Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

Hazard Nursing Home administrator Sheila Noe and the assisted living facility’s owner have been charged with the Class B misdemeanor crime of failure to report the suspected sexual abuse of an elderly person. The nursing home received a Type A citation over the alleged failure in June.

The alleged nursing home sexual abuse incidents involve Mae Campbell, an 88-year-old nursing home resident who has Alzheimer’s. Per the citation, during one incident in August 2009, nursing home staff members found her Campbell with semen on her after a male patient had detained her in his room. The male resident was found with his genitals exposed. During another alleged nursing home sex abuse incident, a male resident walked up to Campbell, who was seated in the nursing home hallway, and ejaculated on her face.

The nursing home company and administrator are accused of knowing about the sexual assault crimes but failing to report them. Campbell’s sons have filed a nursing home negligence lawsuit.

Chicago, Illinois Nursing Home Sexual Assault Crimes
Unfortunately, because of advanced age, deteriorating physical or mental health, loss of speech, or diminished motor skills nursing home residents are easy prey for sexual predators. This is why assisted living facilities must properly screen prospective employees and residents to determine whether they may pose a danger to others.

Sexual abuse can consist of rape, inappropriate touching, sodomy without consent, sexual harassment, molestation, or other inappropriate sexual acts.

Not only must assisted living facilities protect residents from sexual abuse, but also they are obligated to report any incidents should they arise.

Hazard Nursing Home charged in sex abuse case, Kentucky.com, August 6, 2010

Nursing Home Under Investigation, WKYT, July 26, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Compare, Medicare.gov

Illinois Department of Public Health

The Collinsville Rehabilitation & Health Care Center is appealing the $25,300 it has been ordered to pay over the alleged Illinois nursing home sexual assault of a female patient by a male resident last December. While the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found that the assisted living facility failed to conduct a criminal background check and did not ensure that the victim, who was afraid of the male patient, lived in a safe environment, the nursing home’s administrator says that a check of the National Sex Offender Registry was conducted, and that this met the state's requirements. The alleged assailant’s name was not listed on it.

The male resident is accused of going into the woman’s room and pulling up her skirt. No charges were filed against him.

While the IDPH imposed the $20,000 fine against the Collinsville facility for allegedly allowing the Illinois nursing home abuse to happen, the CMS fined the nursing home $5,300 for failing to report the alleged sex crime.

It is important that Illinois assisted living facilities conduct criminal background checks so that dangerous felons are not housed along with the general population. Just today, Rockford police arrested two patients from Alden Park Strathmoor Nursing Home on outstanding criminal warrants. Two other residents also had warrants in their names, but they were not apprehended because of their medical condition. They will, however, continue to be monitored.

The arrests are part of Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s efforts through the initiative Operation Guardian to make sure that Illinois assisted living facilities are in compliance with the laws and regulations. To date, her office has conducted 16 compliance checks and found 84 patients with outstanding criminal warrants.

Rockford nursing home residents arrested in sting, RRStar, August 9, 2010

State fines Collinsville nursing home, Suburban Journals, August 5, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Attorney General Urges Alliance to Crack Down on Noncompliant Facilities, Illinois Attorney General, February 24, 2010

Nursing Home Safety Task Force, Illinois.gov

Continue reading "Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Allegations: Collinsville Assisted Living Facility Appeals $25,300 Fine Over Sex Assault" »

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

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

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

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

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

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

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Department on Aging

Elder Abuse and Neglect Act

US Administration on Aging

Nursing Home Compare, Medicare.gov

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Related Web Resource:
Nursing Home Safety, Chicago Tribune

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

May is National Older Americans month. This is a time to recognize this elderly demographic, a group that keeps growing in size as people continue to live longer. By 2030, there are expected to be 71.5 million people in the 65 and over age group.

Many of these older people may have to live in nursing homes so that they can receive the care that they need to cope with some of the illnesses that come with aging, such as dementia or the effects of a stroke or a broken hip. Many sick and frail elderly people cannot live alone and may even require round-the-clock nursing care for their medical and daily needs.

Unfortunately, elder abuse continues to be a problem in nursing homes and in private residences. More than 2 million elder abuse cases take place in the US each year and according to the Jacksonville.com, authorities only hear about 1 out out of every 14 cases. Most elder abuse victims are women and 70% of assaults occur in private residences.

