Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

The Illinois Department of Public Health says that the La Salle County Nursing Home’s inability to protect female residents from sexual abuse allowed one male resident to molest 10 patients. All of the nursing home sexual abuse incidents occurred within the last six months. On June 4, the IDPH designated the long-term care facility as a nursing home in “Immediate Jeopardy” since December 24, 2008, when the nursing home failed to immediately investigate claims that a male resident was engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct.

As a result of the nursing home’s failure to act immediately, IDPH says the male resident was able to sexually abuse female residents that were suffering from dementia.

Inappropriate sexual conduct the male resident is accused of include:

• Trying to persuade female residents to come to his room.
• Kissing female residents.
• Trying to “handle” female patients.
• Propositioning residents to engage in sexual relations with him.
• Inappropriately touching patients under their clothes.
• Fondling patients.
• Exposing his genitalia to residents.

The male resident was removed from La Salle County Nursing Home last month and he was transferred to a psychiatric facility.

It is hard enough for any woman to fend of inappropriate sexual advances from an male assailant. Patients suffering from dementia are admitted to Illinois nursing homes because they need help taking care of themselves. Nursing home workers are not only charged with these patients’ daily care, but they must make sure that they are protected from any inappropriate sexual misconduct—including sexual advances from nursing home workers or other residents.

Failure by a nursing home to prevent sexual abuse or investigate sexual abuse allegations, which can lead to more residents’ becoming the victim of abuse, can be grounds for an Illinois nursing home neglect lawsuit.

IDPH: Ten residents sexually abused at La Salle County Nursing Home, NewsTribune.com, July 2, 2009

Read the Report (PDF)

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Department of Public Health

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A jury has awarded a former nursing home patient almost $1.34 million for the reckless abuse and neglect that she suffered while staying at a residential care facility. In the case against Leisure Palms, Elaine Stinson was awarded $500,000 for general damages, $88,000 for past medical expenses, and $750,000 for punitive damages. An additional $400,000 is likely once a post-judgment motion for expert fees, attorneys, and costs are added.

The nursing home abuse case involves Stinson, who began staying at the assisted living facility in October 2006. She was 82 at the time and recovering from hip surgery. She has Alzheimer’s and needed constant supervision because she was a fall and wander risk. Her medication needed to be strictly managed.

Yet by the end of December 2006, Stinson had fallen three times. After falling on December 31, 2006, she sustained a head contusion, a punctured lung, and three broken bones. The nursing home, however, waited to contact a doctor or family members.

When Stinson’s husband Alvin arrived the next morning, she was nonresponsive. He called 911 and she was taken to the hospital for emergency surgery. She made a full recovery, although at first doctors thought she wouldn’t survive.

Alvin died two weeks after Stinson was discharged in October 2007. Before his death, he filed a complaint with the Department of Social Services about the way the nursing home neglected his wife. The long-term care facility was cited for unsafe practices. Stinson sued for nursing home neglect in January 2008.

The defendants have always maintained that they did nothing wrong. They even accused Alvin of causing injury to his wife.

Fall Accidents
As our Chicago nursing home abuse law firm has discussed in the past, fall accidents can be catastrophic for elderly residents. They can sustain serious injuries by simply tripping and falling onto the ground or falling while getting out of bed.

Nursing homes know that many elderly and sick residents must be closely supervised so that they don’t fall. Inadequate resident supervision and failure to implement or follow a care plan are just two reasons why a Chicago nursing home might be found liable for Illinois nursing home negligence if a patient gets hurt.

Vista Jury Awards a Groundbreaking Verdict in Elder Abuse/Neglect Case, Topix, June 29, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Preventing Falls Among Older Adults, CDC

Elder Abuse and Neglect: In Search of Solutions, APA Online

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Police have charged a certified nursing assistant with six counts of third-degree assault. Mark A. Genetiano, 24, worked at the Hiolani Care Center where the three victims live. He was fired from the nursing home on the day of his arrest.

One victim is 89 and the other two women are 92. All of them have dementia. Police say the sexual assaults took place over a one-month period, between May 1 and June 1, and witnesses reportedly saw the assault incidents happen.

A court document states that on May 29, a co-worker saw the 24-year-old hold down a resident’s arms while he pinched her bare left nipple. The co-worker and Genetiano were changing the patient at the time. The victim reportedly yelled at him to leave her alone and “stop” while he laughed at her.

Genetiano is accused of fondling the other residents. The Star Bulletin reports that Genetiano has admitted to pinching one resident because she hit his head and he wanted to hurt her in return.

Nursing Home Negligence
Nursing homes have a responsibility to make sure that there is adequate security on the premise so that patients do not become the victims of sexual assault or physical abuse. This means that they need to screen nursing home workers to make sure they don't have criminal records while maintaining an environment that doesn't make it easy for anyone—not just a nursing home worker—to assault anyone.

Just this week, a man was arrested for allegedly raping a female patient. The incident occurred at the Bradford Square Rehabilitation And Nursing Center. Harrison Blankenship was charged with first degree sexual abuse.

A nursing home worker reportedly walked in on Blankenship having sex with the resident. Blankenship denies the allegations.

The 84-year-old is a registered sex offender. He raped a 13-year-old girl in 1995.

Ex-nursing aide allegedly pinched, fondled 3 patients, Star Bulletin, June 20, 2009

Man Arrested In Nursing Home Abuse Case, WTVQ, June 23, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Elder Abuse, Helpguide.org

Nursing Homes in Illinois

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The friend of a now deceased nursing home resident is suing Calvin Johnson Care Center. Dora Haskins-Bond was a resident at the Belleville facility.

According to James E. Golliday’s civil complaint, which alleges nursing home neglect, Haskins-Bond was injured in a number of fall accidents while staying at the long-term care facility. In one incident, she fractured her right knees and left femur.

Despite knowing that Haskins-Bond was at risk of falling, Golliday contends that the nursing home and its owners neglected to properly monitor her so she wouldn’t fall, did not provide the proper resources to protect her from such accidents, and committed other breaches of duty.

As a result of her fall injuries, Golliday claims that Haskins-Bond experienced substantial physical and mental pain and suffering, became disabled and disfigured, and her pre-existing health conditions suffered. She also incurred medical expenses and her ability to enjoy life suffered.

Golliday is asking for legal fees, over $400,00 in damages, and other relief. Also defendants in the lawsuit are Steven Wolf, the administrative manager of Eldercare Inc., and Prudence Wolf, who has an ownership stake in the company.

Facts About Older Adults and Fall Accidents (CDC Web site):
• Each year, over 1/3rd of adults age 65 and are involved in fall accidents.
• For older adults, the number one cause of injury deaths is falls.
• 15,800 seniors died because they were involved in fall accidents in 2005.
• That same year, 1.8 million seniors went to hospital emergency rooms because they fell and sustained nonfatal injuries.
• Over 433,000 of these people were hospitalized for their fall injuries.
• The majority of fractures sustained by elderly people occur during fall accidents.
• Fractures from fall accidents usually occur on the hip, leg, forearm, spine, ankle, hand, and upper arm.

Man sues over friend's nursing home falls, The Record, June 13, 2009

Falls Among Older Adults: An Overview, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Related Web Resources:
Falls in the Elderly, PubMedCentral.NIH.gov

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Although the Regal Health and Rehab Center, an Oak Lawn nursing home, is now in compliance with state regulations after remedying a number of complaints, the Illinois Department of Public Health is still considering closing down the long-term care facility. The Oak Lawn nursing home may have made its corrections, but department spokesperson says that these changes were not made soon enough or to the extend that they should have been made. Therefore, the state still believes it has grounds to revoke the long-term care facility’s license.

Just this month, Regal was cited for ceilings that had water damage, dirty appliances and water fountains, floors with rodent droppings, employees that smoked in the building, and employees that washed their hands in a sink that had food in it. In April, a nursing home resident sustained fatal burn injuries after lighting up a cigarette and smoking it while connected to an oxygen machine. A fire broke out, causing the nursing home resident’s injuries. The state Public Health Department fined Regal $10,000 in 2004 for neglecting to investigate an allegation that someone had been sexually assaulted.

The Oak Lawn nursing home currently houses 83 Illinois nursing home patients. The state says it continues to worry over the quality of care that Regal provides its residents.

Illinois Nursing Home Negligence
It can be detrimental to the health of sick or elderly residents at an Illinois nursing home to live in unsanitary conditions. A resident with a weakened immune system may contract a disease or an infection if he or she is made to live in a dirty or unhygienic environment.

Illinois nursing homes are responsible for making sure that residents live in a clean and sanitary environment. Long-term care facilities can be held liable for Illinois nursing home negligence if a patient gets sick or dies because the kitchen or bathrooms were dirty, the bed sheets weren't washed, or the dishes were not cleaned properly.

May Shut Down Nursing Home, SWNewsHerald, June 19, 2009
State wants Oak Lawn nursing home closed, Sun-Times News Group, June 14, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Hospital Infections Often Result From Poor Hygiene, Lead To Increased Costs, Studies Find, Medical News Today, November 23, 2006

National Nursing Home Watch List, Memberofthefamily.net

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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

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State regulators are fining the Azalea Court nursing home $16,000 because a patient that was discovered on the floor who was injured had maggots in his leg cast. The fine against the US nursing home was issued in March.

According to the state inspection report from August 2008, the nursing home neglected to develop a comprehensive care plan for the resident to deal with his broken leg. Although the leg wound and cast should have been tended to every few days, documentation provided by the long-term care facility noted that the patient’s leg was taken care of just once a week. As a result, the patient’s leg became infested with maggots.

State regulators also placed the nursing home on its “watch list” because of its poor performance results during recent inspections. It received one out of five stars for its total inspection grade. In April 2008, Azalea Court received a “J” grade, which meant that nursing home residents’ safety and health were in “immediate jeopardy” from possible mistreatment and abuse.

Azalea says it is working hard to improve the care that it provides residents. The nursing home maintains that quality care is the nursing home’s primary priority.

Maggots that are found in a nursing home patient’s wound can be a sign that workers at the facility have neglected to provide the resident with the proper care needed to treat the injury. Nursing neglect lawsuits have been filed for this very reason.

Earlier this year, the family of a 95-year-old nursing home resident sued Winchester Centre for Health and Rehabilitation for nursing home neglect. Their complaint accuses the long-term care facility of causing Lucy Hale to suffer from malnutrition, poor hygiene, weight loss, dehydration, and bedsores with maggot infestation.

In 2008, the daughter of a nursing home patient whose bedsore was ignored for so long that it developed gangrene and became infested with maggots sued Parkwood Place nursing home for nursing home neglect. Her father, Haviland Mekeel, had to have his foot amputated and he died soon after.

Maggots infest West Palm Beach nursing home resident, Palm Beach Post, June 3, 2009

Maggots In Elderly Woman's Bedsore Trigger Lawsuit, WSBT, March 15, 2009

Related Web Resource:
Nursing Home Compare, Medicare.gov

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A second wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against the Angel Arms Family Group Home related to the deaths last June of two men that were staying at the care facility. The two men that died were 42-year-old Thomas Calhoun and his roommate John Jones, 79.

