Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

State health officials have ordered the New Hope Care Center to pay $100,000 for nursing home negligence. They say that the assisted living facility ignored a 78-year-old woman’s deteriorating condition, did not properly monitor her medication, and neglected to take her to the emergency room as soon as possible when her brain began to bleed.

The woman had osteoporosis, heart problems, a hip fracture, osteoarthritis, and hypertension when she was checked into the nursing home. Despite all of her ailments, state investigators say that caregivers at the assisted living facility neglected to properly assess the patient’s medical condition or let doctors know that her condition had changed. Nursing negligence is what led to her death, they say.

A doctor had prescribed an increased dosage of medication for the woman to prevent blood clots. Excessive bleeding is one of the known side effects from this drug. However, state regulators contend that because the nursing home workers were not properly monitoring the woman’s condition for any changes, they failed to see the signs and that doing so could have prevented the woman’s death.

Medicare’s Nursing Home Compare Web site had given the New Hope Care Center a one star rating (for “much below average”) out of five possible stars. The nursing home was fined $1,000 in February 2008 after state inspectors found that the workers at the nursing home did not properly monitor the assisted living facility’s policy on infection control.

The daughter of another woman is also accusing the long-term living facility of medical negligence. The woman says that the staffers at the home ignored her 74-year-old mother during her stay at the home between 2006-2007 and, as a result, her mother’s condition deteriorated. She died after she was transferred to another nursing home.

Failure to Monitor Nursing Home Patient’s Medical Care
Nursing home workers are supposed to monitor a patient’s care and to notify a resident’s physician of any change in the resident’s condition. Failure to notice certain symptoms or medical side effects as soon as possible can lead to serious health issues for a sick or elderly patient. This type of negligence can be grounds for a Chicago nursing home neglect lawsuit.

State cites poor care, Record.net, August 26, 2009

New Hope nursing home hit with stiff fine after a death, Tracy Press, August 27, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Compare, Medicare.gov

Nursing Homes in Chicago, Illinois, The City of Chicago

Continue reading " Assisted Living Facility Fined $100,000 for Nursing Home Negligence Following 78-Year-Old Resident’s Death " »

A nursing home resident was arrested after he punched another patient at the Columbus Park Nursing Center. The West side assisted living facility is located in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. Police have charged 62-year-old Ardyce Nauden with aggravated battery over the alleged Chicago nursing home abuse incident. Nauden is accused of striking Andres Cardona because he thought the 72-year-old was trying to steal his food. The assault rendered Cardona unconscious and he was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition.

Unfortunately, nursing home abuse can be inflicted by assisted living workers as well as fellow residents, and our Chicago nursing home abuse law firm is disturbed by the fact that so many elderly and sick assisted living facility residents are getting hurt because other patients either have a violent streak in them or are too sick to know that their actions are causing injury to another resident.

Just last week an 87-year-old resident was charged with the murder of another patient at the Harmony Hall Assisted Living Facility. Police say Earl Lafayette Wilder attacked 91-year-old James Brown, striking him in the head. Investigators say that Brown did nothing to provoke Wilder. They don’t think the two men knew each other before the fatal attack happened.

Court records, however, note that Wilder suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and “pugilistic dementia.” As geriatric psychiatrist Dr. Alan Jonas told the Baltimore Sun, patients suffering from dementia can become delusional and paranoid.

Chicago nursing homes have an obligation to protect residents not just from themselves but also from each other. When failure to take the steps necessary to ensure a resident’s safety results in injury or death, the long-term facility can be held liable for Chicago nursing home negligence.

Dementia indicated in fatal pummeling, The Baltimore Sun, August 26, 2009

Man charged in nursing home fight, WBBM780.com, August 24, 2009

Md. Man Charged in Nursing Home Murder, My Fox DC, August 24, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Neural Networks Mapped In Dementia Patients, Science Daily, August 21, 2009

Violence by Dementia Patients in Nursing Home Associated with Key Factors, Senior Journal, June 27, 2006

The Illinois Department of Public Health is fining Golden Moments Senior Care Center for failing to protect six nursing home residents from becoming the victims of verbal, mental, and physical abuse. The $20,000 fine comes after an inspection last June that took place when the Jacksonville, Illinois nursing home told the state about accusations made against a former nursing aide.