Our Chicago nursing home abuse lawyers wants to remind you that your loved one has certain rights as an assisted living facility resident. Nursing home neglect and abuse violate these rights and are crimes that could land those directly responsible in jail. You also may have grounds for a Chicago nursing home negligence case if the long-term care facility allowed the abuse to happen or failed to act to prevent it.

Nursing homes know that abuse, neglect, patient violence, and sexual assaults happen and it is their responsibility to make sure that such crimes don’t occur on the premise.

National Older Americans Month, Jacksonville.com, May 24, 2010

Related Web Resources:
May is Older Americans Month, Administration of Aging

Elder Abuse and Neglect, Helpguide.org

Continue reading "Our Chicago Nursing Home Neglect Lawyers Salute Assisted Living Facilities Residents During National Older Americans Month" »

Prosecutors are charging a man who was a regular visitor at a convalescent care home with molesting at least two women. The Criminal charges against Julio Mestre, which he has pleaded not guilty to, include elder abuse, sexual assault against a disabled person, burglary, and battery.

The 56-year-old man has been a regular visitor to Creekside Health Care, where he would help his wife administer Holy Communion to residents. According to police, on May 8, Mestre sexually assaulted a 66-year-old female resident whose speech has been impaired ever since she had a stroke.

The victim’s 79-year-old roommate was in the bedroom at the time and pressed the nurse call button for help. An attendant arrived and upon discovering Mestre took him to the nurse’s station. However, Mestre left before police were called and the authorities say that convalescent home did not contact them then to report what happened.

It wasn’t until the following day when Mestre returned to the assisted living facility with his wife and a staff member recognized him from previous night that police were notified about what happened. Mestre has been a registered sex offender ever since he was convicted for a similar crime in 2005.

Chicago Nursing Home Sexual Assault
Assisted living facilities must protect residents from becoming the victim of nursing home abuse, neglect, or sexual assault. This means exercising the appropriate safety measures so that violent or sexual offenders don’t end up hired as nursing workers or, if they are admitted as patients, that they are closely supervised and not placed in positions that would allow them to abuse or assault another resident.

The proper security and supervisory measures must also be in place so that patients aren’t made vulnerable to visitors or workers brought in for the day who may become sexually or physically violent. Any abuse or assault incidents must be reported to the authorities, and patients must be removed from dangerous situations immediately. An assisted living facility's failure to protect a patient from such crimes can be grounds for a Chicago nursing home neglect lawsuit.

Man charged with molesting patients at San Pablo convalescent home, Mercury News, May 26, 2010

Julio Mestre, Charged With Molesting Invalids in Contra Costa, Did Same Here in S.F., SF Weekly, May 28, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Elder Abuse in Nursing Homes, Nolo

Nursing Home Compare, Medicare.gov

Continue reading "Nursing Home Sexual Abuse: Visitor Charged with Sexually Assaulting at Least Two Patients" »

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Related Web Resources:
Nursing home overview, Medicare

Making the Right Choice, National Institute on Aging

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The daughter of a woman who was the alleged victim of sexual assault is suing Chateau Village Nursing and Rehabilitation Center for Cook County nursing home neglect. Laura Swanson, who is the executor of her mother Georgiann Palmer’s estate, is seeking over $1 million in punitive damages and $50,000 in actual damages.

Swanson is accusing the Willowbrook assisted living facility of nursing neglect and “willful and wanton” conduct. In her Chicago, Illinois nursing home negligence lawsuit, the plaintiff alleges that her mother was sexually assaulted on May 7, 2009 by a fellow assisted living facility resident.

Swanson contends that even though nursing home employee Kim Frankenfield had determined that it was best not to admit Palmer’s alleged assailant as a resident—he had a history of propositioning others for sex and she concluded that the assisted living facility would not be able to properly care for him—the nursing home still decided to admit him in May 2009. The complaint claims that Frankenfield was fired for telling the authorities about her determination.

Palmer passed away of unrelated causes several months after the alleged sex assault.

Nursing Home Sexual Assault Crimes
Too many Cook County nursing home residents have become the victims of sexual and/or violent crimes involving fellow patients as the assailants. It doesn’t help that many residents are unable to care for themselves let alone fend off any kind of attack. Often, residents are physically unable to report what happened or they may be too scared.

