Chicago Nursing Home Negligence?: Federal Investigators Target North Side Assisted Living Facility That Housed 66 Felons
Investigators from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are conducting a special audit and probe of Somerset Place, a North Side nursing home, following complaints by a local lawmaker and reports published in the Chicago Tribune. The North Side assisted living facility, which specializes in mentally ill adults, has received numerous citations for violations regarding patient safety, and the Chicago police has reportedly investigated 15 alleged batteries and assaults, 5 narcotics possession reports, and 5 cases of criminal sexual that reportedly took place inside the nursing home between April 2008 and July 2009.
Neighborhood groups are even complaining that the dangerous activity at Somerset is beginning to spill into the community. One Somerset patient, Maratta Walker, was murdered four months after she was admitted to the assisted living facility.
Walker, who suffered from a seizure disorder and was mentally ill, wasn’t allowed to leave the Chicago nursing home unless she was supervised. Yet she managed to get out of the facility, prostitute herself for money and use crack cocaine. The man charged with her murder, Edward Gibson, is a bank robber that she met while wandering the streets. The two of them allegedly spent days drinking, using heroin, smoking crack, and having sex prior to her fatal beating.
Chicago Nursing Home Negligence
In the last several months, lawmakers have been investigating the dangers that can arise when housing dangerous mentally ill patients with other nursing residents. They are also examining whether or not Illinois assisted living facilities are even equipped to give mentally ill residents the care and supervision that they need to keep them and other patients safe.
The growing evidence that the current system is not working can no longer be denied. Too many residents are getting hurt or dying as a result of Chicago nursing home neglect and nursing home crimes committed by violent patients.
North Side nursing home the target of federal investigation, Chicago Tribune, January 10, 2010
Woman found dead at motel identified, ABC 7 News, May 26, 2008
Related Web Resources:
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
To explore your legal options, contact our Chicago nursing home negligence lawyers today.