The plaintiffs contend that both men, who were roommates and suffering from mental illnesses, were left unsupervised for a considerable length of time in extremely hot weather. As a result of being left unattended in more than 90-degree heat, they both died. Jones’s body temperature was reportedly 105 degrees when he was found unconscious.

According to the coroner, both men were takings medication that made them vulnerable to heat. The group’s home director, Pam Shay, says that air conditioning was too costly, so instead, the windows were kept open to let air into the home. She also had planned to purchase fans. The state has taken away her license.

Calhoun’s family filed their wrongful death complaint this week. Jones’s family filed their nursing home neglect complaint last December.

According to findings from a January 2008 inspection of the group home, the facility had committed 29 violations, which included failure to adequately train staff—one worker wasn’t trained and the other worker had only undergone four hours of training over the past year—and the failure to provide a healthy and clean environment. State officials noted dirty dishes in the sink, food stains on the carpets, missing ceramic tiles in the kitchen, piles of rugs in the laundry room that were considered a fire hazard, cobwebs, and beds with soiled sheets. In May 2008, officials that conducted a follow-up investigation found that the violations had been corrected.

2nd wrongful death suit filed against group home, WTOL11.com, June 9,2009

State reveals South Toledo group home had 29 violations, Toledo Blade, June 19, 2008

Related Web Resource:
Heat Stroke Can Sneak Up and Kill, CNN, July 28, 1999

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The families of the 23 nursing home residents that died in a bus fire during Hurricane Rita will receive $80 million for their wrongful deaths. The plaintiffs had accused Sunrise Senior Living Services of McLean, the owner of the nursing home Brighton Gardens, of negligence due to its alleged failure to properly screen Global Limo Inc, which provided the bus that proved to be unsafe.

The nursing home residents were killed in 2005 when the bus that was evacuating them from Hurricane Rita caught fire. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, insufficient lubrication of a rear axle was the probable cause of the deadly bus accident. The axle overheated and caused the wheel well to catch fire, which then spread onto the bus.

Among the defendants that settled were bus maker Motor Coach Industries, axle and rear wheel assembly designer ArvinMeritor Inc, component maker SKF Industries, Global Charter, the Bus Bank, Global Limo, Valley Volvo, and K & S Towing. The families of the deceased nursing home workers claim that MCI and the component manufactures were aware that there was a defect in the hub and axle system that could cause personal injuries.

There are other defendants that have yet to settle the wrongful death claims against them and a civil trial is scheduled for September.

Nursing Home Negligence
If someone you love died while under the supervision of a nursing home because the long-term care facility failed in some way to provide the proper care and protection, you may have grounds for filing an Illinois nursing home neglect complaint for personal injury or wrongful death. In the event that other parties can be held liable, you may also be able to sue for Illinois personal injury or wrongful death.

Settlement over Hurricane Rita bus fire brings closure, Chron.com, June 4, 2009

Hurricane Rita Bus Fire Families Settle Lawsuits, CBS11tv.com, June 4, 2009

Related Web Resource:
Hurricane Rita Evacuee Bus From Texas Explodes, Firehouse.com, September 23, 2005

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The Pigeon Forge Care and Rehabilitation Center has dismissed a certified nursing assistant after pictures of nursing home residents that were unclothed were found on the worker’s cell phone. The nursing home, which is facing a state penalty for the unauthorized cell phone images, is now banning all of its nursing home employees from using cell phones in areas where there are residents.

The pictures of the unclothed residents were discovered after the nursing home worker left the phone in a restaurant. A restaurant employee looked through the phone identify its owner and saw the pictures.

The phone was returned to the nursing home staffers, who contacted the state about the images. The long-term care facility fired the nursing home assistant that owns the phone. The nursing home also fired another certified nursing assistant that was in some of the pictures. Two other nursing home workers that were linked to the cell phone photos had already left the employ of the facility.

When investigators questioned the nursing home assistant about the pictures, the worker called the patients his “babies” and claimed the pictures were for “my memories.”

The images of the 12 residents include 27 videos and 47 pictures that were taken between July 2007 and March 2009. Photos show the various residents in different states of undress. Video footage shows residents engaging in different acts, including some residents trying to feed themselves. One video shows a patient eating without dentures. Another video shows nursing home workers shaking a resident in attempt to get the patient to make a specific noise.

According to the state, the nursing home failed to protect its residents from nursing home abuse and allowed the patients’ privacy, dignity, and safety to be compromised.

Taking photographs of a nursing home resident without his or her consent is a violation of the patient’s privacy. It is also a form of nursing home abuse. People that stay in nursing homes are usually sick, mentally ill, or frail enough that they require full-time special medical and nursing care. Many of them are too weak or sick or vulnerable to be able to protect themselves from nursing home abuse or neglect.

Worker took images of several unclothed residents at nursing home, Knoxnews.com, June 6, 2009

Nursing home ordered to not admit new patients, Miami Herald, May 28, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Sex and intimacy in the nursing home: among many issues, resident privacy is key, The Free Library

Elder Abuse, HelpGuide.org

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According to the Chicago Reporter, the Alden Wentworth Rehabilitation and Health Care Center has the worst rating that a US nursing home can receive for quality of care and is the defendant in three times as many lawsuits as half of the 91 nursing homes in Chicago. The Alden Wentworth Rehabilitation and Health Care Center, located in the South Side, was in the headlines recently when an 84-year-old resident died after falling four stories. Now, the Chicago lawyer for Bennie Saxon’s family is alleging Chicago nursing home neglect.

If Saxon’s family files a Chicago nursing home neglect lawsuit against the South Side long-term facility, this would be the 14th one filed against the nursing home since 2004. The median for nursing home neglect lawsuits directed at a home is usually four complaints.

The Greater Grand Crossing long-term care facility is owned by Floyd Schlossberg. The Chicago Reporter says that they noted racial disparities in the type of care that residents at a Schlossberg-owned Illinois nursing home receive:

• Nursing Home Compare awarded his Illinois predominantly black facilities the lowest possibly rating.

• Residents at his primarily African-American facilities don't get as much time with nursing home workers as patients living in the predominantly white facilities.

When examining nursing homes throughout Chicago, the Chicago Reporter noted that the difference between the care provide at predominantly white nursing homes and black ones was even greater if Medicaid funds at least 75% of the patient care.

All Chicago nursing home residents are entitled to the proper care—regardless of race or whether or not their stay at a nursing home is funded by the federal government. Any nursing care that is less than the proper care that a nursing home patient needs can be grounds for a nursing home neglect lawsuit if the patient’s condition deteriorates or he or she sustains injuries or dies.

Disparate Nursing Home Care, The Chicago Reporter

Floyd A. Schlossberg, Alden Health Care and Senior Living

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Nursing Homes

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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

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The Older Women’s League’s annual report, “Elder Abuse: A Woman’s Issue” says that of the 500,000 to 5 million seniors that are the victims of serious neglect, abuse or exploitation each year, about 66% of the victims are female—that’s about 3 million elderly women.

Other findings in the report:

• People suffering from dementia are at greater risk of abuse than other elderly victims.
• There are about 5.1 million people in the US older than age 65 that have dementia.
• There are more women than men over 90 with dementia.
• In 2005, 44% of people ages 75 and over suffered from a chronic condition that limited their ability to take part in their usual activities. More women over age 65 reported having this problem.
• According to the Long Term Care Ombudsmen, there were nearly 14,000 allegations of nursing home abuse, exploitation, or gross neglect reported in 2007.
• In 2008, the US General Accountability Office found that 70% of state surveys will accidentally overlook at least one deficiency when evaluating licensed long-term care facilities. 15% may miss a case involving immediate jeopardy and actual harm to a nursing home resident.

OWL considers elder abuse a women’s issue because so many women are among its victims. The older a woman becomes, her physical limitations, communication difficulties, and special needs may make it more difficult for her to escape violence—whether at home or in a US nursing home. Also, of the 800 women 60 years of age and over that took part in a 2006 phone survey, over 50% of them said they had experienced some form of abuse throughout their lives, with many incidents occurring after they turned 55. The abuse incidents appeared to have a long-term impact on the their health.

If you are worried that your mother, wife, sister, or grandmother is the victim of nursing home abuse or neglect or caregiver abuse or neglect, it is important that you remove her from the situation immediately. Elder abuse and neglect are health hazards that could cause your loved one’s condition to seriously deteriorate.

Abuse Frequently Against Elderly Women, EGPNews.com

Elder Abuse: A Women's Issue, 2009

Related Web Resources:
H.R. 448: Elder Abuse Victims Act of 2009, Govtrack.us

Elder Abuse, Office for Victims of Crime

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In Kane County Circuit Court, two women that are accused of neglecting their elderly mother testified at their criminal trial on Friday. Julie and Jill Barry are charged in Illinois with criminally neglecting an elderly person.

Mary died in 2007. Her daughters were charged with neglecting her after paramedics that arrived at their home discovered the 84-year-old woman living in poor conditions and suffering from serious bedsores. She passed away from cancer complications at a hospital the following week.

Both women maintain that they never abused their mother. They say they provided her with the care that she needed, including bathing her on a regular basis. They also claim that they didn't realize she was suffering from serious bedsores.

Elder Abuse
Elder abuse is a serious matter that can occur anywhere. Not all elder abuse cases occur in US nursing homes. Abuse and neglect of the elderly is also known to take place in private residences. Nursing home workers, professional caregivers, and family members tasked with caring for an elderly person have all been known to commit elder abuse.

According to the American Psychologist Association:
• For every elder abuse or nursing neglect case reported to police, as many as five cases may go unreported.
• Studies show that elderly people that are abused tend to die earlier even than those who are very sick but are not elder abuse victims.
• Most elder neglect and abuse cases happen in private homes behind closed doors.
• Elder abuse can consist of physical abuse, verbal abuse, emotional abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, and/or financial abuse.

Daughters defend care of elderly mother, Chicago Tribune, May 30, 2009

Elder Abuse and Neglect: In Search of Solutions, APA

Related Web Resources:

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In Illinois, former nursing home resident Velma H. Penberthy is suing Cahokia Nursing and Rehabilitation Center for providing her with inadequate nursing care. The plaintiff lived at the long-term care facility from August 18 – December 29, 2008.

Penberthy contends that nursing home workers neglected to provide her with the proper care by failing to come up with a plan to ensure that she was kept clean so that the skin of her abdominal folds didn't become infected, as well as neglecting to come up with the appropriate plans to address her mental, medical, nursing, and psychosocial needs. Penberthy is seeking an Illinois nursing home neglect judgment in excess of $50,000.

Nursing Home Care Plans
Nursing homes are supposed to come up with customized plans designed to address each resident’s medical, nursing, and dietary needs. A sick or elderly person usually doesn’t seek admittance to a long-term care facility unless he or she needs specialized and/or round-the-clock care.