It is a shame that nursing home patients are made vulnerable to becoming the victims of crimes at the very places that are paid to provide them with the care that they need. You can sue an assisted living facility if its workers’ failed to protect you or your loved one from Chicago, Illinois nursing home abuse, nursing neglect, or patient violence.

Lawsuit alleges sexual assault at Chateau Village, Pioneer Local, April 6, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Chateau Village Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

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

The family of a disabled nursing home patient is suing Fox River Pavilion for Illinois nursing home negligence. The resident was allegedly sexually assaulted by Sylvester Graves, who was also a patient at the Aurora assisted living facility.

According to the Aurora nursing home negligence complaint, the 39-year-old Graves, who is mentally ill and has been arrested on numerous occasions, beat and sexually assaulted the woman, who has dementia, while they were in his room. The lawsuit contends that the facility should have been closely watching Graves and/or restricting him. The family is also alleging inadequate security and failure to provide the proper treatment for Graves’s anti-social conduct.

Graves is in jail and charged with eight counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault and criminal sexual assault and battery. He has prior convictions for theft and burglary.

Federal and state officials terminated funding to Fox River Pavilion. According to the state of Illinois, inadequate staffing and failure to properly treat and monitor mentally ill felons contributed to patient violence. Last year, another Fox River patient died from heart failure after his roommate attacked him.

Nursing Home Violence
Illinois nursing homes must properly screen prospective residents to determine whether they could pose a danger to other residents. In addition to protecting residents from Chicago, Illinois nursing home abuse and neglect, the facility must also protect them from patient violence.

The problem of nursing home patients inflicting harm on other residents is one that assisted living facilities, along with state and federal officials, must solve. Too many residents are becoming the victims of rape, physical assault, sexual assault, and other violent crimes because mentally ill or violent residents are being housed, without proper supervision and the appropriate restrictions, with the rest of the nursing home population.

Lawsuit over alleged nursing home sex assault, Chicago Tribune, March 29, 2010

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

Compromised Care, Chicago Tribune

Four nursing home patients who were allegedly victimized by former certified nursing assistants are suing nursing home operator Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society and four of the ex-nurse's aides for nursing home abuse and neglect. The alleged elder abuse is said to have occurred over a six-month period in 2008 at Good Samaritan Society of Albert Lea.

Former nursing home workers, Ashton Larson, Brianna Broitzman, Alicia Heilmann, and Kaylee Nash were teenagers at the time. Broitzman and Larson face 21 adult criminal charges, while Heilmann and Nash are charged with juvenile crimes. Two other former nursing workers who were allegedly involved in the nursing home abuse incidents were not named as defendants in the civil lawsuit.

The nursing home negligence complaint accuses the ex-nurse’s aids of prodding, poking, and pinching patients’ nipples, rubbing residents’ crotches, putting fingers in the patients’ mouths until they yelled, placing fingers in residents’ rectums, sitting with naked buttocks on a resident’s lap, simulating sexual activity with a patient, spitting on a resident, and spraying water on a patient. The elder abuse lawsuit claims that the ex- nursing home aides committed intentional emotional distress, civil assault and battery, as well as failed to report the abuse incidents.

The elder abuse complaint is accusing Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society of negligent retention, management, and supervision of its employees, vicarious liability, indemnification, and strict liability. The alleged victims and their families contend that the nursing home failed to fulfill a number of duties, including making sure that patients were not neglected or abused, providing them with the proper services and care, hiring, keeping, supervising workers in a manner that prevented them from mistreating vulnerable adults, and employing staffers that were competent and capable of doing their jobs.

One of the nursing home negligence lawyers in the case noted that the elder abuse incidents were not isolated events. The nursing home workers allegedly entered patients’ rooms and locked the doors. They would laugh at the victims and record them on video. The nursing home abuse lawsuit is seeking $50,000 for each of the plaintiffs for their injuries, pain, and suffering.

The former assisted living workers are accused of abusing about 15 nursing home residents. Some of these alleged victims have died. Their families may be filing civil lawsuits seeking damages.

Lawsuit alleges ‘systemic failure to exercise proper supervision’, Albert Lea Tribune, January 26, 2010

6 Teens charged in nursing home abuse, Star Tribune, December 4, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Abuse Overview, Justia

Nursing Home Compare, Medicare.gov

Continue reading "Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuit Filed by Four Alleged Victims of Former Teen Nursing Assistants " »

According to a Chicago Tribune investigation, authorities have looked into at least 86 incidents of alleged sexual violence at Chicago nursing homes since July 2007. The alleged incidents of rape and criminal assault involved patient victims and were said to have occurred in about one quarter of the 119 Chicago nursing homes. Nearly all of the 86 cases involved resident assailants—though some of the alleged Chicago nursing home sexual attacks involved attackers who were nursing home workers or visitors. Out of all of these cases, an orderly is the only one who has been arrested.

