March 9, 2010

New Nursing Home Legislation Looks to Reform Illinois

A group of elder advocate groups brought together by the AARP joined in Springfield to announce nursing home legislation that will reform the way nursing homes operate in Illinois. Senate Bill 685 was introduced by Heather Steans and Jacqueline Collins, both Democrats from Chicago. As been highlighted recently in the media, nursing home residents in Illinois have been victims of nursing home failures. Nursing home patients have been the victims of physical, mental and sexual abuse. They have been given the wrong diagnosis or wrong medications all at the hands of nursing home employees. This bill will go way beyond what has recently been proposed in the Governor’s task force. To read more reaction about the Illinois nursing home legislation, please click the link.

The new Illinois nursing home legislation will address many problems currently plaguing residents. The group's press release states that legislation will improve the quality of care for nursing home residents and create meaningful regulations for Illinois nursing homes. These include disincentives and penalties for facilities that provide inadequate care. Also, the legislation would provide regulations that promote resident safety and a safe environment for all older people in Illinois nursing homes. One of the most important provisions is that the legislation would require higher staff to patient ratios and better training for direct-care staff. This is extremely important because many studies have found that a home's employee to resident ratio is a vital part of a safe nursing home. The Chicago nursing home lawyers of Levin & Perconti support this legislation and ask that everyone contact their Illinois representatives to voice their support as well. The Illinois AARP set up a Nursing Home Reform Legislation Hotline. We encourage you to call 1-888-616-3322 to ask your Illinois legislators to support Senate Bill 685.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Legislation

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March 9, 2010

Press Conference to Announce Nursing Home Reform Legislation in Illinois

Today, lawmakers, the AARP, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, the Illinois Citizens for Better Care, the Illinois Association of Long Term Care Ombudsmen and other senior and nursing home advocacy groups will hold a press conference to announce nursing home reform legislation that will be introduced in the Illinois Senate this week. The press conference will be held in Springfield at 1:00 p.m. CST.

As Chicago nursing home neglect attorneys who represent residents and their families, we are energized to see legislation aimed at improving safety and care for nursing home residents in Illinois. We commend the lawmakers and advocates who made this legislation possible. We will continue to post news updates surrounding the Illinois nursing home abuse and neglect reform legislation.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes

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March 7, 2010

Illinois Nursing Homes Must Carry Insurance

The Clarion Ledger has recently posted an article discussing the needs of nursing homes to carry insurance. The article points out that many nursing homes do not carry enough liability insurance to cover damages caps if a nursing home abuse lawsuit is filed. Many nursing homes face lawsuits after physical and sexual abuse or nursing home neglect. Nursing homes should be required to carry enough insurance to cover a vulnerable person that is injured, mistreated or abused while a resident at the home.

In Mississippi, a current House Bill 536 would require non-government nursing homes to carry $500,000 in liability coverage which is equivalent to the amount that the government nursing homes must carry under the Tort Claims Act. While this out-of-state legislation may seem like an obvious need to those who believe in elderly rights, many insurance companies and nursing home lobbyists are working diligently to try to kill the bill before it reaches the Senate. Since nursing homes have received the damage caps they believe are so important, it is imperative that they carry insurance. The elderly need and deserve the accountability afforded to them with the passage of HB 536. To read more about the nursing home legislation, please check out the link.

Illinois is one of the states that does not require nursing homes to carry liability insurance. We hope that new Illinois nursing home reform legislation will require homes to operate with insurance. The Chicago nursing home abuse attorneys at Levin & Perconti encourage people to ask if a nursing home carries insurance before entrusting a loved one to the facility. Researching a nursing home’s insurance information is an important step to ensuring your family members rights in the event of an injury caused by negligence.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, National Nursing Homes, How to choose a home, Legislation, Legislation

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March 5, 2010

U.S. Supreme Courts Rules Nursing Home Resident has a Private Right of Action Under FNHRA

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied certioria in a case where the Third Circuit Court of Appeals said that a nursing home resident and Medicaid recipient may sue their facility under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations of the Federal Nursing Home Reform Amendments (FNHRA). The plaintiff in the case was a nursing home resident and Medicaid recipient. After the victim wrongfully died her daughter filed a nursing home lawsuit against the facility under a §1983 action. The nursing home lawsuit claimed the facility violated the FNHRA by not providing proper care. The nursing home tried to commit the complaint by claiming that the FNHRA does not provide an enforceable right of action through §1983. They argued that FNHRA only sets forth requirements that a nursing facility must comply with in order to receive federal Medicaid funds. The district court did agree with the nursing home, and the victim appealed the ruling.