Because there are usually numerous residents living at a nursing home, it is important that nursing home workers have specific instructions regarding the type of care each person will need. These plans may include a list of prescriptions and a schedule for administering the medications, special instructions about nursing care, the need to monitor the patient for specific symptoms, and special feeding and dietary instructions.

It is important that nursing workers adhere to these plans so that a nursing home resident gets the best care possible. It may even be necessary to modify a patient's nursing home care plan as the resident’s health condition changes—whether for better or worse. Failure to provide a resident with the proper nursing care can be grounds for a nursing home neglect lawsuit.

Cahokia Nursing and Rehabilitation Center sued over resident's care, The Record, May 28, 2009

Nursing Care Plan Resources

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Related Web Sites, Medicare.gov

Illinois Nursing Home Administrator's Association

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Over two dozen nursing home residents are being displaced because the Care Living Center of Edmond, a nursing home, is losing its Medicaid and Medicare funding. According to state health inspectors, the long-term care facility received citations for a number of deficiencies related to medical neglect and nursing neglect that they believe places residents’ welfare, health, and safety in imminent danger.

Incidents of nursing home neglect that were discovered at the US nursing home included failure to turn, feed, or clean certain residents. As a result, some of the nursing home residents had lost a lot of weight. Improper training of staff and failure to answer residents’ call lights were two other problems occuring at the long-term care facility.

Also, nursing home workers’ did not appear to be following medical instructions given by doctors, including monitoring patients’ blood pressure and blood glucose and separating nursing home residents with infectious disease from other patients. One nursing home patient that was not receiving the proper treatment prescribed by a doctor reportedly had 17 bedsores. Two nursing home residents managed to wander off the property and were found blocks away from the nursing home.

Medicare and Medicaid Funding
Medicare and Medicaid funding is provided by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. If state inspectors visit a nursing home three times and deficiencies cited the first time haven’t been remedied, the funding can be terminated.

Because Care Living Center is losing its funding, 12 Medicare patients and 17 Medicaid residents will have to move to another facility that qualifies for either of these health insurance programs. However, regardless of whether your loved one’s nursing home care is paid for privately or through Medicare or Medicaid, a nursing home is obligated to provide all residents with the proper medical attention and nursing care and in a safe environment that is free from nursing abuse or nursing home neglect.

Edmond inspection forces care home exodus, Newsok.com, May 22, 2009

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: Nursing Home Deficiencies Explained, GilbertGuide.com

Related Web Resources:
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Nursing Homes in Illinoishttp://www.malmanlaw.com/lawyer-attorney-1214741.html

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Three women were placed in jail earlier this month after they were accused of committing elder abuse. The defendants are 70-year-old Minni Lee Jeff, 64-year-old Maudeine Mayer, and 37-year-old Angela Townsend.

Jeff is accused of forcing Elija Earl, a 78-year-old man, to live in a shed in her yard. The shed had no plumbing. Jeff was Earl’s caregiver and had been given power of attorney to care for him. She allegedly committed financial elder abuse, spending the majority of the $160,000 he received from a 2005 train accident and placing the remaining funds in her account. Very little of the settlement is believed to have gone toward Earl’s care.

The elder abuse incidents involving Earl reportedly go back a few years when, after the train derailment, Jeff took charge of Earl’s care. The Department of Social Services discovered that Jeff was residing in the shed and moved him to a nursing home. In 2007, Jeff took over Earl's care once more. That was the year that Earl received his train accident settlement.

Earl’s elder abuse case came to light again this year when investigators demanded that Jeff account for Earl's money. A judge sent her to jail earlier this month when she was unable to provide the requested information about her finances.

Police went to retrieve Earl and place him in protective custody but Mayer, who is Jeff’s sister, and Townsend, who is Mayer’s daughter, had taken him with them. They claimed they had just gone out for ice cream but did not bring him to police even though they said they would. They refused to answer the deputies’ phone calls.

Earl was finally placed in protective custody after the women met with investigators and police took them in. Both women are charged with obstruction.

Financial abuse is another form of caregiver abuse that could lead to criminal charges against the person committing the abuse, as well as compel the victim’s family to file a Chicago elder abuse lawsuit.

Some Examples of Financial Abuse:
• Using someone else’s name to obtain a credit card.
• Abusing a power of attorney to take money out of someone’s bank account.
• Pressuring someone to give gifts and money in exchange for services, companionship, or care.
• Taking advantage of someone who isn’t able to make decisions and getting them to give money or make purchases.

Women charged in elder abuse, Aikenstandard.com, May 14, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Elder Financial Abuse, CentralCalLegal.org

Illinois Department on Aging

Continue reading "Three Women Charged with Financially Abusing Senior Who Was Made to Live in Shack without Plumbing" »

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The problem of nursing home abuse just won’t seem to go away. Today, a former Punta Gorda Elderly Care Center was arrested and charged with the felony elder abuse of a 78-year-old female patient.

The former nursing assistant, 58-year-old Leticia Calderwood, is accused of kicking an elderly resident in the back and slapping her on the face. The nursing home neglect incident allegedly occurred on May 19 as Calderwood and two other nursing home workers were helping the elderly resident get up from a fall accident. It was while Calderwood was supposed to helping the patient that she is accused of kicking and slapping her.

The former nursing home worker is being held without bond. Calderwood faces one charge of abuse on the elderly and one charge of battery on the elderly. Both charges are third-degree felonies.

Elsewhere in the US, a former St. Joseph Nursing Home employee says she thinks she was let go from her job because she used her cell phone to record an incident involving another female nursing home worker verbally abusing a male patient suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia. Tracie Bowers says that the unidentifiable sound that can be heard on the recording is the other nursing home worker striking the patient’s hand. Bowers says the patient, who is known for being combative, didn’t do anything to provoke the worker.

Bowers says a nursing supervisor didn’t take her complaints about the other nursing home worker seriously, which is why she reported the incident to a charge nurse. Facility administrators then reported her allegations to the state health department, which is now investigating her claim. The nursing home's administrator, Frank Triboli, however, says Bowers was not let go for reporting the alleged abuse incident.

Verbal Abuse
Verbal abuse is abuse and in many ways can be as damaging as physical abuse even though the injuries may not be physically visible. Verbal abuse demeans the spirit and can lead to depression and the deterioration of one’s health.

Any kind of abuse at a nursing home by a nursing home worker is nursing home abuse.

Nursing home worker charged in abuse of woman, 76, Herald Tribune, May 20, 2009

State investigating nursing home abuse claim, UticaOD.com, May 7, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Elder Abuse in Nursing Homes, NOLO

The Verbal Abuse Site

Continue reading "Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Law Firm: More Nursing Home Workers Accused of Elder Abuse" »

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Actress Brooke Shields says she is very upset that a tabloid reporter was able to sign her mother, Teri Shields, out of a US nursing home for a brief visit. Teri, 75, has dementia. The actress says her mother has been temporarily residing in the long-term care facility because of her condition and that the decision to admit her mother to the nursing home was a difficult one.

Police, who were called to the nursing home to look for the older woman, alerted the 43-year-old star about the incident, which occurred on Thursday. While police say that the protocol that the long-term care facility follows allowed for the reporters to sign Teri out of the nursing home, the facility grew concerned that she had been gone for some time.

Teri was found in a restaurant nearby where she was talking to the freelance reporter. Brooke Shields says she is outraged that the National Enquirer approached her mother knowing that the elderly woman's mental health is poor.

The actress is vowing to take legal action against all parties involved. She says that the two reporters that signed her mother out had presented themselves at the home as the older Shields’s friends.

Brooke Shields says the National Enquirer is behind the incident. The tabloid magazine has issued a statement responding to her accusations by saying that Teri had asked the freelance reporter to help her run errands and take her to lunch.

Dementia
Dementia can affect each person afflicted with the condition in different ways. In many instances, the reason a person with dementia is admitted to a nursing home is because he or she needs special help.

Symptoms of Dementia (Again, symptoms will depend on the severity of condition):

• Has problems finding/choosing the right words to say
• Forgets appointments or names or events
• Loses items
• Experiences difficulty performing daily tasks without assistance, such as cooking, cleaning, driving, eating, dressing, bathing, and using the bathroom
• Changes in personality
• Paranoia
• Mood swings
• Confusion
• Disorientation
• Tendency to wander
• Can’t absorb new information
• More susceptible to fall accidents
• Hallucinations
• Poor concentration
• Withdrawal
• Depression
• Confabulation
• Swallowing problems
• Loss of memory
• Health complications

A nursing home that doesn’t take the necessary and proper steps to take care of a dementia patient and make sure that he or she is safe can be held liable for nursing home negligence.

Tabloid took Shields’ mom out of nursing home, People.com, May 17, 2009

Dementia Overview, EMedicineHealth.com

Related Web Resources:
What is Dementia?, NCPAMD.com

Brooke Shields, IMDB

Continue reading " Brooke Shield’s mom signed out of nursing home to lunch with paparazzi without actress's consent" »

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A former certified nursing assistant faces criminal charges for elder abuse. 42-year-old John Ette is accused of punching, hitting, and grabbing an 88-year-old resident who is bedridden, has dementia, and is visually impaired. The assault incident allegedly occurred last October at Adirondack Medical Center's Mercy Nursing Home.

Nursing home workers reported the incident to administrators as well as the patient’s family after they noticed bruises on the patient's face. She also sustained a broker collar bone.

Following an internal probe, Ette was fired. The investigation revealed that the former CNA neglected to follow the proper policies and procedures at the hospital for reporting the incident. The nursing home, however, did report the incident to state officials. The Attorney General’s Office then conducted a criminal investigation.

Criminal charges against Ette include willful violation of health laws, second-degree endangering the welfare of a vulnerable elderly person, and endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person. If convicted, the former CNA could face up to four years in prison.

Meantime, the victim continues to be a resident at the nursing home.

Nursing Home Abuse Cases
With more people living longer lives, the nation’s elderly population is growing. This means that more seniors and their families may be requiring the services of Illinois nursing homes to provide them with the specialized care that their loved ones need.

Unfortunately, nursing home abuse and neglect continue to be large problems affecting long-term care facilities throughout the US. Every week, there are reports of neglect and abuse incidents involving nursing home residents who got hurt because they were abused by another patient or by a nursing home worker. There are also far too many cases involving patients whose health deteriorated because they were the victims of nursing home neglect.

There are steps that you can take to ensure that your loved one is compensated for their personal injuries.

Elder abuse charged at Adirondack Medical Center's Mercy Nursing Home, Press Republican, May 14, 2009

Related Web Resources:
As the population ages, so does elder abuse, ABC Local, May 14, 2009

Elder Abuse, HelpGuide.org

Continue reading "Nursing Home Abuse: Former CNA Charged with Assaulting Bedridden Elderly Resident" »

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In Cook County Circuit Court, the family of a 69-year-old female nursing home resident who was allegedly raped by a younger, mentally ill patient is suing Maplewood Care of Elgin for Illinois nursing home neglect. The complaint, filed on Monday, seeks at least $50,000 in damages and names Maplewood Care, former nursing home administrator James L. Doyle, and S.I.R. Management as the defendants.

