Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

Winter in Illinois can be hazardous to the sick and elderly, which is why our Chicago nursing home abuse law firm want to remind you of how important it is for assisted living facilities to make sure that they keep patients as warm and healthy as possible. Otherwise, cold temperatures coupled with negligent nursing care can prove fatal for residents.

Steps that Chicago assisted living facilities can take to protect their patients from the cold weather:

• Make sure facilities have sufficent heating.
• Secure entrances and exits so that patients don’t wander off the grounds unattended.
• Pay extra attention to residents that are at risk of wandering.
• Remove Chicago slip and fall snow and ice hazards from the nursing home grounds
• Make sure that patients are well fed and wearing warm clothing
• Keep extra food, water, and medications on the grounds in the event that a heavy snow storm makes it impossible to get more supplies.

Hypothermia
Hypothermia, which involves the untended lowering of the body temperature, can occur during very cold temperatures. It is a health emergency that requires immediate medical attention. The elderly and those with health issues are among those at greatest risk of developing hypothermia. Health conditions that can increase a patient’s hypothermia risk include cardiovascular disease, diabetes, fall injuries, fractures, dementia, mental illness, and being under certain medications.

Wandering/Elopement
For a nursing home resident, especially one who is very ill or suffering from some type of mental illness, to wander from a facility is dangerous during any time of the year can be dangerous. He or she may become the victim of a Chicago car accident, a violent crime, or a fatal fall. However, getting lost in the snow when the temperature is extremely low can prove fatal for the resident, who may end up freezing to death.

Nursing home patients are also susceptible to flu, the cold, a cough, pneumonia, and other illnesses during the winter months. Unlike persons with strong immune systems, such sicknesses can prove detrimental to their health and result in infection and health complications. Now, more than ever, nursing home staff must carefully monitor their patients’ health.

Winter Safety Measures, Wisconsin.gov

Preparation is key for winter woes, Sun-Times, December 22, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Chicago Nursing Homes, The City of Chicago

How to Prevent Wandering at a Senior Care Facility, Caring.com

Continue reading "Chicago Nursing Homes Must Keep Patients Warm and Healthy During Winter Months" »

A 77-year-old woman is suing ManorCare at Elk Grove Village, St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates, and their respective companies for Cook County personal injury. Margaret Mock is alleging Illinois nursing home negligence and negligent medical care.

Mock was injured during a fall accident while staying at the Elk Grove Village assisted living facility to recover from hip surgery. She broke her leg in two places while a nursing home worker was moving her from her bed to a wheelchair.

Because of her weakened state, Mock was unable to undergo surgery for her leg and had to stay at the nursing home for five months. In her Cook County nursing home neglect complaint, Mock contends that the assisted living facility employee’s failure to exercise caution when transferring her to the wheelchair was a violation of the Nursing Home Act.

Mock is also suing Alexius Medical Center because she developed a pressure sore while staying there. She contends that the hospital should have acted to prevent the bedsore from developing.

Mock is seeking over $50,000 plus court costs.

Fall Injuries and Bedsores
Nursing homes and hospitals know that patients recovering from hip surgery are at risk of falling and developing bedsores. There is no reason why there shouldn’t be procedures in place (that are followed) to prevent fall accidents from happening and pressure sores from appearing on the skin.

Common causes of nursing home falls:
• Muscle weakness
• Hip injuries
• Slip and fall
• Medication
• Negligence on the part of nursing home workers
• Lift mechanism malfunctions

Common causes of bedsores:
• Not checking patient for pressure sores
• Failure to frequently and regularly turn immobile patients in their beds
• Improper hygiene
• Malnutrition
• Incontinence
• Dehydration

For an elderly or sick person, a fall injury or a decubitus ulcer can lead to serious complications and even death. If nursing home workers exercise the care necessary, both types of injuries are preventable.

Schaumburg woman sues nursing home after fall, November 17, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Bedsores, MayoClinic

Falls in Nursing Homes, CDC

Seven years after Juanita Jackson’s death, a jury has ordered nursing home operators Trans Healthcare Inc. and Trans Healthcare Management to pay $114 million for the nursing home negligence that contributed to her wrongful death. Jackson, 76, fractured her upper arm and suffered closed head trauma during a fall accident, which took place within two weeks of her admission to IHS of Florida, Auburndale in March 2003. The nursing facility is now called Auburndale Oaks Healthcare Center.

By May 2003, Jackson had numerous bedsores and was dehydrated and malnourished. Her family decided to remove her from the nursing home. She died on July 6, 2003.

According to the nursing home abuse lawsuit, nursing home workers knew that the elderly woman was at risk of falling but failed to put in place adequate fall prevention methods. The plaintiffs are contending that Jackson never fully recovered from her fall injuries and resulting health issues.