The state report describes some of the alleged Illinois nursing home abuse incidents. In one incident, staff “forcefully” held down a male resident while threatening to cut his throat. The male resident cried. In another alleged abuse incident, staff confiscated a female resident’s food and nail polish while slapping her face. Other patients complained that staff took away their drinks or food. The report says that a number of nursing home staff members recorded themselves making fun of residents.

The state says that patients complained about the abuse incidents for at least two weeks and other staff members saw, knew about, or suspected that nursing home abuse was taking place yet did not report the problem immediately. It would be at least six weeks, possibly several months, before the administrator that there were problems.

The Illinois Department of Health says that the for-profit nursing home failed to have a registered nurse on duty for 8 hours, 7 days a week. There were also maintenance and housekeeping issues.

The Illinois State Police is investigating the abuse allegations and the Morgan County State’s Attorney Chris Reif will consider whether criminal charges need to be filed.

US News & World Report gave Golden Moments a “one” out of five-star rating. The Jacksonville, Illinois nursing home is contesting the fines. Meantime, the nursing home aide, who was fired from the assisted living facility, is denying the allegations.

US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid spokeswoman Elizabeth Surgene says Golden Moments continues to remain out of compliance with federal health standards. Federal fines against the Illinois nursing home over the nursing home abuse allegations are accumulating.

Police investigate nursing home abuse claims, The State Journal Register, August 23, 2009

Local nursing home faces fines, investigation, My Journal Courier, August 25, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Department of Public Health

US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid

Continue reading " Jacksonville, Illinois Assisted Living Facility is Fined for Failing to Protect Residents From Nursing Home Negligence " »

The family of Georgia Fitsos is suing Broadstone Residential Facility for nursing home neglect and wrongful death. Fitsos, a patient at the long-term care facility, died in October 2007.

The 82-year-old woman’s cause of death was acute sepsis and other medical complications because of a Stage 4 pressure wound. Her son noticed the bedsore about two months before her death when he saw that she was experiencing breathing difficulties. It was then that paramedics rushed her to the hospital.

Fitsos also suffered from dementia and Alzheimer’s. A month before the bedsore was discovered, in July 2007, her son John visited her at the nursing home and took pictures of her black eye. He says she told him that another person had struck her. Nursing home staffers, however, said that she injured herself when she fell asleep while seated at her wheelchair and her face fell onto the dining table.

Stage IV Bedsores
A stage IV bedsore is a serious matter. By the time the bedsore reaches this stage, the decubitus ulcer has gone from the skin into the bone, muscle, or tendon. A person with a stage IV bedsore should be rushed to the hospital emergency room immediately.

Nursing home staffers are supposed to make sure that they regularly change the sheets of bedridden patients, while making sure that they turn the residents on a regular basis so that bedsores don’t develop.

Patients who are bed-bound are most at risk of developing bedsores in certain areas of their body, including their:

• Shoulders
• Shoulder blades
• Back or sides of the head
• Ears’ rims
• Lower back
• Hip bones
• Tailbone
• The sides or backs of the heels, knees, toes, or ankles

Unfortunately, nursing home negligence can lead to bedsores that can lead to serious health complications, even death. Other nursing home patients who may be at risk of developing pressure ulcers are residents that use wheelchairs or need help changing positions.

Woman's death prompts family to take action, SacBee, August 19, 2009

Bedsores (pressure sores), MayoClinic

Related Web Resources:
Bed sores

CarePathways

The son of former nursing home resident Ruby Larson is suing the Pheasant Pointe Retirement and Assisted Living Residence and its parent company for wrongful death. Larson, 75, was an Alzheimer’s patient. She disappeared from the nursing home in July 2007 after being admitted to the facility in May of that year. In 2008, a judge declared Larson legally dead.