According to the Chicago nursing home neglect lawsuit, 21-year-old resident Christopher Shelton could not be found during bed check but no one made an attempt to look for him or notify residents that his whereabouts were unknown even though he was a young, sexually frustrated, aggressive, mentally ill convicted felon.

Later in the evening, a nurse heard the sound of a woman moaning. When she entered the resident’s room, the elderly resident was crying and Shelton was in her bathroom contacting 911 to report that the woman had been attacked. The emergency medical personnel that arrived at the scene to examine her confirm signs of sexual trauma.

Shelton was admitted to the Elgin nursing home last November. He has bipolar disorder with aggression. He reportedly told nursing home workers that he was feeling sexually frustrated yet they failed to monitor him to make sure he didn’t act on his frustrations.

The Chicago nursing home neglect complaint accuses Maplewood Care of trying to cover up the rape by portraying the incident in its report to the state as a consensual sexual encounter between the two residents. It also contends that the family was not notified that a resident with a history of violent and aggressive criminal conduct was at the Illinois nursing home.

The lawsuit also accuses the Elgin nursing home of failing to do a proper criminal check on Shelton. The 21-year-old nursing home resident had an outstanding arrest warrant in his name for felony battery charges. Shelton has pleaded not guilty to 11 counts related to the alleged rape, including a charge for aggravated sexual assault.

Mentally Ill Patients in Illinois Nursing Homes
According to a recent Associated Press review, there is a disturbing trend occuring in US nursing homes involving older nursing home residents becoming the victims of crimes committed by younger, stronger nursing home patients that are suffering from mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and depression. Out of all the US states, Illinois was noted as the state with the most number of mentally ill patients under age 65—over 12,000 patients—in nursing homes.

Regardless, Illinois nursing homes are responsible for making sure that all of their residents do not the become the victims of any type of violent crimes, including nursing home abuse, sexual abuse, rape, and physical assault. Failure to take action to protect nursing home patients can be grounds for an Illinois nursing home neglect lawsuit.

Family sues nursing home in alleged sex attack, AP, May 12, 2009

Illinois Nursing Homes Tops in Younger Mentally Ill, Chicago Tribune, March 23, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Maplewood Care of Elgin

Illinois Nursing Homes House More Mentally Ill Patients Under Age 65 than Long-Term Care Facilities in Other US States, the Law Offices of Steven J Malman & Associates, PC, March 20, 2009

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Last week, a 72-year-old nursing home resident was charged with sexually abusing another patient. The alleged victim, a 54-year-old female patient, has the mental capacity of a 5-year-old. Both the victim and the assailant are residents at the Rehabilitation Center of St. Petersburg.

The defendant, Christopher McDermott, was charged with lewd and lascivious battery on a disabled person. McDermott is accused of fondling the female resident’s breast. Nursing home workers had reportedly warned him on more than one occasion that he was not allowed to engage in any type of contact with her.

Sex Abuse at Nursing Homes
Nursing homes are supposed to protect their patients from any kind of abuse. This means providing extra protection for residents who may not be able to take care of themselves because they are physically or mentally incapacitated and keeping residents who may be prone to abusive behavior away from the other patients.

Nursing homes must also make sure that they hire workers who are not inclined to engage in nursing home abuse or neglect. Unfortunately, there are a disturbing number of sexual abuse incidents that occur throughout the US that involve nursing home workers molesting or sexually assaulting patients.

Recently, a 52-year-old nursing worker at the Northwoods Rehabilitation Center was charged with misdemeanor forcible touching, felony sex abuse, and misdemeanor third-degree sex abuse for incidents involving a 78-year-old resident that allegedly occurred at the nursing home between December 15, 2007 and January 7, 2008.

The female patient is physically incapacitated. The indictment against Robert Gunderson accuses him of allegedly fondling the woman’s vaginal area and breast areas at night.

He also faces separate third-degree sex abuse charges from when he worked at Eddy Ford Nursing Home between August and September 2008. Gunderson is accused of forcibly kissing a younger victim with multiple sclerosis and who was confined to a wheelchair.

Nursing homes must prescreen nursing home workers to make sure that they don’t have a criminal record or a history of suspicious behavior. Because of their age or deteriorating health—two reasons why a person needs the protection and care of a nursing home to begin with—nursing home residents are easy targets of nursing home abuse or neglect.

Man Charged with Molesting Fellow Nursing Home Resident, TBO, May 5, 2009

Troy nursing home aide accused of sexually abusing 78-year-old patient, CBS6Albany.com, May 5, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Abuse: Neglect, Physical and Even Sexual Abuse are the Harsh Realities Facing Today's Elderly, NewsInferno.com, June 21, 2007

Elderly Often Unrecognized Victims of Sexual Abuse, Senior Journal, November 9, 2004

Continue reading "Fellow Nursing Home Resident Charged with Molesting A Female Patient" »

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The Health Care Council of Illinois is taking steps to protect its 65,000 long-term care professionals and 100,000 nursing home residents from the swine flu. A type of influenza, the swine flu is considered a more serious and potentially fatal virus and at this time there is still no vaccine.

Swine Flu Symptoms:

• Eye infections
• Influenza-like symptoms
• Serious respiratory disease
• Pneumonia

As of May 7, 2009, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that there are now 225 confirmed swine flu cases in Illinois. If even healthy people are at risk of contracting the contagious virus, you can imagine how much more dangerous the swine flu can be to sick or elderly people with weakened immune systems.

This is why it is so important that Chicago nursing home workers and long-term care employees in other Illinois nursing homes take the necessary steps to make sure that the virus doesn’t enter their nursing homes so that workers and residents don’t get sick and spread the swine flu to each other.

To protect Illinois nursing home residents from the swine flu, HCCI recommends the following:

• Make sure all visitors use a hand sanitizer before entering an Illinois nursing home patient’s room.

• Examine visitors for flu-like symptoms and don’t let them into the nursing home if they exhibit any signs of the illness.

• Make sure that you have tissue boxes, covered waste baskets, and hand gel sanitizers available throughout the nursing home.

• Teach residents, workers, and guests about proper cough etiquette and techniques.

• Keep residents with flu-like symptoms in one area of the nursing home. Make sure that the nursing home workers are treating them.

• Make sure that staff members treating these patients use facial masks, gloves, and gowns.

If your loved one got sick at an Illinois nursing home because the nursing home neglected to take proper care of the resident or failed to maintain an environment that was free from harmful bacteria or other unsanitary conditions, you may have grounds for filing an Illinois nursing home neglect lawsuit on their behalf.

Illinois Nursing Homes Prepare for Swine Flu Pandemic, Murphysboro American, May 6, 2009

Illinois Swine Flue Cases Up, Chicago Sun-Times, May 7, 2009

Related Web Resources:
H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu), CDC

Health Care Council of Illinois

Continue reading "Protecting Illinois Nursing Home Residents from Swine Flu" »

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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

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In Cook County Circuit Court, the guardian of Illinois nursing home resident Margaret McCauley is suing Brighton Gardens Assisted Living of Orland Park for personal injury. McCauley sustained serious injuries during a fall accident and from exposure to cold weather when she wandered off unnoticed during a field trip to a local high school on December 2, 2007. The elderly resident, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and severe dementia, was found eight hours later on train tracks about a mile from the school.

Bright Gardens, Sunrise Senior Living Services, and Activity Director Debra Ann Adler are the defendants named in the Illinois nursing home neglect complaint. The Illinois civil lawsuit accuses nursing home employees of failing to properly supervise and monitor McCauley.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association:
• Over 60% of Alzheimer’s patients will wander at least once.
• Over 127,000 serious wandering cases reported every year.
• If a dementia patient who wanders is not discovered within 24 hours, he or she could get seriously hurt or die.

The Mayo Clinic says that people wander for a number of reasons:
• They may be looking for something or someone familiar or they may be hungry or thirsty or need to go to the bathroom but can’t remember where to go.

• They may be trying to get away from too much stimuli because they find the noise or surroundings overwhelming.

• They may be trying to reestablish an old routine from their old life.

Illinois nursing homes charged with taking care of a sick or elderly resident are responsible for anticipating and preventing potential wandering incidents. When failure to supervise or monitor a patient with Alzheimer’s or dementia results in the resident wandering off, getting hurt, or dying, the long-term care facility can be held liable for nursing home neglect.

Nursing Home Sued After Woman Found On Train Track, CBS2Chicago.com, April 24, 2009

Alzheimer's: Understand and control wandering, MayoClinic.com

Related Web Resources:
Alzheimer’s Association

Brighton Gardens Assisted Living of Orland Park

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A nursing home has been cited because its workers took pictures and made audio recordings of residents that were inappropriate using their cell phones. The pictures and recordings were done without the residents’ knowledge or consent. Staffers then included sexual lyrics from songs with the photographs before sending them to other staffers.

Pimlico Parkway received a Type A citation, which is the most serious citation that a nursing home in Kentucky can be given. The state says that seven residents were abused as a result of the picture taking and audio recording.

The citation said that there is nothing to indicate that the facility had trained staffers so that they would know that such conduct is a form of nursing home abuse. It also noted that the nursing home failed to enforce its policy banning staff members from using cell phones in resident care areas.

Nursing home aids, licensed staff members, facility staff, and housekeepers who were interviewed said that they did not consider taking photos of recording residents to be abusive behavior, which is why they never reported the incidents.

The nursing home administrator, Jo Ann Lovell, says that a number of nursing home workers have been fired. Lovell says that nursing home workers have been reeducated about the facility’s cell-phone ban policy.

The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services imposed a civil fine of facility of $6,550 a day because residents were considered to have been in imminent jeopardy.

Per Medicare.gov, US nursing homes residents’ rights include:

• Privacy—as long as it doesn’t interfere with other people’s rights, safety or health.
• Be treated with respect.
• Be notified about all services and associated fees.
• Manage their own money.
• Be informed and make decisions about your medical care.

Nursing home staff took inappropriate photos of residents, Kentucky.com, April 29, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Read the citation (PDF)

Resident Rights, Medicare

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Public health officials have announced that the Helia Healthcare of Urbana has been shut down. The reason cited for the closing is that the long-term care facility did not succeed in fixing its deficiencies and its status for Medicare funding was revoked. Deficiencies included:

• Failure to prevent bed sores
• Failure to make sure the environment is safe
• Preventive measures so to decrease the risks of choking incidents
• Failure to properly monitor blood-thinner levels
• Inadequate assessments of residents
• Medication mistakes
• Failure to properly prescreen employees
• Failure to notify Illinois that resident funds had been misappropriated

Residents at the Urbana, Illinois nursing home will be transferred to other long-term care facilities. The economic client and delayed Medicaid reimbursements has made it hard for Illinois nursing homes to function properly. Financial problems and/or a significant amount of deficiencies are two of the most common reasons why a long-term facility would close its doors.

