Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

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

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

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

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

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

Related Web Resources:
Bedsores, MayoClinic

How to Care: Pressure Sores

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Related Web Resources:
Bedsores, MayoClinic

Falls in Nursing Homes, CDC

Seeking to protect an incapacitated nursing home resident’s identity, a judge has ruled against allowing defense attorneys to release portions of surveillance tapes that show the patient being subjected to nursing home neglect at the Northwoods Rehabilitation and Extended Care Facility. The nursing home negligence allegations were made against nine aides and nurses that were named in a 175-count indictment last month. They are accused of endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person, falsifying business records, and willful violations of health laws. Five other nurses that were also accused of nursing home neglect have reached plea agreements and settled the criminal cases against them.

In March and April last year, investigators set up a hidden camera in the resident’s room. During a six week period, what was captured on tape led to the arrests of the 14 nurses and aides on numerous misdemeanor and felony counts over the failure to properly care for the patient. The nursing staff are accused of failing to treat the resident’s bedsores, failure to administer medications, failing to change the patient’s undergarments for long periods, and not checking whether the resident was suffering from incontinence. The patient is no longer residing at the nursing home.

It was just last year that Northwoods Rehabilitation and Extended Care Facility was under investigation following an alleged incident of sexual abuse involving an elderly patient as the victim. Robert Gunderson, a certified nurse aid who worked at the facility (as well as others in the area), was accused of touching the vaginal and breast areas of a 78-year-old physically helpless patient.

Chicago Nursing Home Negligence
Failing to properly care for an assisted living resident can be grounds for Chicago nursing home neglect. Providing the patient with inadequate nursing care, the wrong type of medical care, and/or failing to take care of the residents’ medical and other needs can cause serious injuries, illness, and/or death.

Judge: Don't release Northwoods tapes, Times Union, October 15, 2010

14 Nurses, Aides Charged In Nursing Home Abuse, North Country Gazette, September 23, 2010

Related Web Resources:
National Center on Elder Abuse

Elder Abuse and Neglect, HelpGuide.org

Continue reading "Nursing Home Negligence Allegations: Nine Nurses Charged in 175-Count Indictment" »

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fall Prevention, StopFalls.org

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

James Niles is suing 21 defendants for her mother’s Illinois wrongful death following a fall accident in 2006. Neida Niles was 66.

She fractured her hip in April 2007 when she fell while undergoing routine kidney dialysis at the Jacksonville Dialysis Center. She was then admitted to Passavant Area Hospital for treatment of her fractured hip, pressure ulcers, and a skin infection.

Neida passed away at a Springfield, Illinois hospital on August 31, 2007. Now, Niles is claiming that his mother’s death could have been prevented.

In his Illinois wrongful death lawsuit, he is accusing Passavant and Prairie Village Healthcare Center, his mother’s nursing home, of failing to prevent and treat her pressure sores and the breakdown of her skin. He also claims that they did not properly treat her wounds or perform daily skin treatments to prevent infection.

He also contends that Gambro Healthcare, Prairie Village, and Jacksonville Dialysis failed to properly assess his mother’s fall risk status and whether additional safety precautions needed to be implemented for her. He is accusing the assisted living facility of providing inadequate nursing care and inadequate staffing.

Niles filed his complaint under the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act, the Illinois Wrongful Death Act, and the Illinois Survival Act. Other defendants named include Care Plus Management, Care Plus Rehabilitative Services, the owners of Care Plus and Prairie Village, and several Prairie Village employees, including 10 of its nurses. He is seeking unspecified damages for himself and his two siblings.

Chicago Nursing Home Neglect
Assisted living facilities are responsible for making sure that patients do not develop bedsores. Or, if they do, that they are treated immediately and correctly so that their condition does not grow worse. Infected bedsores and skin conditions can lead to serious health complications and even death. Failure to properly treat bedsores may be considered Chicago nursing home neglect.