The family’s nursing home negligence complaint is seeking $2 million. According to the lawsuit, the elderly woman had wandered on multiple occasions yet nursing home workers failed to prevent her from eloping again. The plaintiff, David Buoy, is Larson’s son. He wants compensation for the loss of companionship that he and his two brothers have suffered since his mother disappeared.

The complaint claims that nursing home workers knew that Larson suffered from short-term memory loss, dementia, and disorientation. They were also aware that she could not remember what her limits or medical or health needs were. She also had been flagged as a wander-risk. Buoy’s wrongful death lawsuit says that nursing home staffers did not immediately tell police that his mother had disappeared.

Nursing Home Elopement
A nursing home patient who suffers from dementia or memory loss and wanders off the premise could end up forgetting where he or she came from and how to get back to the facility. This can be dangerous for the resident’s health, who could end up freezing to death, suffering from serious dehydration, getting injured in a pedestrian accident, breaking a hip in a fall accident, or becoming the victim of a sexual or physical assault crime. Many patients that live in nursing homes require strict supervision—especially patients who are a wander risk, forget where they are, need help taking care of their most basic needs, or are on a strict medical plan.

If your loved one wandered off a nursing home, you may have grounds for filing a nursing home negligence lawsuit.

Son of missing Alzheimer’s patient sues care facility, KATU, August 4, 2009

Family of missing Alzheimer's patient sues care center, Oregon Live, August 3, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Common Reasons for Wandering Behavior in Alzheimer's, About.com

The Mysteries of Dementia-Driven Wandering, NPR, June 29, 2009

A 77-year-old Chicago woman is suing Alden Northmoor Rehabilitation and Care Center for Illinois nursing home neglect resulting in personal injuries. Mary Clifton swallowed a surgical glove on two different occasions and is now immobile, unable to retain nutrients, and is at risk of suffering from dehydration.

Her Chicago nursing neglect lawsuit accuses the assisted living facility of failing to supervise her so that she wouldn’t swallow the glove. Clifton has dementia. When she was admitted to the Chicago nursing home in October 2007, staffers knew that she was prone to peculiar behaviors and also was someone who might have a tendency wander.

Clifton swallowed a glove the first time in April 2008. She underwent a small bowel resection after the incident before returning to the Chicago nursing home.

Clifton’s Cook County nursing neglect complaint contends that following the first incident staffers did not create a care plan to prevent her from putting objects in her mouth in the future. She swallowed another surgical glove in July 2008 and underwent another small bowel resection surgery. Family members then transferred her to another nursing home.

Nursing Home Patients with Dementia
People with dementia often require specialized care and attention. They may need help with eating, getting dressed, or taking a bath. They may be prone to wandering and then getting lost. They may be prone to irregular habits and erratic mood swings.

It is the responsibility of any Chicago nursing home that houses patients with dementia to make sure that they get the proper care and supervision that they need. People suffering from dementia are admitted to Illinois assisted living facilities because they can no longer take care of themselves and their loved ones do not have the training required to give them what they need.

Dementia: Info and Advice for Caregivers, FamilyDoctor.org

Dementia

A Kane County judge has found two sisters guilty of criminal neglect of an elderly person. The two defendants are Julie Barry, 48, and Jill Barry, 55. The elderly person was their mother, Mary Virginia Barry, 84, who died in 2007.

According to the Judge Allen Anderson, the two sisters may have intended to give their very sick and elderly mother the care that she needed but they failed to satisfy the standard that is considered a “good faith” effort that exempts caregivers from what is considered neglect. Anderson noted that “good intentions” do not equate to “good-faith efforts.”

On April 20, 2007, paramedics arrived at the home the two women lived in with their mother and found the 84-year-old in a demented state. She had aunts crawling on her and the sheets she was on had filth in them and she was suffering from severe dehydration. She also had bedsores on her back. One bedsore was so deep that hospital workers said they could see her vertebrae. The elderly woman, who had cancer complications and weighed approximately 80 pounds, died a week later.