Fall accidents can lead to serious injuries for nursing home patients. Many are already too frail to properly recovery recover from fall injuries, which can be very painful and debilitating. They also can lead to serious complications and the deterioration of one’s health.

Nursing homes know that many of their residents are prone to fall accidents and they are required to implement the proper systems, procedures, and fall prevention mechanisms, as well as make sure that there are enough properly trained staffers, to prevent these accidents from happening. For example, some nursing home patients cannot get out of their beds without help. Some residents require the help of more than one nursing home worker or even a lift when going from a bed to a wheelchair. Having handrails installed down long hallways can also help. Adequate supervision of residents is essential. Failure to act to prevent fall accidents can be grounds for a Chicago, Illinois nursing home negligence case.

Polk County Jury Awards $114 Million in Nursing Home Lawsuit, The Ledger, July 21, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Falls, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Fall Prevention, StopFalls.org

Continue reading "Jury Awards $114 Million Nursing Home Abuse Verdict in 76-Year-Old’s Wrongful Death" »

The Champaign County Nursing Home is under investigation over another complaint related to its nursing care. The Illinois Department of Public Health is conducting the probe.

The incident in question took place in May when a female resident had to receive 24 stitches after she was hurt while an agency aide was transferring her. According to a sign that was posted on her door, no less than two people were supposed to transfer her.

The Urbana, Illinois nursing home says that the nursing aide involved in the incident will not be working at the assisted living facility again. However, the Champaign County Nursing Home is facing a possible fine.

Fall Accidents at Illinois Nursing Homes
Fall injuries and other injuries can occur when transferring a nursing home resident from a bed to a wheelchair, from the chair to a toilet, from the toilet to a car, or from a chair to a bed. Some patients may require use of a special lift or the help of more than one nursing home worker. It is important that nursing home employees follow any specific instructions for providing each patient with the correct assistance so that the resident doesn’t get hurt. Failure to provide that care can be reason for a Chicago nursing home neglect lawsuit if a patient is injured as a result of this type of negligent nursing care.

It was just in May that the public health department fined the Urbana nursing home $50,000 for violating state public health regulations (four $10,000 fines by the state and $10,000 on behalf of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services). Already this year, the assisted living facility has faced payment losses and fines totaling over $100,000. Most of the penalties, however, have been lowered to a loss of about $14,000 in federal funding.

State investigates another complaint over patient care at Champaign County Nursing Home, The News-Gazette, July 13, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Department of Public Health

Falls in Nursing Homes, CDC

Continue reading "Illinois Nursing Home Under Investigation Again for Possible Negligent Nursing Care" »

Juan Riostrirado is suing Glenbridge Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre for Chicago, Illinois nursing home negligence. Riostrirado says that doctors had to amputate his ring finger because the nursing home failed to properly diagnose and treat injuries he sustained during a fall accident. The alleged Chicago nursing home neglect caused him to suffer from gangrene, which led to the finger amputation.

Riostrirado says he fell and struck his hand on a heater at the Cook County assisted living facility on Dec. 7, 2008. He claims that for nearly two weeks, no one at the Niles nursing home documented his injury. It wasn’t until December 19, 2008 that a nurse noted that his right finger was swollen and should be monitored for five days. No more notes were made for another week after that entry.

On January 4, 2009, a notation was made about Riostrirado’s finger, which was now necrotic, swollen, and causing him pain. On January 5, he was diagnosed with gangrene. On January 9, he underwent surgery to have his finger amputated.

Riostrirado’s Cook County nursing home negligence lawsuit is seeking over $50,000 in damages. He is accusing the Chicago suburb nursing home of poorly supervising its residents and failing to treat his fall injuries in a timely fashion.

Chicago, Nursing Home Neglect
Ignoring a patient, failing to properly supervise, failure to properly diagnose, failure to monitor illnesses or injuries, failure to provide the proper medical and nursing care, and failure to properly feed or bathe a resident are just some examples of Chicago, Illinois nursing home neglect.

Man sues nursing home after losing finger, Niles Herald-Spectator

Related Web Resources:
Gangrene, eMedicineHealth

Glenbridge Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Niles, Illinois

According to a review reported in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, pharmacist review of meds and vitamin D supplementation can reduce nursing home falls. This is good news, considering that nursing home falls, as well as fall accidents in hospitals, are common causes of elderly deaths.

After reviewing several studies of vitamin D use in nursing homes, researchers found that nursing home residents’ chances of falling went down by 28% when they were given vitamin D every day. Seniors who had low levels of vitamin D when the study began were the ones who benefited the most. Also according to the report, seniors have a 10 times greater chance of falling when they reside at a nursing home.

Our Chicago, Illinois nursing home neglect lawyers represent patients who have been injured during nursing home falls. Unfortunately, not every nursing home does enough to prevent fall accidents from happening. Many of these fall accidents could have been avoided if only assisted living facilities and their employees had done their jobs correctly.

