Illinois Nursing Home Neglect Lawsuit Filed After 89-Year-Old Chicago Woman Freezes to Death
In Illinois, the family of Sarah Wentworth is suing the Arbor of Itasca, a Chicago suburb nursing home for her wrongful death. Wentworth died last week after she froze to death outside the long-term care facility.
The 89-year-old woman had been a resident at the long-term care facility for two years. Wentworth had dementia, and her family thought they had placed her in a nursing home where she was getting the care she needed.
She was found outside the nursing home in subfreezing temperatures on February 4. She was scantily clad and in her bare feet.
Her family is wondering how an elderly woman who couldn’t get out of bed without assistance managed to go through two doors and pass a nurse’s station to go outside. Wentworth’s walker was reportedly still in her bedroom and a security ankle bracelet she had on should have sounded the alarms when she walked through the doors.
In her family's Chicago nursing home neglect lawsuit, the plaintiffs are accusing the Chicago nursing home of “gross neglect” due to its failure to properly supervise the elderly woman and provide her with proper medical attention. The Illinois Department of Public Health is investigating the cause of her death and police are working with DuPage County prosecutors to determine whether criminal charges need to be filed.
If law enforcement officials find that nursing home staff purposely covered up what occurred, a felony charge of obstruction of justice could apply. Already, there is conflicting information coming from nine of the nursing home workers who were working the day Wentworth went outside.
Recently, the Arbor of Itasca was given a one star rating for quality of care by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This rating, which signifies “much below average,” is the lowest rating that the federal agency can give a US nursing home.
During the Chicago nursing home’s last yearly inspection, the state of Illinois found 22 violations, including failure to treat patients with bed sores and failure to keep the long-term care facility free of hazards that could cause injury to residents.
Nursing home neglect is a crime and grounds for a civil lawsuit against all negligent parties.
Family sues Itasca nursing home after woman dies, Daily Herald, February 12, 2009
Nursing Home Death A Warning To Other Families, CBS2Chicago.com, February 11, 2009
Related Web Resources:
The Arbor of Itasca
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