21 named in 2007 death suit, My Journal Courier, July 14, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Homes in Illinois, Illinois Department of Public Health

What are Bed Sores?, Disabled World

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

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

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

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

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

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

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Department on Aging

Elder Abuse and Neglect Act

US Administration on Aging

Nursing Home Compare, Medicare.gov

The executor of Adele V. Kennett is suing the Alhambra Care Center for Illinois nursing home negligence. Kennett lived at the Illinois nursing home until March 21, 2009 when she was transferred to a Staunton hospital where she was diagnosed with a Stage III sacral decubitus ulcer, a number of Stage II and Stage I decubitus ulcers on her lower extremities, a urinary tract infection, and dehydration.

In her Illinois wrongful death lawsuit, Beverly Law claims that Kennett developed her health issues because nursing home workers failed to notify her next-of-kin and doctor about the changes in her condition, neglected to hire enough staff members so that patients’ needs were met, did not provide patients with necessary nursing care, and neglected to put in place a program that would prevent and treat pressure sores.

Law claims that the actions of the employees at the assisted living facility caused Kennett’s bedsores and subsequent death on April 9, 2009. She contends that the decedent’s injuries and death has caused the estate to incur substantial medical bills.

Law is seeking over $100,000 plus costs and other relief.

Stage IV bedsores:Full-thickness skin loss, loss of subcutaneous tissue that may even impact bone and muscle. Damage to joints and tendons.

Stage III bedsores: Symptoms can include full-thickness loss of skin, significant tissue damage, higher risk of tissue death or infection.

Stage II bedsores: Broken skin, blistering, redness, irritation, partial-thickness skin loss affecting the dermis and epidermis, or skin ulcers.

Stage I bedsores: Tenderness, pain, and redness.

There are steps that nursing homes must take to prevent, diagnose, and treat pressure sores before they reach a stage where they can cause serious health issues, complications, or death. Unfortunately, each year Chicago, Illinois nursing home neglect causes many patients to develop decubitus ulcers that can prove fatal.

Alhambra Care Center sued over resident's care, The Record, June 30, 2010

Coding for Decubitus Ulcer, For the Record, January 17, 2005

Related Web Resources:
Bedsores, MayoClinic

Nursing Homes, Chicago, Illinois

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Related Web Resources:
Bedsores, MayoClinic.com

Septic Shock, Medline Plus

Nursing Home Abuse Overview, Justia

The owner of Extended Care Clinical, an Evanston-based nursing home company that owns assisted living facilities in Illinois (including in Lake County), Nebraska, Indiana, and Ohio, has been ordered to shut down its Northlake Nursing and Rehabilitation Center following complaints of negligent nursing care that the facility allegedly failed to remedy. All the residents were supposed to be relocated by March 15th—although facility owner Eric Rothner had filed a complaint on March 10 seeking a delay.

Rothner is also the owner of Somerset Place, a Chicago nursing home that was also shut down because of poor nursing care. Chicago nursing home abuse, patient violence, and negligent care were some of the reasons that the 400-bed facility lost its license.

As of early January, there were still 12 residents still living at Northlake. The beleaguered assisted living facility has come under fire from residents and families that have filed nursing home neglect lawsuits and/or complaints, as well as from the state.

One patient, 51-year-old Mary Anne Jackson, reportedly left the assisted living facility in worse shape than when she entered it. Jackson, who had one skin ulcer when she was admitted to Northlake in 2008, reportedly ended up with so many bedsores that her behind disappeared, ligaments, bone, and muscle became visible, and her legs became stuck together. Doctors recommended that her legs be amputated but the family refused.

Another nursing home patient, James Ribovich, was diagnosed with a UTI, sepsis, and gangrene on his scrotum and penis. A wide excision of the gangrene had to be conducted. The 71-year-old died in 2006. His daughter has filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging nursing home negligence.

Verbal and physical nursing home abuse also reportedly occurred at the faculty and at least eight residents did not receive the proper bedsore care that they needed. Poor nursing home management and inadequately trained nursing home workers at Northlake have also been cited as causes for concern by state inspectors and former employees.

