Chicago Nursing Home Neglect Lawsuit Filed After 69-Year-Old Nursing Home Resident is Allegedly Raped by Mentally Ill Patient
In Cook County Circuit Court, the family of a 69-year-old female nursing home resident who was allegedly raped by a younger, mentally ill patient is suing Maplewood Care of Elgin for Illinois nursing home neglect. The complaint, filed on Monday, seeks at least $50,000 in damages and names Maplewood Care, former nursing home administrator James L. Doyle, and S.I.R. Management as the defendants.
According to the Chicago nursing home neglect lawsuit, 21-year-old resident Christopher Shelton could not be found during bed check but no one made an attempt to look for him or notify residents that his whereabouts were unknown even though he was a young, sexually frustrated, aggressive, mentally ill convicted felon.
Later in the evening, a nurse heard the sound of a woman moaning. When she entered the resident’s room, the elderly resident was crying and Shelton was in her bathroom contacting 911 to report that the woman had been attacked. The emergency medical personnel that arrived at the scene to examine her confirm signs of sexual trauma.
Shelton was admitted to the Elgin nursing home last November. He has bipolar disorder with aggression. He reportedly told nursing home workers that he was feeling sexually frustrated yet they failed to monitor him to make sure he didn’t act on his frustrations.
The Chicago nursing home neglect complaint accuses Maplewood Care of trying to cover up the rape by portraying the incident in its report to the state as a consensual sexual encounter between the two residents. It also contends that the family was not notified that a resident with a history of violent and aggressive criminal conduct was at the Illinois nursing home.
The lawsuit also accuses the Elgin nursing home of failing to do a proper criminal check on Shelton. The 21-year-old nursing home resident had an outstanding arrest warrant in his name for felony battery charges. Shelton has pleaded not guilty to 11 counts related to the alleged rape, including a charge for aggravated sexual assault.
Mentally Ill Patients in Illinois Nursing Homes
According to a recent Associated Press review, there is a disturbing trend occuring in US nursing homes involving older nursing home residents becoming the victims of crimes committed by younger, stronger nursing home patients that are suffering from mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and depression. Out of all the US states, Illinois was noted as the state with the most number of mentally ill patients under age 65—over 12,000 patients—in nursing homes.
Regardless, Illinois nursing homes are responsible for making sure that all of their residents do not the become the victims of any type of violent crimes, including nursing home abuse, sexual abuse, rape, and physical assault. Failure to take action to protect nursing home patients can be grounds for an Illinois nursing home neglect lawsuit.
Family sues nursing home in alleged sex attack, AP, May 12, 2009
Illinois Nursing Homes Tops in Younger Mentally Ill, Chicago Tribune, March 23, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Maplewood Care of Elgin
Illinois Nursing Homes House More Mentally Ill Patients Under Age 65 than Long-Term Care Facilities in Other US States, the Law Offices of Steven J Malman & Associates, PC, March 20, 2009