At their criminal trial, the sisters said that they bathed and took care of their mother regularly. They said that their mother didn’t want to live in a nursing home or have a professional nurse come to their residence.

The Barry sisters’ sentencing hearing for their Kane County, Illinois elder abuse conviction is scheduled for October 9.

Elder Neglect in the Home
Unfortunately, nursing home professionals and other caregiver professionals are not the only ones who are known to commit elder neglect and abuse. Some elderly persons have been abused or neglected by loved ones who have been charged with their care. This can lead to fatal outcomes for the elderly person, who may have no one to turn to for help. Elder abuse can consist of physical abuse, failure to provide medical care, failure to feed or bathe the elderly person, financial exploitation, and other forms of abuse or neglect.

Daughters guilty of criminal neglect in mother's death, Chicago Tribune, August 14, 2009

Barry sisters found guilty of elder neglect

Related Web Resources:
Elder Abuse and Neglect: In Search of Solutions, American Psychologist Association

Abuse and Neglect of Elderly Persons by Family Members, PT Journal.org (PDF)

Continue reading " Geneva, Illinois Daughters Found Guilty of Elder Neglect Leading to Mother’s Death " »

A 72-year-old nursing home aide has pleaded guilty to violating public health law involving the abuse, neglect, and mistreatment of a person. Pierre Obas was working at the Waterview Hills Rehabilitation and Nursing Home when he used a bed sheet to tie an 83-year-old nursing home resident to a wheelchair, placed her in a common room, and turned out the lights so he could take a nap. The nursing home abuse incident took place in May 2008.

The elderly patient was restrained in this way for approximately an hour at around 2:30am after she had asked for help several times. She could not take care of herself or walk without help. Footage from the nursing home shows Obas pushing the woman while she was restrained in the wheelchair.

While doctors have required that seat-belt restraints be used with wheelchairs to prevent certain patients from slipping and falling off the chairs, bed sheets as a restraint method are discouraged because they could pose a strangulation or suffocation risk.

Obas has had to give up his nursing aide’s certificate and cannot work in this role for a year.

Improper Restraints
It is illegally to improperly restrain a nursing home patient. It doesn’t matter whether the restraint method is a physical one or a chemical one. Nursing home workers are not supposed to restrain patients unless there is a an appropriate reason for doing so. Restraining a resident as punishment or because staff workers are too busy or too lazy to take care of the patient is wrong and a form of nursing home negligence and abuse.

Improperly restraining a patient can result in emotional injuries, broken limbs, suffocation, and death.

Our Chicago nursing home abuse law firm is committed to protecting elder abuse victims and making sure that they are compensated for their injuries.

83-year-old patient restrained while aide took nap, Lohud.com, August 11, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Long Term Care Community Coalition

Restraints, The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care

The Illinois Department of Public Health wants the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid to fine La Salle County Nursing Home $20,000, in addition to $100 for each day between when the complaint was filed and when a review found that the assisted living facility was back in compliance, for allowing a male resident to sexually abuse 10 female patients. Some of his victims were suffering from dementia or could not speak and could not protest about his advances.

A spokesperson for the department said that the alleged nursing home sexual abuse was able to happen because of “systemic” issues that existed at the Ottawa, Illinois nursing home. A report by the health department last month accused administrative staff members at the nursing home of failing to recognize the nursing home abuse, failing to properly manage resources, and failing to implement procedures and polices regarding abuse.

Nurses, other patients, and employees who were interviewed for the investigation were able to describe some of the sexual abuse that occurred. The male resident reportedly would curse about sex when he was in the common areas and touched female residents’ breasts. One worker says the patient would touch women’s breasts whenever the worker would leave and then either pull back or yell that the worker get out upon the employee’s return.

If nursing home workers had witnessed such incidents then our Chicago nursing home abuse law firm wants to know, why was the man allowed to keep sexually abusing other patients from December 2008 until June 5, 2009? That is when the male patient was finally moved to a psychiatric unit.