Last year, five Illinois nursing homes had to be shut down. Nine Illinois long-term care nursing facilities were closed in 2007. While nursing homes usually give 1-month notices when they are about to close, Helia shut down operations one week after announcing it would close.

Helia Healthcare of Champaign and Helia Healthcare of Urbana received one out of five stars for per the Medicare/Medicaid nursing home rating system. The Urbana facility also received a one star rating for health inspections, quality measures, and nursing home staff.

Poor nursing home care can lead to nursing home neglect, nursing abuse, and medical malpractice. A nursing home with deficiencies cannot provide its residents with a safe environment or the proper care. Victims of nursing home abuse or neglect may be entitled to Illinois nursing home abuse/neglect compensation.

Helia Healthcare of Urbana will close today, News-Gazette, April 24, 2009

Helia Healthcare of Urbana, MemberoftheFamily.net

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Compare, Medicare

Senior care groups want nursing home funding protected in Obama's first budget, McKnight's, February 23, 2009

Continue reading "Urbana, Illinois Nursing Home Closes After Failing to Correct Deficiencies" »

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An Illinois nursing home neglect lawsuit has been filed against the Atrium Health Care and Rehabilitation Center. According to the complaint, 69-year-old Pauline Richards sustained multiple decubitus ulcers on her thighs, hips, buttocks, back, lower extremities, and feet while staying at the long-term care facility.

The Illinois civil lawsuit contends that workers failed to provide properly supervised and adequate care to Richards and also neglected to put in place a program to prevent and treat bedsores. Nursing home staffers are also accused of failing to follow standard nursing procedures when they did not turn Richards, treat her bedsores, use pressure relieving equipment as part of her care, properly supervise her, obtain treatment plans for her dehydration and weight loss, document major changes to her physical condition, and properly train workers to make sure that she didn’t develop decubitus ulcers.

As a result of the alleged negligent nursing care she received at the Illinois nursing home, the complaint claims Richard experienced dehydration, sustained infected bed sores, and experienced infections, a high fever, mental trauma, physical pain, and incurred medical expenses.

The two count Illinois nursing home neglect lawsuit is seeking a judgment of over $100,000 plus legal fees, costs, and other relief.

Although having any kind of pressure sore is never good for a sick or elderly patient, infected decubitus ulcers can be especially dangerous to the nursing home resident’s health. Not only do infected bed sores often heal more slowly, but they can spread serious infection to other parts of the body.

Signs of an infected bed sore:

• A vile smell coming from the sore
• The area around the bed sore is exhibiting redness or warmth
• The area feels tender
• There is thick yellow or green pus visible
• The tissue around the bed sore is swollen

Signs that the infection may have spread include fever, chills, mental confusion, problems with concentration, a more rapid heart rate, and weakness. While some bed sore infections can be easily treated with an ointment, infections that have reached deeper areas inside the body might require more invasive care.

Patient suffered bed sores, says suit against Atrium Health Care, The Record, April 20, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Nursing Homes

Bed Sores, Buzzle.com

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A nursing home abuse lawsuit filed for the families of four people who died while staying at long-term care facilities and one patient who lost a testicle due to alleged nursing abuse is accusing the state of Colorado of giving local nursing homes a license to kill that has allowed patients to become abused and neglected. The attorneys for the plaintiffs want to sue as a class representing all disabled nursing home residents in the state.

The plaintiffs are representative members of thousands of residents residing in 27 nursing homes run by the SavaSeniorCare chain. The elder care company is also being sued for alleged deceptive trade practices, including promoting itself as a company that provides “state of the art” care at the best facilities, even though nursing home regulators have given its long-term care facilities poor ratings.

According to the nursing home abuse lawsuit, from 2006 to 2008, SAVA facilities received 1,464 citations—three times the national average. Health department records show that 20 of its facilities received below average ratings. Residents at SAVA facilities have reportedly died of blood poisoning, dehydration, and malnutrition.

The plaintiffs’ lawsuit also wants to make sure that nursing homes are properly insured. The Health Care Availability Act requires nursing homes in Colorado to carry insurance worth $3 million a year, with a $500,000 cap for each incident. They can also be self-insured with the approval of the state’s insurance commissioner. Unfortunately, there have been instances when a nursing home receives this approval and it later turns out that the affidavit the long-term care facility turned in verifying that that it put aside $1 million for insurance purposes was bogus.

If your loved one was injured or got sick while staying at a Chicago nursing home because his or her care needs were neglected or because a nursing home worker was abusive, you should take steps to remove the patient from the long-term care facility immediately.

In many cases, disabled nursing home residents may need specialized attention, including round-the-clock care and/or help with feeding, going to the bathroom, and getting around. Failing to help residents with these tasks can lead to personal injury, deteriorating health, and/or wrongful death.

Suit says nursing homes get "state license to kill", The Denver Post, April 13, 2009

Related Web Resources:
SavaSeniorCare

5 disabled nursing home patients sue state over care, Chicago Tribune, August 23, 2007

Access Living: Equip For Equality

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A former certified nursing home assistant at the Silver Lake Care Center has been charged with two counts of felony caretaker abuse and one misdemeanor charge of verbal abuse for his alleged mistreatment of a number residents while working at the long-term care facility. Last February, the wife of one patient told police that she noticed a scratch on her husband. He had reportedly been complaining that CNA Jason Lynn Pearl had taken off his clothes, spit on him, touched him inappropriately, and threatened to cause him injury, but family members initially didn’t believe him, thinking his stories were a result of his dementia, until they noticed the scratch. Ever since the alleged incidents, the elderly resident has reportedly had problems sleeping and is afraid for his wife’s safety.

Police then discovered that Pearl had used his cell phone to videotape three other patients at the nursing home. Footage shows the 31-year-old former nursing worker yelling at one elderly resident and violently taking off the shirt of another patient. Witnesses reportedly saw the footage before he erased them.

The criminal charges filed against Pearl are based on the testimony of the witnesses who saw the cell phone footage and the accounts of the victims. Staff members at the nursing home, however, contend that because of their condition, most patients are not capable of reporting any abuse incidents.

Pearl’s bail is set at $100,000 and he isn’t allowed to work in another nursing home.

Nursing Home Abuse
Abuse is any kind is harmful to the victim. Not only can nursing home abuse leave physical scars and wounds or cause injury or death, but the victims who survive such incidents can be mentally and emotionally scarred for life. Family members, many of whom may have already struggled with the decision of placing their sick or elderly loved one in another person’s care may also be scarred by such a traumatic event.

If you believe your loved one is a victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, you should remove him or her from the long-term care facility and report the incident. It is also important that you speak with an experienced Chicago nursing home abuse law firm about your case.

Silver Lake Care Center is being shut down and residents are being relocated to other facilities.

Nursing home owner answers allegations, Sequoyah County Times, April 17, 2009

Related Web Resource:
Nursing Home Abuse Overview, Justia

Continue reading "Former Certified Nursing Home Assistant Charged with Felony Caretaker Abuse of Patients Allegedly Took Pictures of Victims with His Cell Phone" »

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A Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office says that a nursing home resident may have been murdered. A spokesperson for the office says Thomas Donovan, 63, died because he sustained multiple injuries during an assault. He had a contusion on his face when he was taken to South Shore Hospital, and the nursing home supervisor at Burnham Terrace says that the elderly resident got into some sort of altercation while at the long-term care facility on the night that he died.

However, the coroner’s office is quick to caution that all possible causes of death are still being considered, especially as Donovan had diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension.

Nursing Home Violence
Violent attacks targeting residents at US long-term care facilities, including Chicago nursing homes, continue to be a chronic problem, and our sick and elderly are suffering as a result. Sometimes, the attackers are nursing home workers. Other nursing home abuse incidents involve other perpetrators, such as visitors or other residents.

In another possible case of nursing home abuse, a nursing home aide was arrested for allegedly assaulting an 80-year-old nursing home resident. Per the arrest affidavit, another nursing home worker at the Castle Pines nursing home reportedly noticed that a resident whose bedroom door was closed had activated her help light.

The worker entered the room and saw nursing home aide Shondra Rodriguez striking the woman on her left hand. There was also blood on the bed.

Other staffers entered the room and saw that the patient's hands and arms had bruises. There was also a tear on the skin of her upper arm. Rodriguez reportedly admitted to “popping” the elderly resident, holding down her hands, and fighting with her.

A complaint was filed on March 23 after the nursing home’s director told police that someone had slapped an elderly patient’s hand.

Authorities investigating nursing home death, NWI.com, April 13, 2009

Police to question nursing home abuse suspect, KTRE.com, April 8, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Castle Pines Retirement Home

Nursing Homes in Illinois

Continue reading "Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office Says Illinois Home Resident's Death May Have Been A Homicide" »

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Posted In: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

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Choosing the right kind of senior housing for your loved one is a big step and one that requires a great deal of thought, due diligence, and in-person investigation. Not only do you want to make sure that the facility provides the services that your family member requires, but it is important to make sure that the premises are safe and that you don’t place your loved one at risk of becoming the victim of nursing home abuse or neglect.

Here is a brief description of different elderly residential alternatives you may want to consider:

Nursing Homes: Provide round-the-clock nursing care for seniors who can’t live independently. Medical services are provided and nursing home workers are trained to help residents with personal care needs and daily tasks.

Assisted Living: Residents who don’t necessarily require 24-hour care may still opt to live in a facility where there are staff members assigned to help them take care of certain daily tasks.

Adult Day Care: Provides a place for adults during the day. While at the facility, seniors can usually avail of nursing assistance, nutritional support, social activities, and rehabilitation services.

Continuing Care Retirement Communities: A group of residences for the elderly that may include nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and independent living residences.

Alzheimer’s Care Facilities: A facility that focuses on Alzheimer’s care and other diseases involving memory impairment.

Regardless of which facility you select, or whether you opt to bring a professional caregiver into your family member’s home, your loved one is entitled to the appropriate professional care and services. Medical errors, nursing home neglect, or nursing abuse can be grounds for an Illinois personal injury lawsuit against all liable parties.

Types of Senior Housing Facilities and Services, SeniorOutlook.com

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Homes in Illinois

Quarterly Reports of Illinois Nursing Home Violations

Continue reading "Knowing the Differences Between Illinois Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Facilities, and Other Senior Housing" »

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Posted In: Miscellaneous , Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

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In Illinois, a Champaign County nursing home worker is behind bars for allegedly punching an Alzheimer’s patient in the face two times. According police, Sharoia Hill, 28, wanted an item back from the 87-year-old patient and assaulted him in order to retrieve it.

Hill’s arraignment took place yesterday, and she was charged with two counts of aggravated battery. If convicted of the Class 3 felony charges, she could be convicted to up to five years in prison and made to pay a $25,000 fine.