According to government records, the 30 Chicago assisted living facilities where sexual crimes allegedly occurred were two times as likely to admit mentally ill patients and those with convicted felony records as the nursing homes that did not report such criminal activity. Many of the nursing homes where nursing home sexual violence allegedly occurred had, per the Tribune, “substandard staffing levels.”

It is also interesting to note that although Chicago police documented 27 reports of nursing home sexual assault at city nursing homes over a 1-year period, the state ombudsman’s office only investigated two sex abuse allegations during the same time period.

The fact that so many sexual assault and abuse crimes are taking place in so many Chicago nursing homes is disturbing. Assisted living facilities must not only take care of its patients’ medical and daily needs, but it is also their administrators' responsibility to run a nursing home where the residents’ are protected from becoming the victim of Chicago nursing home abuse, neglect, sexual violence, and other crimes.

Many nursing home patients are too old, frail, or mentally ill to defend themselves from any type of violence. They may be unable to comprehend that they are consenting to someone’s sexual advances. Some patients who suffer from dementia may have a hard time detailing the incidents of an assault crime. Other residents may be too scared to report what happened or may be incapable of speaking out. Meantime, nursing home workers or administrators may attempt to downplay or conceal evidence of a sexual assault crime under their watch because they do not want to deal with the consequences.

Nursing home sexual violence: 86 Chicago cases since July 2007 — but only 1 arrest, Chicago Tribune, January 12, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Department of Public Health

Nursing homes in Chicago, Illinois

Continue reading "At Least 86 Alleged Chicago Nursing Home Sexual Violence Incidents Investigated by Authorities since July 2007, Reports Tribune" »

Tighter criminal background checks and stronger sanctions against safety violations are just two of the reforms recommended by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn’s Nursing Home Safety Task Force. The panel was appointed to come up with a plan to combat Illinois nursing home abuse and patient violence. The broad plan provides a 27-point list of “preliminary recommendations” to be refined in the next few weeks before the governor is presented with a final report.

Other recommendations included:

• Searching nursing homes for patients with outstanding criminal warrants
• Increased minimum staffing requirements so that they match standards noted in federal government studies
• Expand treatment and housing options
• Transfer mentally ill residents to more appropriate treatment facilities
• Hiring more nursing home inspectors
• Retraining current nursing home inspectors about safety and care issues involving mentally ill residents
• More rigorous patient screenings to determine whether a patient is dangerous/has violent tendencies
• Imposing tougher sanctions on nursing homes that don’t complete all screening procedures

Governor Quinn set up the task force after the Chicago Tribune began providing in-depth reports on the deficiencies in nursing care provided at Illinois nursing homes. Not only do many nursing home patients have to cope with inadequate nursing care, nursing home abuse, and nursing home neglect, but patient violence has also been a growing concern—especially because so many mentally ill patients, including those who have criminal histories of violent and sexual crimes, are housed with older and frailer residents. There are more mentally ill adults younger than age 65 living in nursing homes in Illinois than in any other US state.

Chicago Nursing Home Negligence
You may have grounds to sue an assisted living facility for Chicago, Illinois nursing home negligence if your loved one was hurt or died because he/she was attacked by another patient, abused by a nursing home worker, or neglected.

Nursing home safety: Illinois task force proposes sweeping reforms to end violence at troubled sites, Chicago Tribune, January 15, 2010

New recommendations for nursing homes causing controversy, Sun-Times, January 14, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Safety Task Force

Illinois Department of Public Health

Illinois Department of Aging

Investigators from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are conducting a special audit and probe of Somerset Place, a North Side nursing home, following complaints by a local lawmaker and reports published in the Chicago Tribune. The North Side assisted living facility, which specializes in mentally ill adults, has received numerous citations for violations regarding patient safety, and the Chicago police has reportedly investigated 15 alleged batteries and assaults, 5 narcotics possession reports, and 5 cases of criminal sexual that reportedly took place inside the nursing home between April 2008 and July 2009.

