Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

Owen Bauler, a 62-year-old man has been charged with battery and bodily harm for allegedly assaulting his roommate at a retirement community. The patient, 85-year-old David Adams, sustained cuts on his neck and face during the alleged incident of Chicago nursing home violence.

Adams contends at 3am on Thursday, Bauler started punching him after an argument over the TV. The alleged assault finally stopped when two nurses came in to separate the two men.

Witnesses have stepped forward to support Adams’s claim. Meantime, Bauler says it is he who was assaulted by Adams for no reason while he slept.

Patient Violence
Our Chicago nursing home abuse lawyers have been reporting about the issue of patient violence in assisted living facilities for some time. It is important that assisted living facilities think hard when assigning roommates. For example, some patients may suffer from mental issues that can cause them to turn violent. These residents should definitely be kept away from older, frailer patients who cannot defend themselves. It may even be necessary that they kept away from other patients in general unless they are properly supervised.

Unfortunately, there are residents who end up becoming victims of physical assault, sexual assault, or murder because of crimes committed in nursing homes by other residents. Although the state of Illinois has been trying to do a better job of initiating reforms to stop patient violence—unannounced inspections to check if there are any residents with outstanding arrest warrants is one example—there still continue to be incidents involving patient victims and resident assailants.

Man Batters Roommate In Nursing Home, NilesPatch, February 24, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Safety Task Force, Governor Pat Quinn

Nursing Homes, Lisa Madigan, Illinois Attorney General

More Blog Posts:
Felons Using Illinois Nursing Homes as Safe Houses, Says Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog, September 22, 2010

Aurora, Illinois Nursing Home Violence: 78-Year-Old Female Patient Stabbed by Roommate’s Relative, Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog, September 4, 2010

Following Chicago Nursing Home Patient Violence Incidents, Illinois Regulators Take Steps to Revoke Columbus Manor Residential Care Home’s License, Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog, August 13, 2010

Continue reading " Chicago Nursing Home Violence: Resident Charged with Battering His Roommate " »

Prospect Heights police and the Illinois Department of Public Health are trying to determine how a 78-year-old nursing home resident ended up outside the assisted living facility he was staying. William H. Spears, who uses a walker, was fatally struck by an SUV on Tuesday night. Spears was pronounced at a Park Ridge hospital.

If investigators find out that the elderly resident wandered from the nursing home because of inadequate nursing supervision or any other acts of nursing home negligence, the assisted living facility may find itself the defendant of a Cook County nursing home neglect case. According to officials, the elderly senior was trying to cross the street at around 11pm when the Cook County pedestrian accident happened. Just minutes before the tragic incident, the occupants of another vehicle tried to help Spears, but he ignored their attempts.

The elderly resident had lived at Emeritus at Prospect Heights for seven years. The nursing home is also a living facility for more independent seniors.

Wandering/Elopement
Long-term care facilities know that certain patients are not able to leave the premise alone and without supervision and it is their job to prevent elopement or wandering incidents from happening. Wandering accidents have led to patients getting hit in Chicago car crashes, freezing to death in cold weather, or becoming victims of violent crimes.

Elderly man hit, killed by SUV outside nursing home, Chicago Tribune, February 23, 2011

Senior Fatally Struck Trying To Cross Euclid, Journal-Topics, February 23, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Dementia and Wandering, Skilled Nursing Facilities.org

Illinois Department of Public Health

More Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog Posts:
Patient Missing from Chicago Nursing Home May Be Suffering from Dementia, Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog, January 31, 2011

Chicago Nursing Homes Must Keep Patients Warm and Healthy During Winter Months, Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog, December 24, 2010

Assisted Living Facility Found Guilty of Nursing Home Neglect in Patient’s Elopement Death, Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog, May 13, 2010

Continue reading " Did Patient Wander?: Prospect Heights Nursing Home Resident is Fatally Struck in Cook County Car Crash " »

Beverly Dressel is seeking more than $2.55 million for her mother’s wrongful death. In her Illinois nursing home negligence lawsuit, she accuses Covenant Care Midwest, doing business as Cedar Ridge Health Care and Rehab Center in Lebanon, of committing a number of negligent acts while caring for Betty Dressel from October 1, 2008 until December 5, 2008.

Betty Dressel, who had Alzheimer’s, died on April 14, 2009 after developing nursing home pressure sores, sepsis, and infections. Beverly Dressel contends that her mother developed these health issues because of the negligent care she received from Covenant Care.

In her Illinois wrongful death lawsuit, she claims that nursing home staff did not diagnose her mother’s decubitus ulcers, failed to refer a wound care specialist, did not properly assess the woman’s health condition, and failed to recognize changes in her health in a timely manner. This alleged nursing negligence caused her to develop lesions on her buttock, back, feet, and leg. Just two months after admitting Betty to the Lebanon, Illinois nursing home, Beverly removed her from their care. She says that prior to dying, her mother experienced pain, suffering, and mental anguish because of the health complications she developed.

Bedsores:
Bedsores can occur on the body when there is humidity, friction, temperature, medication, continence, unrelieved pressure, and shearing forces. When diagnosed early, pressure sores can be treated. Delay in or failure to treat them, however, can result in health complications, infection, and/or death. Nursing homes are aware that pressure sores are a common problem, which is why workers should be trained in diagnosing, preventing, and treating them.

Daughter sues Lebanon nursing home over mother's death, The Record, February 9, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Bedsores, MayoClinic

How to Care: Pressure Sores

Related Blog Posts:
Schaumburg Woman Files Elk Grove Village Nursing Home Abuse Negligence Lawsuit, Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog, November 17, 2010

llinois Nursing Home Neglect Lawsuit Claims Resident Died After Pressure Sores Were Not Treated, Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog, August 3, 2010

Bed Sores A Problem in US Nursing Homes, Says the National Center for Health Statistics, Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog, March 3, 2009

Continue reading " Wrongful Death Lawsuit Claims that Illinois Nursing Home Neglect Led to Patient’s Bedsores " »

The estate of Doris I. Schaeperkoetter is suing long-term care facility The Lincoln Home for wrongful death. The lawsuit claims that Illinois nursing home negligence, including improper care, caused Schaeperkoetter to develop sepsis, dehydration, and hypoxia. Also named as a defendant in the Illinois nursing home neglect lawsuit is Weiss Management Group LLC, the assisted living facility’s owner.

Schaeperkoetter stayed at the long-term care facility from July 2008 through January 2010. The Illinois wrongful death complaint is seeking over $200,000 for medical costs and court costs.

Sepsis
Sepsis is a serious infection that can impact the entire body. Serious bedsores and sepsis can go hand in hand.

Unfortunately, sepsis is not uncommon in nursing homes and is a leading cause of fatality. Statistics show that 1/3 of patients with sepsis will likely die.

Early treatment of sepsis can make a huge difference on whether or not a patient will recover. Signs of sepsis include accelerated heart rate, rapid breathing, severe shaking, agitation, confusion, disorientation, decreased urination, dizziness, and skin rashes.

Hypoxia
Usually involves a lack of oxygen to parts of the he body. Hypoxia can be deadly. Signs of hypoxia may include dizziness, confusion, accelerated breathing, euphoria, cyanosis, and nausea. In some cases, the body may be receiving a lot of oxygen but can’t use it because of physiological issues.

Dehydration
It is important that a person is hydrated. Unfortunately, nursing home residents with health issue and weakened immune systems are ideal candidates for dehydration, which means that the body is taking in less water than what it is expelling.

Belleville nursing home named in wrongful death complaint, The Record, February 3, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Sepsis, emedicinehealth

Dehydration, NCBI

Related Blog Posts:
Chicago Nursing Home Negligence Alleged in Cook County Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Hinsdale Assisted Living Facility, Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog, September 3, 2010

Jury Awards $114 Million Nursing Home Abuse Verdict in 76-Year-Old’s Wrongful Death, Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog, July 22, 2010

Illinois Nursing Home Neglect: Wrongful Death Lawsuit Seeks Damages for Woman’s Fatal Fall from 21 Defendants, Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog, July 17, 2010