The assault incident reportedly took place on Wednesday night and was witnessed by two people. The Alzheimer’s patient did not sustain serious injuries but the punches left red marks on his face.

Hill reportedly was new at the Illinois nursing home. The long-term care facility is conducting an investigation into the incident, as is the East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging.

Nursing Home Assault
Assault by a nursing home worker is nursing home abuse and can cause physical and emotional injury to a resident. Long-term care facilities are supposed to make sure that the nursing aides and other workers that they hire are not inclined to inflict abuse or neglect on their patients and that workers are properly trained regarding how to deal with residents—especially patients suffering from Alzheimer’s or other mental illnesses that may require skilled, specialized handling by professionals who understand that their needs and responses may be different from the average person.

If someone you love was the victim of physical assault, sexual assault, or another kind of abusive behavior at an Illinois nursing home, the long-term care facility could be held liable for personal injury or wrongful death.

Nurse assistant accused of abuse at county nursing home, The News-Gazette, April 10, 2009

Police: Nursing Home Worker Punches Patient, IllinoisHomePage.net, April 9, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Elder Abuse, Medline Plus

Nursing Homes in Illinois

Continue reading "Illinois Nursing Home Worker Punches Alzheimer’s Patient in the Face" »

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In Illinois, an 81-year-old nursing home resident who escaped his Maryville nursing home by crawling out of a window on Tuesday at nearly 3am is dead. Jewel R. Lane, a resident of Maryville Manor Nursing Home, was found almost one hour after he escaped. He was suffering from cardiac arrest.

According to authorities, Lane, a Collinsville resident, walked nearly a mile before he was discovered along a highway. Lane was rushed to the local hospital where he was soon pronounced dead. He had been a resident at the Illinois nursing home for approximately two weeks. He was suffering from heart disease and Alzheimer’s dementia.

Without proper supervision, nursing home residents suffering from dementia, Alzheimer’s, or other mental illnesses may be prone to wandering from the premise. Unfortunately, certain nursing homes do not have the staff (or they are not properly trained) or budget to correctly and constantly monitor all of their residents that need this type of watch.

Steps nursing homes can take to prevent residents who are “flight risks” from escaping include:
• Placing alarms on resident beds, doors, or wheelchairs
• Installing exit door alarms
• Surveillance of doors and all exits
• Housing residents who are likely to wander in rooms that are located next to a nursing station

Examples of scenarios that a nursing home resident might get hurt during while wandering away:
• Wanders out of the building and gets sick or dies because of exposure to cold or heat
• Fall accidents after entering a “forbidden” area on the premise
• Getting hit by a motor vehicle after walking off the nursing home premise
• Falling victim to violent crimes after leaving the safety of the nursing home

Failure to properly supervise any nursing home resident can result in an Illinois nursing home neglect claim if the resident is injured or dies.

Continue reading "Illinois Nursing Home Resident Dies After Fleeing Maryville Nursing Home Through Facility Window" »

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Up to one million elderly people in the United States are the victims of financial abuse each year, and this crime may be costing them over $2.6 billion annually. The figures are included in a new Metlife Mature Market Institute (MMI) report called Broken Trust: Elders, Family, and Finances that was produced with the cooperation of the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

The report says that for every reported case of financial elder abuse, there are likely four more cases that are not reported. In more than half the cases, the perpetrators are caregivers and family members. Investment fraud scams are also a common culprit of elder financial abuse.

Among the facts included in the study:
• A typical victim elder financial fraud victim is 70 to 89 years of age, Caucasian, female, physically frail, and cognitively impaired.
• In financial elder abuse cases involving child culprits, sons are 2.5 times as likely as daughter to commit this crime.
• A victim of financial elder abuse may become depressed, experience health issues, develop credit problems, and experience loss of his or her independence.

Signs a person may be a victim of elder financial abuse include:
• Appears afraid of his or her caregiver
• Disheveled appearance
• Isolated from family and friends
• Has developed new “best” friends
• Is worried about finances
• Missing belongings
• Behavior or personality changes
• Unpaid bills
• Significant decrease in account balances

Elder financial abuse has also become a problem for nursing home residents who may find themselves suddenly exploited by nursing workers. Just as your loved one is likely entitled to personal injury compensation if he or she was the victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, damages may also be sought against a nursing home worker or caregiver who is the perpetrator of elder financial abuse.

Financial Abuse Costs Elders More Than $2.6 Billion Annually, According to MetLife Mature Market Institute Study, Though Four in Five Cases Are Not Reported, BusinessWire.com, March 17, 2009

Related Web Resources:
MetLife

National Committee for Prevention of Elder Abuse

Elder Abuse, HelpGuide.org

Continue reading "Elder Financial Abuse Costs Victims Over $2.6 Billion a Year, Says Report" »

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Posted In: Elder Financial Abuse , Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

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Officials are reporting that from 2006 to 2007, a number of nursing home residents at the Tendercare Health Center-Birchwood sexually and physically abused other patients. They also say that the nursing home’s management failed to report the incidents or do anything to stop them from happening. The assaults have resulted in a criminal investigation and fines against the US nursing home, which is now on the US government’s list of the most troubled nursing homes in the country.

Both male and female residents were reportedly victimized and some of the assailants still live at the long-term care facility. One former 68-year-old resident reports that nursing home workers failed to stop the hostile residents from repeatedly harming other patients.

According to the state inspectors’ report, residents regularly felt “anxious, fearful, helpless, humiliated, devaluated” and as if they needed to be on the look out. The patients also reportedly felt as if they weren’t safe and that the long-term care facility was not concerned about their well-being. They reportedly blamed staffers for allowing the abuse.

One incident involved a male resident harassing a 58-year-old resident who was suffering from dementia and Down syndrome. The facility social worker reportedly dealt with the situation by telling the victim to stay away from her harasser. When suspicious bruises were found on the patient's thighs and breast, nursing home workers failed to tell police about her injuries.

Another mail resident reportedly assaulted a woman suffering from multiple sclerosis. Because the woman is immobile, except for her wrists, and cannot speak, she was unable to physically or verbally respond when he approached her in the dining room and put his hand up her shirt.

There are also reports of one man touching women's legs during bingo games and another man exposing his sexual parts to others.

Extendicare Health Services Inc. owns Birchwood. The nursing home has also been cited for inadequate medication records, issues with patient confidentiality, failure to prevent fall accidents, and inadequately caring for bedsores.

Sexual and Physical Assaults
US nursing homes are supposed to make sure that patients do not become the victims of any violent crimes or other abusive incidents. Failure to ensure a resident’s safety from such incidents can be grounds for a nursing home neglect or abuse lawsuit.

Assaults left residents anxious, Record-Eagle, March 31, 2009

Report details abuses at local nursing home, Record-Eagle, March 31, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Tendercare Health Center-Birchwood, USA Today

Extendicare Health Services Inc.

Continue reading "Nursing Home Residents at US Long-Term Care Facility Reportedly Sexually and Physically Abused Other Patients Residents " »

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Posted In: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect , Premises Liability

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Long-term care operator Extendicare of Wisconsin has come under fire again with two new nursing home neglect lawsuits naming the company as a defendant. In Madison Circuit Court, the estate of nursing home resident Kimberly Hamilton is suing Extendicare for her wrongful death. The complaint accuses one of Extendicare’s nursing homes of negligent care, resulting in mental and physical injuries and eventually death to Hamilton.

The wrongful death lawsuit also accuses the long-term care facility of not practicing acceptable standards of care and failing to maintain a safe environment. The complaint is seeking a jury trial to determine legal and medical costs, as well as punitive damages. Some 56 complaints were received in 2007 involving 26 residents at the Kenwood nursing home where Hamilton resided.

In another nursing home neglect lawsuit, the sister of a nursing home resident who sustained brain damage when her tracheal tube got clogged with mucous is suing Extendicare. The 49-year-old patient died a few months after the incident occurred.

Norene McPherson's nursing home neglect lawsuit comes after a federal judge dismissed a class action case against Extendicare Health Services, Extendicare Homes, Inc, Fir Lane Terrance Convalescent Center, Inc., and 15 Extendicare facilities in Washington State.

The class action plaintiffs had claimed that the long-term care company had misrepresented the quality of services it could provide current and past residents who were at the facility from 2004 to 2008. McPherson’s elder abuse attorney, however, has been quick to point out that just because his client’s case was not going to be addressed as part of a class action did not mean that she still can't receive compensation via the civil court system.

In the last few years, Extendicare, which owns more than two dozen nursing homes, has received citations numerous times for serious care violations. Meantime, a number of residents and/or their families continue to file complaints targeting the long-term care company for alleged nursing negligence.

Elder Abuse Complaint Filed Against Extendicare, Fox Business, March 31, 2009

Nursing home suit alleges negligent care, Richmond Register, April 1, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Extendicare

Elder Abuse, Helpguide.org

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Posted In: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect , Wrongful Death

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Seven nursing home residents and one nursing home worker are dead, following a shootout at a US nursing home. The deadly attack happened on Sunday when Robert Stewart entered the Pinelake Health and Rehab Center, which houses numerous Alzheimer’s patients, and began shooting at people.

Nursing home residents that died ranged in age from 78 to 98. They are Louise Decker, Margaret Johnson, John Goldston, Bessie Hedrick, Jesse Musser, Lillian Dunn, and Tessie Garner. Nurse Jerry Avant also died from his wounds.

Police believe that Stewart may have been targeting his estranged wife, Wanda Luck, who is a nurse at the long-term care facility. The shooting rampage stopped after lone Police Officer Justine Garner entered the premises and shot him in his upper torso.

Stewart, who is receiving medical attention at a local prison, was arraigned on Monday on first-degree murder charges and a felony charge of assaulting a law enforcement official.

Nursing Home Security
It is important that all US nursing homes provide the proper security measures to keep residents safe from dangerous persons both outside the premise and within the facility. Families entrust workers at long-term care facilities to take care of their sick or elderly loved ones and not place them in harm's way.

If someone you love was abused, neglected, assaulted, raped, molested, or robbed by a nursing home worker or by an intruder to the nursing home, or if your loved one was hurt or died in a violent crime because he or she managed to leave a long-term care facility unattended, you may have grounds for filing a nursing home neglect claim or wrongful death lawsuit.

Some security measures that nursing homes might want to consider implementing:
• A registration system that documents anyone entering or exiting the building
• Security cameras
• Alarm systems
• Door locks
• Security guards
• Pre-screening (including criminal background checks) of nursing home workers

Gunman's estranged wife worked at N.C. nursing home, CBC News, March 30, 2009

Marital discord suspected as motive in North Carolina nursing home rampage, Associated Press, March 30, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Pinelake Health and Rehab, Peak Resources

Nursing Home Overview, Medicare.gov

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Posted In: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect , Premises Liability

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In Illinois’s DuPage County, Attorney Joseph Birkett is asking the Illinois Department of Aging to establish an Elder Abuse Fatality Review Team to investigate claims involving nursing home residents 60 years of age and older that may be the victims of physical abuse in local long-term care facilities or in home health-care environments. If the state approves the program, members would be allowed access to nursing home records that are normally kept private. The team would be made up of people from the state attorney’s office, the DuPage County coronor, the sheriff, nursing home groups, and state and county senior citizens groups.