Common causes of Chicago, Illinois nursing home falls:

• Slip and fall hazards
• Inadequate assistance
• Malnutrition
• Poor lighting
• Lack of handrails
• Uneven steps
• Inadequate exercise program

Fall injuries can be extremely painful and debilitating and may lead to health complications and even death for an elderly or sick/frail nursing home resident.

Do NOT hesitate to explore your legal options for financial recovery.

Vitamin D reduces falls in nursing homes, review says, McKnight's, January 22, 2010

Related Web Resources:
The Cochrane Collaboration

Vitamin D, MayoClinic.com

Three people have been indicted for alleged nursing home neglect. The defendants are nurse Barbara A. Moore and certified nursing assistants Melissa L. Lyon and Destiny W. Duncan. They are each indicted on one count of abuse/neglect of an adult. If convicted, each woman could end up serving up to 10 years in prison.

According to the indictments, Lyon transferred the victim, a nursing home resident, into a bed. She performed a single-person lift when the patient’s care plan required a two-person lift. As a result, the nursing home patient sustained a leg fracture.

Lyon and Duncan are accused of covering up the incident, while Moore is accused of neglecting to notify the patient’s relatives or doctor. The nurse also allegedly failed to check on the resident, which caused the victim to experience prolonged pain and suffering.

Nursing Home Negligence
Some nursing home patients need someone to assist them when getting in and out of a bed. A resident’s care plan may have specific instructions as to how to properly do this. Failure to provide the proper care or assistance when moving a patient can result in serious injuries if the patient falls, or slips, or is hurt in another way.

Following a patient’s care plan is imperative to ensure that he or she gets the needed attention and services Failure to provide this care or providing this care inappropriately can be grounds for nursing home abuse or neglect. Some other examples of inappropriate nursing care:

• Not paying attention to a patient’s concerns or complaints
• Not giving a patient ample opportunity to socialize or exercise
• Not properly feeding a resident
• Not properly bathing a resident
• Failure to provide proper assistance (when required) when a patient is getting in and out of bed or going to the bathroom

Three Indicted In Alleged Incident At Logan Co. Nursing Home, MSNBC, December 2, 2009

1 Nurse, 2 Caretakers Indicted For Patient Neglect, Kentucky Post, December 2, 2009

Related Web Resources:
National Center on Elder Abuse

Elder Abuse in Nursing Homes, NOLO

The Department of Social and Health Services is investigating a slip and fall accident involving a 93-year-old nursing home resident. The elderly woman, who was injured while getting out of bed, was transported to a hospital and later died after she was sent to hospice care.

According to the state agency, after the slip and fall accident the nursing home patient was treated for a skin tear on her arm and a cut on her head. The DSHS, however, wants to determine whether the resident was properly supervised at the nursing home or if she was a victim of nursing home negligence.

The agency reportedly received four reports on its hotline regarding the care this particular patient received at the Life Care Center of Bothell.

Slip and Fall Accidents
While elderly seniors are at higher risk of becoming involved in slip and fall accidents, it is the responsibility of the nursing home where an elderly patient is residing to properly supervise all residents—especially those that are known fall risks—and make sure that they are provided with the proper safety measures to prevent slip and fall accidents from happening.

The CDC says that about 1,800 nursing home residents die because of fall-related accidents each year. Many residents that survive fall accidents find themselves impaired, in pain, or living a reduced quality of life because of their slip and fall accident.

Common causes of nursing home falls:

• Poor lighting
• Wet floors
• Beds that are not the proper height
• Improperly fitted or defective wheelchairs
• Debris or objects on the ground
• Lack of railings in hallways
• Inadequate supervision
• Dizziness caused by medication
• Walking problems
• Improper or inadequate walking aids

If you believe that your loved one was injured during a fall accident in an Illinois nursing home because workers were negligent or careless or abusive, you may have grounds for a Chicago nursing home neglect lawsuit.

Nursing home fall sparks inquiry, HeraldNet, July 14, 2009

Falls in Nursing Homes, CDC

Related Web Resources:
Falls in the Elderly, AAFP

Nursing Homes in Illinois

Continue reading "Nursing Home Fall Accident Involving 93-Year-Old Resident is Under Investigation" »

A Harvard, Illinois woman is suing a Chicago nursing home for her mother’s wrongful death. Jennifer Bowden says Sacred Heart Home was negligent for failing to prevent her mother’s fatal fall accident.

Kathleen Koch, 61, fell in a stairwell at the long-term care facility. The nursing home accident caused her to break her back, sustain head injuries, and become paralyzed. She died eight months after the fall accident.