Neighborhood groups are even complaining that the dangerous activity at Somerset is beginning to spill into the community. One Somerset patient, Maratta Walker, was murdered four months after she was admitted to the assisted living facility.

Walker, who suffered from a seizure disorder and was mentally ill, wasn’t allowed to leave the Chicago nursing home unless she was supervised. Yet she managed to get out of the facility, prostitute herself for money and use crack cocaine. The man charged with her murder, Edward Gibson, is a bank robber that she met while wandering the streets. The two of them allegedly spent days drinking, using heroin, smoking crack, and having sex prior to her fatal beating.

Chicago Nursing Home Negligence
In the last several months, lawmakers have been investigating the dangers that can arise when housing dangerous mentally ill patients with other nursing residents. They are also examining whether or not Illinois assisted living facilities are even equipped to give mentally ill residents the care and supervision that they need to keep them and other patients safe.

The growing evidence that the current system is not working can no longer be denied. Too many residents are getting hurt or dying as a result of Chicago nursing home neglect and nursing home crimes committed by violent patients.

North Side nursing home the target of federal investigation, Chicago Tribune, January 10, 2010

Woman found dead at motel identified, ABC 7 News, May 26, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Somerset Place

Continue reading "Chicago Nursing Home Negligence?: Federal Investigators Target North Side Assisted Living Facility That Housed 66 Felons" »

The La Salle County Nursing Home is the defendant in another Illinois nursing home negligence lawsuit alleging that a resident was the victim of sexual abuse. Marilyn Wig is the guardian of the victim and she wants a minimum of $100,000. Her Illinois nursing home neglect lawsuit contends that workers at the facility allowed a male patient to have contact with the victim.

Illinois health officials have accused the man of sexually molesting several female patients. The alleged assailant was later transferred to a psychiatric facility.

This is the second La Salle County, Illinois nursing home negligence lawsuit filed against the assisted living facility over this male resident’s sexual activities between January 17 and May 26, 2009. Henry Elzer is suing the Illinois assisted living facility for at least $250,000 because he claims the home failed to protect his relative from sexual abuse.

Illinois officials have been hard at work trying to figure out a way to solve the dangerous dilemma caused by housing mentally ill patients with other nursing home residents. Unfortunately, there have been a number of incidents involving mentally ill patients sexually assaulting, physically assaulting, and murdering other residents.

One reason these types of crimes have been able to happen is that the background checks conducted on mentally patients can sometimes miss key information, such as whether or not a prospective nursing home resident has a felony record. And while families are directed by Illinois lawmakers to look through a police Web site to determine whether there are any sex offenders residing in any of the nursing homes they are considering for their loved ones, the Chicago Tribune says that only 59 of the 192 sex offenders living in Illinois assisted living facilities are even named in this registry. In Chicago alone, only one out of every five sex offenders living in a nursing home is listed.

One reason for this type of discrepancy is that sex offenders don’t have to register with Illinois police if their final parole dates or convictions happened over a decade ago. Unfortunately, this does not mean the offender won’t commit another sex crime. Some Illinois nursing homes are also guilty of not telling police when a convicted sex offender has moved into the facility even though Illinois law requires that they provide notification.

Another suit filed over sex abuse, The Times

Nursing homes: Most sex offenders living in nursing homes aren't listed on state police's online registry, Chicago Tribune

llinois Nursing Home Negligence Lawsuit Claims Fellow Resident Sexually Abused Female Patient, Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer, October 30, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Safety Task Force

Illinois Department of Public Health

In Chicago, state senators expressed anger about the number of violent nursing home crimes committed by patients. In an effort to curb Illinois nursing home violence, are demanding a full revamp of the way Illinois inspects and monitors assisted living facilities. They also want a stricter screening system for determining which prospective residents may be too violent to house with other patients.

At Thursday’s hearing, the senators announced plans to present reform legislation. Illinois Governor Patrick Quinn’s new Nursing Home Safety Task Force also provided a broad outline of steps it will likely recommend to end the practice of placing dangerous felons and mentally ill residents with other patients in state nursing homes.

Task Force head Michael Gelder spoke about the need for both service options that are specifically geared specifically toward psychiatric patients and improved assessment methods for placing mentally ill patients in the right environment where they can receive the appropriate care.