Earlier this month, 23-year-old Heidi Leon, a DuPage County nursing home worker, was charged with criminal neglect of a nursing home patient, criminal neglect of an elderly person, and obstruction of justice. Leon is the nursing home worker who is accused of failing to check on 89-year-old Sarah Wentworth, an Itasca nursing home resident, after she triggered a door alarm while exiting the facility. Wentworth, an Alzheimer’s patient, was found frozen to death outside the nursing home. Leon is also accused of lying to police to cover up the incident. Her family is suing the Arbor of Itasca nursing home for her wrongful death.

Birkett says claims that would be under review include a case in which an elderly person in a domestic living situation may have been overdosed with medication. In Kane County, a similar fatality review team has already been set up to examine cases involving seniors that died while receiving care in home situations and retirement homes. The team was established after a woman was found in a private home living on soiled sheets. She was also malnourished. Her two daughters were charged with criminally neglecting an elderly person.

Nursing workers and caregivers at Illinois nursing homes, retirement homes, and in private residents are supposed to treat their residents with respect and provide them with the care that they need. Abuse or neglect of an elderly person can be grounds for a nursing home abuse or neglect lawsuit, as well as criminal charges.

Abuse of DuPage elderly to get closer scrutiny, Chicago Tribune, March 6, 2009

Illinois nurse’s assistant charged in freezing death of elderly woman, NYDailyNews.com, March 3, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Caregiver Watching TV Left Patient to Freeze Outside, NBC Chicago, February 20, 2009

The Arbor of Itasca

Continue reading "DuPage County Establishing Team to Investigate Allegations of Elder Abuse of Seniors in Local Nursing Homes, Private Residences, and Retirement Facilities" »

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The widow of a TBI nursing home patient who died after swallowing numerous foreign objects, including closed catsup packets, plastic bags, paper towels, and candy wrappers, has been awarded $11 million for his wrongful death. This is the largest verdict that a jury has ever awarded to a plaintiff against a US assisted living facility.

Earl Scherrer was just 36 when he died in May 7, 2006. He sustained a serious traumatic brain injury during a car crash in 2006 and went into a coma. Although doctors did not expect him to recover, his wife Lydia insisted that he remain on life support.

16 months later, he began to come out of his coma and with her help slowly started to speak. Lydia spent hours helping her husband with his recovery and she also relied on US nursing homes to provide needed, full-time care. She visited him regularly for years.

On April 7, 2006, Lydia admitted Earl into Liberty Manor Residence. The long-term care facility claimed to provide 24-hour care. On May 7, the facility called her to tell her that her husband had been throwing up. She retrieved her husband from the home and gave him a bath. He started throwing up black matter and died.

According to autopsy results, Earl had ingested a number of items that had gotten lodged in his small intestines and stomach. The medical examiner found that these foreign objects contributed to her husband’s death, resulting in hypertensive heart disease. The verdict awards $5 million to Lydia, $2 million to the decedent, and $4 million for damages.

TBI Nursing Home Patients
Many TBI patients have to stay in US nursing homes because they require 24-hour, specialized care that cannot be provided by family members. These nursing home residents often require ongoing supervision and they may need helping eating, using the bathroom, getting changed, walking, or communicating. When failure to provide this care due to nursing home abuse or neglect leads to serious injuries or death, the US nursing home can be held liable for personal injury or wrongful death.

Arizona Jury Awards Landmark $11 Million Verdict in Assisted Living Case, Yahoo, March 20, 2009

Caregiving Solutions, AGIS

Related Web Resource:

What is Traumatic Brain Injury?, CDC

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In the US Senate, Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Senator Herb Kohl (D-Wis) have reintroduced a bill mandating that all long-term care employee applicants who would work directly with patients undergo national criminal background checks. The bill is the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act of 2009. Senator Kohl is the chairman of the Special Committee on Aging.

The measure provides a federal component that would mandate that all long-term care employee applicants be screened against the FBI’s national database. This will hopefully decrease the number of nursing home abuse and neglect incidents, which unfortunately seems to be a regular occurrence in a number of US nursing homes and private residences where professional caregivers are sometimes brought in to care for a sick or frail person.

The bill expands upon a three-year demonstration project in seven states that prevented 9,500 applicants with histories of abuse or violent crimes from getting to work with elderly people or people with disabilities. It would create a three-year grant program that would allow the states to obtain funding to pay for FBI background checks. The bill has the approval of nursing home associations, AARP, 41 state attorneys general, and nursing home reform advocates.

Background Checks in US Nursing Homes
Already, there are a number of US states, including Illinois, that require nursing homes to run background checks on potential long-term care employee candidates. Unfortunately, this process doesn’t always weed out everyone who could potentially abuse, neglect, or assault a nursing home resident.

Nursing home abuse and neglect is a serious problem that is affecting the well-being of our sick and our elderly.

Long-term care background checks bill reintroduced in Senate, McKnights.com, March 19, 2009

Senators Reintroduce Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act,The Future of Aging Blog, March 19, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act of 2009, Govtrack.US

United States Special Committee on Aging

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An 87-year-old woman died on Friday in a hit-and-run accident after she had fled the nursing home where she was staying. Now, the family of Florence Warren say they plan on suing the Good Samaritan Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center for wrongful death for allowing her to escape the premises.

Warren was relocated to the nursing home this month so she could be placed in a locked-down ward that was supposed to be secure. Warren, who was suffering from the early stages of dementia, had a record of fleeing care facilities and her daughter says that the nursing home was made aware of this. Warren was also was in physical pain because of her osteoporosis.

According to police, Warren managed to disable an alarm located on the sliding glass door in her nursing home room and then walked up the long driveway to the road. Someone later saw her lying on the road. She was transported to a hospital where she died from her injuries. The driver of the vehicle that struck Warren has not been apprehended.

Not only are US nursing homes supposed to make sure that patients are not injured or abused while staying at a long-term care facility, but they are supposed to make sure that residents are protected from other elements that could cause physical harm. For example, while security measures must be in place to make sure that no one hurts the resident staying at a nursing home, safety measures must also implemented to make sure that nursing home residents do not leave the premises unsupervised.

Many nursing home patients are at a home to begin with because they require constant, supervised care. Failure to provide this ongoing attention and medical care to a nursing home resident can be grounds for a nursing home neglect lawsuit.

Family of hit-and-run victim to sue nursing home, ChronicleOnline.com, March 17, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Dementia, Medline Plus

Dementia: What are the Common Signs?, Family Doctor.org

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Posted In: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect , Wrongful Death

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A bill before the Illinois General Assembly would let state regulators return fines paid by nursing homes for abuse or neglect if they use the money to improve patient care. However, Senate Bill 321 is generating outrage from opponents.

According to Wendy Meltzer, the director of the Illinois Citizens for Better Care in Chicago, it takes away the “financial disincentive for bad behavior.” Meltzer is questioning the morality of giving back fine money that an Illinois nursing home had paid for abusing, neglecting, or causing the wrongful death of a patient.

Illinois Senator Dan Kotowski, who sponsored the bill, says this is a way to make sure that the nursing homes fix the problems that caused such incidents to occur in the first place. Following a meeting with the bill’s opponents earlier this month, however, Kotowski said he is open to changing the legislation.

Meltzer says most nursing home fines are too small to really affect an Illinois nursing home’s financial well-being. In 2007, Illinois nursing homes were fined $3.5 million. According to Public Health spokesperson Melaney Arnold, nursing home fines generally range from $10,000 to $300,00 for violations. The llinois Department of Public Health can impose state finds but it can only recommend federal fines.

The bill also calls for taking away funds from a special Illinois fund that pays for Public Health monitors and receivers. Monitors stay at nursing homes where there have been problems to observe patient care, while receivers take temporary charge of Illinois nursing homes that are “in trouble” because of the poor care they’ve provided.

Meltzer argues that nursing homes are there to provide a certain standard of care to patients and that they shouldn’t have to require a refund of their fine to finally begin providing the kind of care that is mandated by Illinois law.

Nursing Home Care
Illinois nursing homes are in business to provide elderly and sick residents with the proper medical care and attention that they need. They should be fined and cited anytime a nursing home patient gets injured, his or her condition deteriorates, or he or she dies because workers were neglectful, abusive, or reckless and the nursing home violated its duty of care to the resident.

Opponents of nursing home bill outraged, Sj-r.com, March 7, 2009

Who Regulates Nursing Homes?, Illinois Department of Public Health

Relate Web Resource:

Illinois Citizens for Better Care

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Posted In: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect , Nursing Home Regulations , Wrongful Death

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The children of a 79-year-old female nursing home resident who died in November 2007 are suing a nursing home for her wrongful death. Valeree Espinoza and David Vestal claim that while their mother Shirley Marion Renner died from lung ailments and a heart attack, her death was actually caused by the poor nursing care she received, which caused her health to deteriorate.

Their wrongful death complaint contends that nursing home neglect lead to Renner suffering from dehydration, malnutrition, and bed sores, which where poorly treated. The nursing home neglect lawsuit also claims she experienced emotional and physical pain, abandonment, desperation, anguish, helplessness, shock, spinal injuries, neck injuries, missing and broken teeth, bruises, fear of death, and eventually, death. She also may have been administered psychotropic medication that had an adverse affect on her ability to be lucid.

During the two years that Renner lived at the nursing home, her daughter says that her weight went from 110 pounds to around 92 pounds.

The nursing home where she was residing eventually changed ownership and soon after, her family moved her to a different facility. While the new nursing home owners claim that they did not take over supervision at the home until nearly a month after Renner was discharged, the plaintiffs’ attorney contends that the new nursing home owners had responsibility over the patients and their care when they took over the long-term care home.

Negligent Nursing Care
When nursing home workers fail to do their jobs correctly and a resident suffers as a result, the patient and his or her family may be entitled to nursing home neglect compensation. The reason that nursing homes exist is to make sure that a sick or elderly resident gets the specialized care that he or she needs. Abusing or neglecting a nursing home patient is a crime and a violation of his or her rights. Failure to treat bed sores, medication errors, poor diet, and failure to maintain a patient's hygiene are some examples of nursing home neglect that can lead to health complications and even the death of a patient.

Nursing home sued for wrongful death, Appealdemocrat.com, March 4, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Deadly Neglect, ReadersDigest.com

Nursing Home Overview, Medicare.gov

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Posted In: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect , Wrongful Death

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In Cook County Circuit Court, an Illinois nursing home lawsuit filed on behalf of former nursing home resident Edna Kneidek is suing the Lexington Health Care Center of Lake Zurich for nursing home negligence. The 83-year-old woman fractured her hip while living at the long-term care facility and her injury left her with permanent immobility.