Bowden’s Chicago nursing home negligence lawsuit contends that workers should have better supervised her mother, who was suffering from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Even though the Chicago nursing home knew that Koch was mentally ill, her room was not located close to a nurse’s station and the elderly woman managed to go into the stairwell without supervision.

Chicago nursing home workers are obligated to properly supervise their residents. Some patients may require more supervision than others, and it is up to the nursing home to find out about each resident’s condition and determine how much care and attention he or she needs to stay safe. Some residents may be prone to fall accidents, wandering off the premise, or becoming disoriented, and they may need help getting around. Failure to provide the proper supervision can lead to injury accidents.

The nursing home must also properly supervise workers to make sure that they do their jobs correctly and that they do not abuse or neglect their patients. Otherwise, inadequate supervision of nursing workers could lead to personal injuries or the deterioration of a resident’s health.

According to Medicaid’s Nursing Home Compare ratings, the Sacred Heart Nursing Home received an overall 3 out of 5 stars, which is considered “Average.” The 172-bed Chicago nursing home received 3 out of 5 stars for Health Inspections, 5 stars for Quality Measures, and 1 star for Nursing Home Staffing.

Woman sues nursing home, Northwest Herald, June 12, 2009

Sacred Heart Home, Nursing Home Compare, Medicare.gov

Related Web Resources:
Falls in Nursing Homes, CDC

Sacred Heart Home, Chicago, Illinois, Hospital-Data.com

The guardian of River Reed, a 95-year-old woman, is suing Stearns Nursing Home and Rehabilitation for the elderly resident’s fall accident injuries. According to Hazel Timmons’s Illinois nursing home neglect lawsuit, Reed fell and fractured her hips on two separate occasions.

Reed resided at the Granite City long-term care facility from May 25, 2007 until July 7. Upon her admission to the Illinois nursing home, workers were notified that the elderly resident had dementia and Alzheimer’s and often became confused and disoriented.

The Illinois nursing home neglect complaint contends that despite knowing Reed’s mental state, nursing home workers allowed her to walk around the long-term care facility without supervision on the night of May 29, 2007. It was during this first incident that Reed fell and fractured her left hip.

Reed got hurt after falling again on June 6, 2007 when she was left in a wheelchair without a personal alarm or supervision. She fractured her other hip on June 15, 2007 when, the nursing home neglect complaint contends, once again Reed was left unattended or with her alarm not turned on and she tried walking without help.

The Illinois nursing home neglect lawsuit is seeking damages for Reed’s physical and mental suffering caused by the nursing home workers’ negligence, as well as the medical bills that she now has to pay as a result of her nursing home neglect injuries.

Fractured Hips
A fractured hip can be a very serious injury for an elderly person to sustain. According to the Health and Age Web site:

• Up to 20% of elderly people who fracture their hip will die within a year of their injury accident.
• Fatalities are often attributed to post-surgical complications, which can be affected by the elderly person’s overall health.

Nursing home sued over 95-year-old resident's fall, The Record, June 1, 2009

Falls and Injuries, Health and Age

Related Web Resources:
Hip Fracture, About.com

Stearns Nursing Home and Rehabilitation

In Chicago, 84-year-old nursing home resident Benny Saxon died on Monday after he fell from a fourth story window at Alden Wentworth Rehabilitation and Health Care Center. It is not known at this time whether he fell or jumped.

Police are investigating the incident. Saxon suffered from dementia and had recently been agitated.

Nursing Home Negligence
Chicago nursing homes must make sure that their residents do not come to harm while under their watch. This means giving patients with special needs the 24-hour care that they need and making sure that there is nothing in their environment that can cause them to get hurt or die. Failure to exercise this duty of care can be grounds for a Chicago nursing home neglect lawsuit.

For example, if a resident’s room is located on a higher floor, then the nursing home must make sure that the window is properly secured so that the patient doesn’t accidentally fall out of the window by accident. One way to do this to make sure that the resident’s bed isn’t located too close to the window, the screen hasn’t come loose, or that the windows have locks that prevent a patient who may not realize what he or she is doing from falling out.

If a nursing home patient is a “flight” or “wander” risk, then it is up to the workers at the nursing home to make sure that windows are properly locked and that there are alarm systems in place to warn nursing staff if a patient tries to escape.

Falling from great heights can lead to catastrophic injuries, including traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and broken bones. Unlike with younger fall accident victims, older people can take a longer time to recover from such injuries, which can lead to serious health complications and even death.

If your loved one got hurt or died while staying at a Chicago nursing home and you believe that he or she is the victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, it is important that you consider your legal options.

Man falls from nursing home window, Southtown Star, May 5, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Preventing Falls in the Elderly, Colorado State University

Alden Wentworth Rehabilitation and Health Care Center

Continue reading "Chicago Nursing Home Patient Dies in Fall Accident from Fourth Floor Window" »