A recent series of reports by the Chicago Tribune exposed just how dangerous it can be as a sick or elderly nursing home resident living with a younger, mentally ill patient who might also be dangerous. A number of sick and elderly residents have already been physically assaulted, sexually assaulted, and murdered by mentally ill patients with criminal records and/or violent streaks.

Last week, advocates for mentally ill patients had called on the state to overhaul the way psychiatric patients are dealt with and come up with new housing options for mentally ill patients. Housing catered toward mentally ill patients is not only cheaper than housing them in Illinois nursing homes, but it could also allow these patients to thrive. Studies show that mentally ill patients don’t pose a greater danger than do other people as long as they are given the proper care.

A nursing home patient who was injured by another resident may have grounds for filing a Chicago, Illinois nursing home negligence lawsuit.

Senators outraged over Illinois nursing home safety, Chicago Tribune, November 6, 2009

Nursing home reform: Advocates for mentally ill urge overhaul of nursing home operations, Chicago Tribune, October 30, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Safety Task Force

Nursing Homes in Illinois

Continue reading "The Fight Against Nursing Home Violence: State Senators Hold Chicago Hearing About Improving Patient Safety " »

The relative of a La Salle County Nursing Home patient is suing the Illinois nursing home for negligence. Henry Elzer is seeking at least $250,000 because the assisted living facility allegedly failed to protect the victim, a woman, while another patient sexually abused her.

In his Illinois nursing home negligence complaint, Elzer says his relative fractured her pubic or pelvic bone during the alleged incident. He says that the Illinois nursing home knew that his relative’s assailant was sexually active.

The Illinois Department of Public Health had released a report about a number of molestation incidents involving the same patient assailant between January 17 and May 26. The man was eventually transferred to a psychiatric home.

The plaintiff also says his relative injured her leg between November 24 and 27, 2006 when nursing home workers either caused her to fall or dropped her. However, because nursing home workers allegedly did not tell a doctor about the woman's injury in a timely manner, X-rays were not taken until over a week after the fall accident.

Elzer is also suing Ottawa Regional Hospital and Healthcare Center for injuries his relative sustained on November 27, 2006. He claims the woman was injured when the wheelchair she was sitted in while riding in a van tipped when the vehicle stopped. Elzer says the wheelchair was not properly secured.

Lately, Illinois nursing homes have come under fire over the number of injury and assaults incidents involving residents attacking other patients. The Chicago Tribune recently wrote extensively on the topic of nursing home violence. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has set up a task force to solve the problems caused by housing violent nursing home patients with other residents.

La Salle County Nursing Home: Suit filed over sex abuse, My Web Times, October 27, 2009

Nursing home sued for alleged sex abuse, News Tribune, October 28, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Compromised Care, Chicago Tribune

Illinois Nursing Home Task Force

In Rock Island County Circuit Court, the guardian of an 82-year-old nursing home resident who was sexually assaulted by Paul D. Hubbard, a former nursing home worker at the Parkview Terrace, is suing the assisted living facility and its former employee for Illinois personal injury.

The East Moline nursing home negligence lawsuit is a result of the sexual assault incident, which occurred on February 1. The complaint accuses Hubbard of committing the sexual crime while charging the Illinois nursing home with negligence.

Per the lawsuit, the plaintiffs, the victim and her guardian, are accusing the East Moline nursing home of neglecting to conduct a background check on Hubbard, failing to check his references, neglecting to properly interview him, and not testing his personality before hiring him. The complaint argues that if only the Illinois assisted living facility had performed these tasks, the nursing home would have realized that Hubbard was potentially dangerous.

The plaintiffs are accusing the Illinois nursing home of failing to supervise Hubbard, failing to train workers to identify risks, providing inadequate security at the facility, and of insufficient staffing.

Hubbard, who pleaded guilty to criminal sexual assault, is serving a four-year sentence for the crime.

While it is the responsibility of all Illinois nursing homes to make sure there is adequate security on the premise to keep robbers and assailants out, they also are responsible for making sure that the people they hire as nursing home workers do not commit sexual crimes or physical assault crimes against nursing home residents or other workers. Nursing home workers must also be properly supervised to make sure that they do their jobs properly and do not engage in any kind of nursing home abuse or neglect.

Nursing home residents, because of their advanced age or weakened physical state or mental illness, are vulnerable to becoming the victims of nursing abuse or neglect. It is important that Illinois nursing homes do everything possible to protect them from such horrible crimes.

