Judge Gives Nurse Charged With Illinois Nursing Home Neglect $10,000 in Legal Assistance
A judge has agreed to give Penny Whitlock $10,000 to hire expert witnesses. Whitlock, a registered nurse, is charged with two counts of obstructing justice and five counts of criminal neglect of a long-term care facility resident. The criminal charges were filed following a 15-month probe into a number of suspicious deaths at the Woodstock Residence assisted living facility in 2006.
Whitlock, who used to serve as the McHenry County nursing home’s director, is accused of endangering patients when she failed to report allegations made by staff members that nurse Marty Himebaugh was administering dangerous doses of drugs, such as morphine, to patients. Whitlock allegedly said that Himebaugh should be allowed to keep acting as the “Angel of Death.”
Whitlock says she is already $107,000 in debt and cannot afford to pay more for her defense. Although county prosecutors did not object to her request for legal help, they have said that if she is convicted, she will have to pay the county back for the expert fees.
Meantime, Himebaugh is waiting for her criminal trial on multiple felony charges to take place.
Illinois nursing home abuse and neglect are not only crimes but they can be detrimental to a patient’s health. In the ideal case scenario when Chicago, Illinois nursing home abuse or neglect is involved, the offending nursing home worker is brought to justice in criminal court. Regardless of whether or not this happens, an Illinois nursing home negligence victim or the family member of someone who died because of abuse, neglect, or medical malpractice at an assisted living facility may be able to sue the liable party/parties for damage.
For instance, in 2008, Vickie Lund filed a McHenry County nursing home negligence lawsuit against Woodstock Residence, Himebaugh, and Whitlock. Lund says that Virginia Cole died after she was administered “improper and unlawful” doses of medication while at the assisted living facility. In another Illinois wrongful death lawsuit, Sharon Hunt claimed that her son died because he was administered a deadly dose of morphine while staying at Woodstock Residence.
Nurse accused of ignoring suspicious deaths gets $10,000 to help defense, Daily Herald, February 25, 2010
Arrests Made In McHenry County Nursing Home Deaths, CBS2 Chicago, April 4, 2008
llinois “Angel of Death” Nursing Home Abuse Cases Leads to Two Wrongful Death Lawsuits, Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Law Blog, October 7, 2008
Related Web Resources:
Nursing Homes in Illinois
Elder Abuse Prevention, Illinois Department on Aging