Luckily, the Third Circuit reversed the district court’s ruling and held that the FNHRA does give Medicaid recipients rights and remedies under §1983. Elder Law Answers reported that the appellate court reasoned that both as a nursing home resident and Medicaid recipient, the victim was an intended beneficiary of the FNHRA. The court believed that the language of the FNHRA laid out specific enforceable rights for victims of nursing home abuse. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the writ of certioria and rested on the Third Circuit’s ruling. They believe this will cause all nursing homes to rethink patient’s rights. The Chicago nursing home lawyers agree the rulings of both the Third Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court and thank them for their support of nursing home rights.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Abuse, Legislation, National Nursing Home News, Verdicts and Settlements

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March 4, 2010

Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Steve Levin Quoted about “Angel of Death” Case

The Chicago nursing home abuse lawyers of Levin & Perconti filed an amended complaint in the McHenry County Circuit Court yesterday in a lawsuit against Woodstock Residence. Our attorneys represent the family of Virginia Cole in a civil lawsuit against the nursing home and two former employees. The original complaint alleges that the nursing home and named employees administered lethal doses of morphine that led to Cole’s death at the age of 78. The amended complaint adds the medical director at the time of Cole’s death as a defendant, alleging that the director was negligent in his care of Cole. The complaint alleges that the medical director diagnosed Cole incorrectly, neglected to determine if she was in pain before he ordered morphine and failed to make sure the nursing home was handling controlled substances, such as morphine, properly.

According to Illinois nursing home attorney Steve Levin, the lawsuit does not allege that the named medical director was aware that employees were giving Cole and other nursing home residents unneeded doses of morphine, a narcotic pain killer that is used to treat severe pain. The medical director was also named in a wrongful death suit that was filed on behalf of another Woodstock resident whose death is in question.

In addition to the civil wrongful death lawsuit, a criminal lawsuit has also been filed against the two former employees. We will continue to provide news and information on the “Angel of Death” case in McHenry County as it becomes available. To read the Northwest Herald’s coverage of the nursing home lawsuit, click on the hyperlink.

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Posted In: "Angel of Death" case, Illinois Nursing Homes, Levin & Perconti in the News

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March 3, 2010

Staffing Ratios at Nursing Homes Must be Mandated

It has been well documented that nursing home staffing ratios and quality of care go hand in hand. According to a recent article from My Elder Advocate, sufficient nursing home staff are needed to ensure that residents have proper nutrition, disease management and that they are turned and repositioned frequently to prevent pressure sores. A 1996 study from the Institute of Medicine found that staffing ratios have a great effect on the nutrition of nursing home residents. Understaffed nursing homes are more likely to have patients who suffer from dehydration, malnutrition and associated conditions.

It is time that nursing home legislation reflect the need for greater staffing. Since the over 65 population will increase by 60% between 2004 and 2030, this is the time to enact such legislation. Nursing home legislation should require ratios to patients in order to ensure that there is sufficient staff to care for our aging population. Unfortunately, nursing home legislation to require ratios has not passed nationally. This is because people argue that this would increase the cost of running a nursing home. Yet, how can you put a price on patient care?

Studies show that raising staffing ratios can cut down on operating costs. It has also been found that understaffing in nursing homes does not help the nursing shortage. Many nurses refuse to work in nursing homes because of the poor working conditions prevalent in understaffed homes. Many nurses have changed professions or gone to part-time due to the poor working conditions. Therefore, new nursing home legislation must be enacted to ensure that there is proper care in all nursing homes, regardless of their monetary position. To read more on nursing home staffing, follow the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Legislation, Nursing Home Staff News

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March 1, 2010

Nursing Home Arbitration Clauses Disadvantage Residents and Contribute to Substandard Care

According to the Arizona Daily Star, for-profit nursing homes have less staffing, cut costs and are typically lower quality than their non-profit counterparts. One study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that for-profit nursing homes are 46.5 times more likely to have deficiencies than non-profit homes. Perhaps, most troubling, is that to cut costs on legal expenses, these nursing homes ask residents and their families to sign agreements which shelter the nursing homes from lawsuits. These agreements are part of the paperwork that residents and their families must fill out at the time they are entering the nursing home facility. Entering a nursing home is often an emotional and stressful time for families and yet the nursing homes are asking these families to sign away their right to sue the facility should the nursing home mistreat their loved one. The arbitration agreements provide for binding “alternative dispute resolution” (ADR) which takes disputes into a private rather than the public legal system, forces residents and their families to give up their right to a jury trial decided by their peers, and gives nursing homes alone the right to pick the person who will judge the substandard care given to its residents. Furthermore, these agreements prevent any of the nursing home's violations, no matter how egregious, from becoming public information. When families unknowingly sign away their right to sue the facility, they likely have no concept of the degree of harm a nursing home can cause their loved ones due to nursing home abuse or neglect. Federal legislation has been proposed to invalidate these unjust and detrimental arbitration clauses. The Chicago nursing home abuse attorneys at Levin and Perconti support the proposed federal legislation and are working hard to make sure that substandard care at Illinois nursing homes will not be tolerated.