Nursing home employees are supposed to report any incidents of nursing home abuse or neglect that occurs so that patients can be protected. Allowing a patient to be abused at an Illinois nursing home can be grounds for a Chicago nursing home abuse lawsuit.

LaSalle County-owned nursing home allegedly failed to prevent sexual abuse, PJStar, July 3, 2009

Ill. nursing home could face fines for abuse, Chicago Tribune

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Department of Public Health

US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid

Continue reading " La Salle County Nursing Home Could Face up to $20,000 Fine For Allowing Nursing Home Abuse by Patient " »

A new study from the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago reveals that elder abuse more than doubles the chances of seniors dying earlier, while self-neglect increases the chances of early death by six times. The study’s finding can be found in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s August 5, 2009 issue.

Dr. XinQi Dong, who is the study’s author, and a number of colleagues observed 9,318 Chicago seniors, all above the age of 65, that were taking part in the Chicago Health and Aging Project. They studied the seniors from 1993 to 2005. During this time period, social services received 113 reports of elder abuse and 1,544 reports of self-abuse. 4,306 participants died within seven years.

The study also found that seniors who were abused were twice as likely to die as seniors that were not abused. Dong noted that the studies findings indicate that self-neglect and abuse lead to the kind of physical deterioration that results in death. He says that usually this kind of mortality risk is associated with acute conditions, such as heart attacks. Dong emphasized the importance of preventing elder abuse and that reporting any incidents as soon as they happen can lead to medical intervention.

Dong noted that it is a misconception that only elderly people with dementia and Alzheimer’s are prone to neglect their own care.

Elder Abuse
Elder abuse endangers the victim’s physical, mental, and emotional states. Yet The National Center on Elder Abuse reports that at least 1 out of every 20 nursing home patients is abused or neglected, while acknowledging that this estimate is likely lower than what is the actual reality. 57% of nursing home workers admit to either having seen or committed nursing home abuse and neglect. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that between 1999 and 2002, nursing home neglect was a contributing factor in almost 14,000 patient deaths.

Elder Abuse Linked To Early Death, News Inferno, August 6, 2009

Elder Abuse, Neglect Make Early Death Far More Likely, US News & World Report, August 4, 2009

Related Web Resources:
National Center
on Elder Abuse

Warning Signs of Elder Abuse and Neglect

Continue reading " Fighting Chicago Nursing Home Negligence: Elder Abuse and Self Neglect Increases Odds of Early Death, Says Study " »

A nursing assistant at the Manor Pines Nursing & Rehabilitation Center has been arrested and charged with nursing home abuse. Eronie Deverlus allegedly used her closed fist to strike a female resident on the face. The victim is 65.

Deverlus had entered the female resident’s room to change her socks. Another worker at the nursing home reports hearing yelling and then walked in just in time to allegedly see the nursing assistant hit the patient’s face. When questioned about her actions, Deverlus is said to have responded that the resident had assaulted her first.

The elderly victim has dementia and Parkinson’s disease. Deverlus was let go from the nursing home following the alleged abuse incident.

If convicted of the felony crime, Deverlus could be sentenced to a maximum prison sentence of five years and ordered to pay a fine.

Nursing home residents who have Parkinson’s disease and/or dementia many not always know what they are doing. According to a 2006 article published in SeniorJournal.com, each week approximately 88,000 nursing home residents become physically aggressive as a result of their conditions.

Nursing home workers assigned to work with these patients should know this and must have the proper training necessary to care for these residents. Striking or inflicting any kind of abuse on a patient is not an acceptable strategy for dealing with an aggressive nursing home resident. This is called nursing home abuse and can be grounds for a Chicago nursing home negligence lawsuit against the home and/or the abusive nursing home worker.

Wilton Manors nursing home assistant faces abuse charges, Miami Herald, August 5, 2009

Violence by Dementia Patients in Nursing Home Associated with Key Factors, Senior Journal, June 27, 2006

Related Web Resources:

Continue reading " Nursing Assistant Charged with Nursing Home Abuse Allegedly Punched Resident’s Face " »