Nursing home long troubled, Post-Tribune, March 14, 2010

Northlake closure could stall, Post-Tribune, March 10, 2010

Deadline set to close Chicago nursing home, Chicago Tribune, March 9, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Extended Care Clinical, LLC

Nursing Home Compare, Medicare.gov

Continue reading "Evanston, Illinois Nursing Home Company Ordered to Close Another Assisted Living Facility Because of Poor Patient Care" »

Theresa Steiner’s relative is suing an Illinois nursing home for wrongful death. Steven Streiner says Caseyville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center’s failure to properly treat Theresa’s nursing home bedsores, which caused her sepsis and subsequent death.

The Illinois nursing home admitted Theresa as patient on December 12, 2008. She had a pressure sore on each heel. On her buttock, she had 3 stage II pressure sores.

When she was discharged from the assisted living facility and admitted to a hospital on December 19, 2008, there were a number of sores on her heels and the decubitus ulcers on her buttocks had turned into stage IV bedsores.

The Illinois nursing home neglect complaint contends that as a result of the pressure sores, Theresa developed sepsis. She died on January 7, 2009.

Sepsis
Sepsis is a serious illness that involves an infection in the bloodstream. People with injuries, wounds, or compromised immune systems and those who use catheters have a higher risk of developing sepsis.

Prior to her passing, Steven says Theresa experienced suffering, pain, loss of dignity, emotional trauma, and mental anguish. He is claiming Illinois nursing home negligence, including the alleged failure to properly screen her before admitting her as a nursing home resident, failure to develop a proper care plan for treating Theresa’s decubitus ulcers, failure to hire a proper wound care nurse, failure to notify her doctor that the pressure sores were getting worse, and failure to establish the proper policies regarding pressure sore care.

Steven is seeking over $300,000 in damages plus related costs. The defendants named in the Illinois nursing home negligence lawsuit are Caseyville Property and Caseyville Nursing and Rehabilitation.

Bedsores
Nursing homes must have the proper care plan for treating a patient’s pressure sores. Failure to provide that care can turn what should be a treatable condition into a serious injury that can turn fatal and can be grounds for an Illinois nursing home neglect or wrongful death lawsuit.

Nursing home blamed for resident's sepsis, Madison Record, December 7, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Sepsis, Medline

Pressure Sores, Mayo Clinic

A jury has awarded the family of Catherine Taylor $51,000 for the nursing home neglect that caused her to develop a huge bedsore that contributed to her death. Taylor was 88 when she died in December 2004.

She lived at the Joliet nursing home in July and August of that year. On August 19, the nursing home resident was hospitalized and underwent surgery to remove an enormous bedsore that her family's Will County nursing home neglect lawyer says was a hole as big as his fist. She also received treatment for bone infections that occurred while she was confined to her bed and exposed to her own bodily fluids. Her family contends that the nursing home bedsore was contributing factor in her Will County wrongful death.

Bedsores
Bedsores can lead to infection, gangrene, fever, muscle tone loss, contusions, clotting, and death. Also called decubitus ulcers, pressure ulcers, or pressure sores, they can develop on the parts of a patient’s body that experiences sustained pressure.

Bedsores can occur when from staying in the same position for a period of time, such as when a patient who is confined to a chair, bed, or wheelchair cannot move without help and the nursing home workers neglect to provide that assistance. Bowel or bladder control problems, which causes urine, perspiration, urine, or stool to irritate the skin, and dehydration or malnutrition can also contribute to causing bedsores.

Nursing home workers are supposed to make sure that patients are turned regularly, bathed, cleaned, and dried properly, changed on a regular basis, and given sufficient food and drink. They can be held liable for Will County, Illinois nursing home neglect if failure to provide the proper care causes a patient to sustain bedsores and other related complications. Bedsores are preventable.

Jury faults nursing home in neglect case, Suburban Chicago News, December 2, 2009

Bed Sores -- The Basics, Bedsores.org

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Safety Task Force

Compromised Care, Chicago Tribune