Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

In Illinois, a Champaign County nursing home worker is behind bars for allegedly punching an Alzheimer’s patient in the face two times. According police, Sharoia Hill, 28, wanted an item back from the 87-year-old patient and assaulted him in order to retrieve it.

Hill’s arraignment took place yesterday, and she was charged with two counts of aggravated battery. If convicted of the Class 3 felony charges, she could be convicted to up to five years in prison and made to pay a $25,000 fine.

The assault incident reportedly took place on Wednesday night and was witnessed by two people. The Alzheimer’s patient did not sustain serious injuries but the punches left red marks on his face.

Hill reportedly was new at the Illinois nursing home. The long-term care facility is conducting an investigation into the incident, as is the East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging.

Nursing Home Assault
Assault by a nursing home worker is nursing home abuse and can cause physical and emotional injury to a resident. Long-term care facilities are supposed to make sure that the nursing aides and other workers that they hire are not inclined to inflict abuse or neglect on their patients and that workers are properly trained regarding how to deal with residents—especially patients suffering from Alzheimer’s or other mental illnesses that may require skilled, specialized handling by professionals who understand that their needs and responses may be different from the average person.

If someone you love was the victim of physical assault, sexual assault, or another kind of abusive behavior at an Illinois nursing home, the long-term care facility could be held liable for personal injury or wrongful death.

Nurse assistant accused of abuse at county nursing home, The News-Gazette, April 10, 2009

Police: Nursing Home Worker Punches Patient, IllinoisHomePage.net, April 9, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Elder Abuse, Medline Plus

Nursing Homes in Illinois