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Posted In: Legislation, Mandatory Binding Arbitration, Nursing Home Abuse

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March 1, 2010

Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers: Wandering and Elopement Causes Great Worries in Illinois Nursing Homes

Wandering and elopement has become a great problem in nursing homes throughout the country. When patients are not properly monitored they can leave the securities of their facilities and find themselves without guidance in the outside community.

The Chicago nursing home lawyers at Levin & Perconti have filed many lawsuits on behalf of the victims of wandering and elopement and have won favorable verdicts. For example, our attorneys helped a victim obtain a $950,000 settlement against the American Baptist Homes of the Midwest. This case involved an 85-year-old woman with dementia who was allowed to wander outside and freeze to death. This same fact pattern occurred in a case against Manorcare Health Services. In that case, Levin & Perconti helped the family of a 75-year-old victim receive an $825,000 settlement. Once again, the victim was wandering in the bitter cold and died of hypothermia. Wandering unfortunately has become all too common in nursing homes.

A nursing home can take measures to minimize elopement exposure. The first way is to establish a written elopement risk-management plan. They can also establish written screening criteria for identifying residents who may become potential elopers. By keeping normal exit alarms and making sure that all stairwells are alarmed, most nursing homes can help reduce wandering. Finally, the staff should be quick to investigate any activated door alarms. Nursing home staff should be trained to closely monitor the whereabouts of all of their patients. To learn all the ways that nursing homes can diminish wandering and elopement please click the link.

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Posted In: Levin & Perconti in the News, Wandering

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February 27, 2010

Illinois Continues Nursing Home Safety Push to Reduce Abuse and Neglect

According to the Chicago Tribune, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan stated that both her office and the local police are intensifying their efforts to protect nursing home residents by making unannounced visits and conducting broad safety checks at troubled Illinois nursing homes. Criminal investigators have joined with Chicago police to examine nursing home records to uncover unregistered felons and sex offenders living within the facilities. They are also interviewing residents and staff at those facilities with histories of serious safety breaches. Madigan’s chief of staff stated that the current regulatory system has proved itself incapable of any type of rapid response to violations.

Governor Quinn is also working to introduce a comprehensive package of nursing home safety-reform bills. This is after Quinn’s Nursing Home Safety Task Force completed a 52-page plan to overhaul to state’s troubled long-term system that includes nursing homes housing more than 3,000 patients with felony records. The task force has met with representatives of the state’s largest nursing-home association as well as advocates for both the mentally ill and the elderly. It has recommended screening of people admitted to nursing homes by identifying those with criminal backgrounds. This will help decrease the amount of in-resident nursing home abuse.

The task force was initiated in response to a Chicago Tribune investigation documenting the rapes and attacks at Illinois nursing homes. If you or a loved one has been of victim of nursing home abuse, please contact a Chicago nursing home abuse lawyer. To learn more about the findings of the nursing home task force, please click the link.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Chicago Nursing Homes, Compromised Care: Tribune Investigation

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February 26, 2010

“Angel of Death” Defendant Receives Assistance in Nursing Home Neglect Case

The Northwest Herald recently reported that the State of Illinois will give Penny Whitlock $10,000 to pay for a defense expert witness. Whitlock is accused allowing another staff member to administer fatal doses of morphine to residents at Woodstock Residence, a Woodstock, IL nursing home that is now under new ownership. Recently, the defendant testified that she has spent over $100,000 to defend herself in court. The State of Illinois’ financial assistance would pay for an expert forensic toxicologist to testify.

The Daily Herald reports that Whitlock faces five counts of criminal neglect and two counts for obstructing justice. She is accused of failing to report that another staff member, Marty Himebaugh, was giving residents high doses of morphine. She is also accused of allowing Himebaugh to administer the drugs. The McHenry County prosecutor asked that she be held responsible for paying the county back if she is convicted.

The Illinois nursing home neglect attorneys at Levin & