Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

The month of July is Elder Abuse Awareness Month in Illinois. Over the next few weeks, communities will sponsor events aimed at creating greater awareness about this problem, which the US Administration on Aging says continues to affect about 700,000 to 3.5 million elderly persons in the US each year. Unfortunately, these figures are low estimates when you consider that only one out of every five abuse cases is reported.

At our Chicago nursing home neglect and abuse law firm, we are dedicated to combating Illinois elder abuse and making sure that our clients and their families are compensated for injuries and deaths caused by Illinois nursing home negligence. There are steps that you can take to protect your loved one from Chicago elder abuse including:

• Before choosing your loved one’s nursing home, actually visit the assisted living facility and personally inspect the place.
• Talk to nursing home workers at each facility and watch how they interact with patients.
• Observe the residents to see whether they seem happy and comfortable at the nursing home.
• Check out the Medicare Web site to see how the assisted living facility fared under the federal rating.
• Once your loved one is admitted to a nursing home, visit and call regularly.
• Watch out for signs of elder abuse or neglect.

According to the Illinois Department on Aging, there are up to 80,000 Illinois elder abuse victims each year. The state is encouraging people to "Break the Silence" and report any suspected elder abuse and neglect incidents. Remember that elder abuse takes place in Illinois nursing homes and in private settings. Chicago, Illinois elder abuse and neglect can lead to physical injuries, emotional trauma, health complications, sepsis, elder financial abuse, clogged breathing tubes, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, malnutrition, dehydration, choking accidents, wandering accidents, fall accidents, bedsores, and death.

Help prevent elder abuse, Chicago Tribune, June 25, 2010

Illinois Department on Aging urges people to “Break the Silence” and report suspected incidents of Elder Abuse, Illinois Department on Aging, June 14, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Department on Aging

Elder Abuse and Neglect Act

US Administration on Aging

Nursing Home Compare, Medicare.gov

A former certified nursing assistant has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a mentally disabled patient. Junious Boyd Batten admitted that he raped the 55-year-old man, who has the mental capacity of a child, on several occasions. According to the victim’s testimony, in March 2008, Batten told him to take of his clothes and lie face down on the floor of the bedroom before doing “something he was not supposed to be doing.”

Batten is facing a maximum lifetime prison sentence after pleading guilty to one count each of forcible sodomy, abuse, non-forcible sodomy, and neglect of an incapacitated adult. By pleading guilty in an Alford plea, he is admitting there is enough evidence to convict him while maintaining that he is innocent. As part of his plea agreement, prosecutors dropped three non-forcible sodomy charges and four forcible sodomy counts.

The former nursing home employee, who worked at the Cote de Neige Home for Adults between late 2006 and the middle of 2007, also admitted to sexually abusing a 24-year-old resident at the assisted living facility. The younger victim is the one who told a counselor about the sexual abuse.

In June 2008, the disabled man’s family filed a $3.5 million nursing home negligence lawsuit against Cote de Neige and its owner for exhibiting reckless disregard for residents when they hired Batten. Prior to and during his time at the home, Batten had been charged with 13 crimes. Although a number of them were dismissed, he was convicted on two assault and battery charges, public intoxication, and contempt of court.

In May 2009, a jury awarded the plaintiffs $750,000 in nursing home negligence damages. $500,000 was for compensatory damages and $250,000 was for punitive damages.

Nursing assistant admits raping disabled man at Newport News group home, Daily Press, May 19, 2010

Facility Hit With $750k Damages In Sexual Assault Case, Daily Press, June 4, 2009

Male nurse admits to raping disabled man in Newport News nursing home, Examiner.com, May 20, 2010

Related Web Resource:
Nursing Home Safety, Chicago Tribune

Continue reading "Nursing Assistant Pleads Guilty to Sexually Assaulting Mentally Disabled Male Resident" »

A former nursing home aide has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for sexually assaulting four patients at the National HealthCare assisted living facility. Earlier this year, James Wright entered an Alford plea to four counts of aggravated sexual battery. This type of plea acknowledges that there is enough evidence to convict him but does not obligate a defendant to plead guilty.

According to a court-ordered psychological evaluation to determine the 35-year-old’s eligibility for a sex offender treatment program, Wright blames his victims for his sexual crimes. The evaluation findings describe him as a manipulative hedonist who has a tendency to engage in exhibitionism and voyeurism and ranks his personality along with that of the average molester or rapist. It wasn’t until moments before Wright was sentenced that he admitted responsibility for his actions and asked for forgiveness from his nursing home abuse victims and their families.

Nursing board documents report that seven patients from NHC had complained of sexual assault while Wright was caring for them. Since then, former NHC nurses have said that management routinely disregarded complaints made by nurses and patients regarding Wright’s behavior.

After leaving NHC, he was hired at Brookdale Senior Living-Grand Court Bristol in September 2007. A spokesperson for Brookdale Senior Living says that Wright’s references were flawless and he passed a criminal background check. However, patients from Grand Court Bristol have also come forward claiming that he sexually assaulted them too.

Chicago Nursing Home Negligence
Assisted living facilities must protect patients from becoming the victims of Chicago, Illinois nursing home abuse, neglect, sexual assault, or patient violence. Unfortunately, there are nursing homes that continue to disregard complaints made by residents and/or fail to take the necessary measures to keep violent sexual offenders and abusive workers out of their facilities.

Wright sentenced to 60 years in nursing home abuse case, TriCities, May 14, 2010
Did an NHC nursing home let a serial molester run free for seven years? , Nashville Scene, April 9, 2009

More Nursing Home Abuse Cases Uncovered, Tricities.com, August 28, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Nursing home overview, Medicare

Making the Right Choice, National Institute on Aging

Barbara Snyder is suing La Salle County Nursing Home for its failure to protect a former 81-year-old resident from the sexual advances of a male resident. The patient, now deceased, is one of 10 female residents who were allegedly sexually abused by the male patient, who has a history of sexual misconduct. Most of the victims have dementia.

This is the third Illinois nursing home negligence lawsuit filed against the assisted living facility over the alleged sexual assault incidents. In October 2009, Henry Elzer filed a La Salle County nursing home abuse complaint seeking at least $250,000 for a female patient whose pelvic bone cracked during an incident with the same male resident. The following month, Marilyn Wig filed an Illinois nursing home neglect lawsuit on behalf of another female resident. Wig’s complaint sought $100,000.

Chicago, Illinois Nursing Home Sexual Assault
Sexual abuse is a crime—no matter who the victim or the perpetrator. It is disturbing to realize that many old, frail, and weak nursing home patients are left unprotected at assisted living facilities to the extend that they become easy prey for sexual offenders and abusers.

It is an Illinois nursing home’s responsibility to provide a resident with the proper nursing care and make sure that he/she does not become the victim of Chicago nursing home abuse, neglect, sexual assault (including rape, unwelcome fondling, or molestation), or other violent crimes.

Not only should residents be properly supervised, but assisted living facilities should make sure that sexual offenders are kept far away from other patients and that background checks are performed on prospective employees and patients to determine whether they have a criminal record and/or a violent past.

LA SALLE COUNTY NURSING HOME: Another suit filed over sex abuse, The Times, November 10, 2009

Third suit filed against La Salle County Nursing Home, News Tribune, April 17, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Safety Task Force, Illinois.gov

Nursing home sexual violence: 86 Chicago cases since July 2007 — but only 1 arrest, Chicago Tribune, January 26, 2010

Maximo Hong Fajardo Jr., a 32-year-old certified nursing assistant, is charged with the murder of Barbara McIver. The 87-year-old nursing home resident died last month at the Convalescent Center Mission Street after Fajardo allegedly smothered her.

The first time that Fajardo Jr, a new employee at the assisted living facility, was given permission to spend time with the patients while unsupervised was on the day that McIver died. The alleged murder took place in front of other bedridden patients.

Fajardo Jr. is accused of then fleeing from the nursing home, carjacking two vehicles, attempting to steal a third car, and knocking down a cop while trying to avoid capture.

The nursing home worker, who doesn’t have a criminal record, pleaded not guilty to the criminal charge.

Chicago, Illinois Nursing Home Abuse
Nursing home workers are supposed to take care of patients. They aren't supposed to neglect, abuse, or harm them in any other way. Unfortunately, nursing home abuse and neglect and patient violence continue to be problems at many assisted living facilities, and it is the patients that suffer.

If your loved one was the victim of a violent crime committed by a nursing home worker, another resident, or anyone else at the assisted living facility, you may have grounds for pursuing a Chicago nursing home negligence lawsuit. Long-term care facilities are supposed to make sure that the workers they hire are properly trained, do not have a criminal record or violent tendencies, and are appropriately supervised.

Continue reading "Nursing Home Abuse: Worker Accused of Smothering an 87-Year-Old Patient is Charged with Her Murder" »

Two families say negligent nursing care at Northwoods Rehabilitation and Extended Care Facility contributed to their parents’ deaths. Their allegations come after 14 of the facility’s nursing workers were charged with the neglect of a 50-year-old patient, who was allegedly left immobile for hours at a time. Not only are the defendants accused of failing to properly treat her bedsores, but they also allegedly did not give her medication or change her underwear. They are also accused of trying to cover up the nursing home neglect. However, surveillance footage shot over a six-week period as part of a state investigation in 2009 captured evidence to the contrary.

Now, Suzanne Gilday and her sisters are saying that their mother, Mary Ann Papielion, was also a victim of nursing home neglect while staying at the assisted living facility. Gilday says the nursing home workers left Papielion lying on a bedpan for almost an hour and accidentally administered medication to her from another resident’s inhaler. The sisters frequently had to change the 66-year-old woman’s bedsheets for her.

Three months into her stay at the nursing home, Papielion developed a UTI that turned into septic shock. She was hospitalized and died soon after.

Another family, Joseph Gruber’s relatives, say he also died because of nursing home neglect. The 78-year-old patient checked into the assisted living facility in September 2008 because arthritis caused him to experience limited range of movement.

Gruber, who was inserted with a urinary catheter, ended up in a hospital after a urinary tract infection turned into a septic infection. He had bedsores all over his backside from head to toe. A nurse at the hospital said that the former firefighter’s condition was typical for someone who had stayed at Northwoods. After Gruber’s death, his family was billed $120,000 for the nursing care he supposedly received.

Families allege poor care at facility, Timesunion.com, April 2, 2010

14 Charged With Nursing Home Neglect, Fox23, April 1, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Bedsores, MayoClinic.com

Septic Shock, Medline Plus

Nursing Home Abuse Overview, Justia

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