Kneidek moved into the Lake County nursing home on December 29, 2006. She was suffering from dementia. According to her Chicago nursing home neglect lawyer, the nursing home determined that the elderly resident was at risk for fall accidents. Yet from February through August 2007, Kneidek fell five times while at the long-term care facility.

In one fall accident, she shattered her left hip and had to undergo extensive hip repair surgery. She also had pneumonia.

Her Chicago nursing home neglect attorney says that the Lake Zurich nursing home not only failed to properly evaluate the elderly woman’s risk for falls or protect her from fall accidents, but they were delayed in their response to her complaints that she was in pain.

Hip Fractures and the Elderly
One of the most common causes of a fractured hip is fall accidents. A hip fracture is an injury that will nearly always require hospitalization and surgery. According to the Encyclopedia on the KOMOTV.com Web site, it is the second common reason that patients are admitted to US nursing homes (about 60,000-related admissions annually).

One reason elderly people are prone to hip fractures is that their bones are more fragile, with many patients suffering from osteoporosis. Not only is a hip facture extreme painful, but it can lead to other complications, including agitation, confusion, depression, the inability to be able to walk properly again, bedsores, and a loss of independence.

Nursing home sued over alleged negligence, Lake County, News-Sun, March 10, 2009

Hip Fracture, KomoTV.com

Related Web Resources:
Lexington Health Care Center of Lake Zurich

Best Practices for Elderly Hip Fracture Patients

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Police have charged a former nursing home worker with the death of a patient with cerebral palsy. Robert Young died on November 12, 2007 while staying at the care facility Standifer Place. While the county medical examiner did not perform an autopsy initially because he was told that the cerebral palsy patient died when he had a seizure that caused him to fall and fracture his skull, Young’s family members were suspicious about the reported cause of death.

Young’s body was exhumed last year. Autopsy findings showed that he actually died form blunt force trauma to the head. Young’s sister sued the nursing home and the state’s Department of Human Services for his wrongful death, accusing them of working together to conceal her brother’s actual cause of death and for over a month, failing to notify his relatives that he had died. The agency says it tried to notify Young's next of kin but was unable to reach them. The agency designed and carried out its own plans to bury him.

Last week, Walter Small, who worked as a certified nursing assistant for the nursing home, was charged with criminally negligent homicide related to Young’s death. Small had been fired soon after Young’s death.

Young’s sister is seeking at least $30 million from the US nursing home and $900,000 from the Department of Human Services. The family is accusing them of “negligence” in the wake of the nursing home resident's death.

Caring for a nursing home patient is a huge responsibility. Nursing homes must make sure that the workers they hire are not dangerous persons who are liable to cause injury, abuse, death, or neglect to a resident. If a resident is harmed in any way while staying at a long-term care facility, the nursing home can be held liable for personal injury, wrongful death, nursing home abuse, or nursing home neglect.

Chattanooga: Man charged in death of nursing home patient, Times Free Press, March 7, 2009

Former Nursing Home Worker Charged in Death, Newschannel9.com, March 6, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Read the Complaint (PDF)
Senate Special Committee on Aging

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Posted In: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect , Wrongful Death

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A woman whose mentally disabled brother choked to death while eating dinner at a Tinley Park facility in February 2008 has filed a Chicago wrongful death lawsuit against the state of Illinois and a doctor at the Howe Development Center. Evelyn Kasprak’s complaint accuses Dipankar Banerjee, the facility’s on-duty doctor at the time of the incident, and other staff members of failing to clear Kenneth Kasprak’s breathing or attempting to revive him with CPR after food got stuck in his throat dinner and he began to choke.

Kenneth, who was using medication that made him more prone to choking, had choked on other occasions, and Evelyn’s Chicago wrongful death attorney says Banerjee should have known that the 67-year-old patient might choke again. Her Chicago wrongful death lawsuit also accuses the state of Illinois of failing to train two of the Howe workers who were on duty at the time of the choking accident on how to use an emergency system. Attempts to revive the mentally disabled patient reportedly did not occur until the paramedics arrived at the scene minutes later.

Also named as defendants in the Chicago wrongful death complaint are the two Howe staffers, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and DHS Secretary Carol Adams. Kasprak, whose mental disabilities included a mood disorder, lived at the Tinley Park facility for 11 years.

Some 300 people with severe developmental disabilities reside at Howe. The Tinley Park facility and its mental health center have come under fire over the last couple of years. Howe lost its federal funding in 2007 for providing substandard patient care. Last September, the DHS said that it was planning to shut down the facility in July 2009.

Family of Howe resident files wrongful death lawsuit against state, Southtown Star, March 3, 2009

Tinley Park facility sued in patient's choking death, Chicago Tribune, March 3, 2009

Howe Developmental Center in Tinley Park to close, Chicago Tribune, September 5, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Read the Complaint (PDF)

State-Operated Developmental Centers, Illinois Department of Human Services

Continue reading "State of Illinois and Tinley Park Doctor Sued for Chicago Wrongful Death After Mentally Disabled Man Chokes During Dinner" »

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Posted In: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect , Wrongful Death

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According to the National Center for Health Statistics, more than 1 in 10 US nursing home residents in 2004 was suffering from pressure sores. In the NCHS Data brief, published in February 2009, information from the National Nursing Home Survey regarding 2004 is provided, including:

• Approximately 159,000 nursing home residents in the US had bed sores.
• The post common kind of pressure sore was the Stage 2 pressure ulcer.
• Nursing home residents ages 64 and younger were more likely to suffer from pressure sores than older nursing home residents.
• Nursing home patients that stayed in US nursing homes for less than a year were more prone to decubitus ulcers than longer-term residents.
• Out of every five nursing home residents that had recently lost weight, one of the patients would have pressure sores.

Pressure Sores
Also known as pressure ulcers, decubitus ulcers, and bed sores, these wounds can occur when there is pressure on the skin that doesn’t get relieved. Common sites of pressure sores on the body include the heel, elbow, back, hip, back of the head, and shoulder.

There are four stages of pressure sores:
Stage 1: Skin that is persistently red in color.
Stage 2: Some of the skin’s thickness is lost. A blister, abrasion, or slight crater may appear on the skin.
Stage 3: The appearance of a deep crater shows a loss of the skin’s full thickness.
Stage 4: Bone or muscle is exposed through the sore.

Bed sores can be a dangerous wound for sick or elderly nursing home patients. The sores can be treated if they are detected right away but delayed treatment can lead to the decubitus ulcer reaching a more advanced stage.

Common ways to prevent bed sores include:
• Using clean, dry sheets
• A nutritious diet
• Softly padded wheelchairs
• Making sure the skin is dry and clean
• Regularly turning patients that can’t move and changing their position

If your loved one has bed sores because workers at a Chicago nursing home neglected to provide him or her with the proper care, there may be grounds to file an Illinois nursing home neglect lawsuit.

Pressure Ulcers Among Nursing Home Residents: United States, 2004, NCHS Data Brief, February 14, 2009

What are Bed Sores?, Mama's Health

Continue reading "Bed Sores A Problem in US Nursing Homes, Says the National Center for Health Statistics" »

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Posted In: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

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Now that Medicaid and Medicare contractors and state inspectors have been designated as federal employees, they cannot give evidence when cases arise involving private litigation unless the Department of Health and Human Services has approved their participation. The Bush Administration issued this new ruling last September without consulting or notifying the public.

The rule was supposedly enacted, according to the old administration, so that workers would not be diverted from their certification, survey, and enforcement responsibilities. However, some 15,000 nursing care facilities and 3 million patients could be affected by the restrictions.

Litigants on both sides are now finding it even harder to resolve any nursing home abuse lawsuits. Both plaintiffs and defendants have to jump through even more hoops to obtain depositions, court orders, and inspection reports. This new rule also makes it harder for patients and their families to get information about the care that a resident might be getting at a US nursing home that is the recipient of federal assistance.

National Senior Citizens Law Center Attorney Eric Carlson, one of the rule’s critics, says that this allows nursing homes and inspectors to keep certain bad practices secret, which negatively affects residents and their families. For example, one woman whose parents, Clare and Mavis Knutson, are 2 of the 15 patients that six teenage nursing home assistants are accused of harassing and abusing at an Albert Lea nursing home, is having a tough time getting information about the care her parents received at the nursing home.

The nursing home industry also says it is being affected by this block in information. For example, American Health Care Association legal counsel Priscilla Shoemaker says that the industry is having a hard time finding out what state inspectors are doing to determine which nursing homes should be issued citations or penalties or should be shut down.

Now more than ever, it is important that you work with an experienced Chicago nursing home abuse lawyer who knows how to get the information you need so that you can successfully pursue your nursing home abuse lawsuit.

New Rule Enacted by Bush Administration Impedes Cases Against Nursing Homes, Washington Post, February 24, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Nursing-home records closed off, The News & Observer, February 27, 2009

Continue reading "Nursing Home Lawsuits Are Harder to Pursue In the Wake of Bush Administration’s New Rule " »

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Posted In: Miscellaneous , Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect , Nursing Home Regulations

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The wife and guardian of an 80-year-old nursing home resident is suing the assisted living facility where he was staying for severe neglect and abuse. The nursing home abuse lawsuit is seeking $1 million.

According to the elder abuse complaint, her husband, who was suffering from advance dementia, was admitted to Elderberry Square. His wife, who visited him a number of times, found him unsupervised. One time, she reportedly found him sitting in his own waste matter. Her lawsuit contends that because he was left alone, he fell repeatedly and during one fall accident broke his wrist.

This is not the first nursing home abuse lawsuit filed against Elderberry Square that makes such allegations. In 2007, a lawsuit was filed accusing workers of leaving an Alzheimer’s patient alone on so many occasions that he fell a number of times. The complaint contends that the last fall accident led to his death.

Both nursing home abuse lawsuits accuse admissions and management of the nursing home of misrepresenting the facility as being a place that is properly equipped, staffed, and has the necessary experience to take care of patients with senile dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Patients with Alzheimer’s and other dementia-related diseases require special medical care and attention. Failure to provide that care could be grounds for a nursing home neglect lawsuit.

The National Guidelines Clearinghouse Web site offers a number of dementia care recommendations for nursing homes that care for patients with related conditions, including:

• Develop an effective care plan.
• Tailor care to resident’s specific needs.
• Find ways that will allow each resident to be able to communicate with workers, such as speaking in direct, simple terms and having a resident work with a speech therapist.
• Assign the same staff members to a patient so that he or she can experience consistency.
• Create a safe and positive environment.
• Conduct routine assessment of the patient’s health and well-being.

Elder Assisted Living Facility Hit With Second Lawsuit, February 20, 2009

Florence assisted living facility sued for $1 million, KDRV, February 20, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Dementia: Hope Through Research, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Alzheimer's Caregivers Guide, Helpguide.org

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Posted In: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

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