicare Center for Living based on surveillance footage. Earlier this month, licensed nurses Rima Chaudhry and Toni Miller and certified nursing assistants Betty Cheslak and Jacqueline Francis faced similar charges for incidents involving neglect and the falsifying of medical records to conceal the neglect.

Nursing Home Neglect
Neglect of a nursing home resident can lead to serious injuries. Failure to regularly turn a patient can result in bedsores, while neglecting to administer tests can seriously compromise a patient’s health. Patients have also been known to break a hip or another body part because the proper safety measures were not used to transfer a patient from his or her bed to a wheelchair.

4 workers at Medford nursing home charged with mistreating patients, Newsday.com, October 31, 2008

Four Caught On Tape In Nursing Home Neglect, North County Gazette, October 7, 2008

Nursing Homes in Illinois

Nursing Home Guide

Continue reading " Hidden Camera Leads to More Arrests for Nursing Home Neglect " »