Sexual assault victim files suit against nursing home, Quad-City Times, September 14, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Crimes Overlooked..., Wisconsin State Journal, March 4, 2002

Sex offenders living in Illinois nursing homes, Chicago Sun-Times, April 24, 2005

The Illinois Department of Public Health wants the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid to fine La Salle County Nursing Home $20,000, in addition to $100 for each day between when the complaint was filed and when a review found that the assisted living facility was back in compliance, for allowing a male resident to sexually abuse 10 female patients. Some of his victims were suffering from dementia or could not speak and could not protest about his advances.

A spokesperson for the department said that the alleged nursing home sexual abuse was able to happen because of “systemic” issues that existed at the Ottawa, Illinois nursing home. A report by the health department last month accused administrative staff members at the nursing home of failing to recognize the nursing home abuse, failing to properly manage resources, and failing to implement procedures and polices regarding abuse.

Nurses, other patients, and employees who were interviewed for the investigation were able to describe some of the sexual abuse that occurred. The male resident reportedly would curse about sex when he was in the common areas and touched female residents’ breasts. One worker says the patient would touch women’s breasts whenever the worker would leave and then either pull back or yell that the worker get out upon the employee’s return.

If nursing home workers had witnessed such incidents then our Chicago nursing home abuse law firm wants to know, why was the man allowed to keep sexually abusing other patients from December 2008 until June 5, 2009? That is when the male patient was finally moved to a psychiatric unit.

Nursing home employees are supposed to report any incidents of nursing home abuse or neglect that occurs so that patients can be protected. Allowing a patient to be abused at an Illinois nursing home can be grounds for a Chicago nursing home abuse lawsuit.

LaSalle County-owned nursing home allegedly failed to prevent sexual abuse, PJStar, July 3, 2009

Ill. nursing home could face fines for abuse, Chicago Tribune

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Department of Public Health

US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid

Continue reading "La Salle County Nursing Home Could Face up to $20,000 Fine For Allowing Nursing Home Abuse by Patient" »

A nursing home worker has been charged with second-degree rape and endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person. Kipper Allen Stevens is accused of engaging in sexual intercourse with a female patient last December at Shore Winds Nursing Home. At the time, Stevens was working as a licensed practical nurse at the assisted living facility.

The victim is a middle-aged woman who suffers from a mental disability. As a result of her impairment, she was unable to give her consent to the sexual act. After the alleged sexual assault, she was transferred to another nursing home.

The indictment against Stevens comes after a six-month probe into the alleged incident. Another worker at the facility witnessed the alleged nursing home sexual abuse and notified management. Stevens claims that his relationship with the patient was one between two consenting adults.

Shore Winds maintains that it performs thorough background checks on potential employees. Stevens does not have any prior arrests on his record.

Sexual Assaults at Nursing Homes
Illinois nursing home residents must not only contend with the threat of possible physical abuse or neglect, but they can also be at risk of becoming victims of nursing home sexual abuse or assault.

Some examples of Nursing Home Sexual Abuse:

• Molestation
• Fondling
• Propositioning a resident
• Rape
• Engaging in sexual acts with a patient who is unable to give his or her consent

Recently, our Chicago nursing home abuse law firm posted a blog about allegations made against LaSalle County Nursing Home. The Illinois assisted living facility is accused of failing to stop a male resident from molesting 10 female residents. Many of the victims suffered from dementia or were incapacitated in other ways.

Chicago nursing homes are responsible for making sure that residents do not become the victims of Illinois nursing home neglect or abuse.

Nursing home employee accused of rape, Rocnow.com, July 15, 2009

LPN on Sex with Nursing Home Resident: "It Was Nothing Malicious", 13 WHAM.com, July 16, 2009

Report: Illinois nursing home allowed sexual abuse, Daily Herald, July 3, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Elder Sexual Abuse in Nursing Homes, Articlesbase.com, August 29, 2008

Illinois Department of Public Health

Continue reading "Nursing Home Sexual Assault: Employee Charged with Raping Patient" »

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

Continue reading "Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Law Firm: IDPH says Male resident sexually abused 10 La Salle County Nursing Home female patients " »

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

Continue reading "Nursing Home Abuse: Worker Arrested for Sexually Assaulting Patients" »

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

Continue reading "Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers: Certified Nursing Assistant is Fired for Taking Cell Phone Photos of Unclothed Residents" »

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