Chicago Nursing Home Assault by One Resident Seriously Injures another Patient
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
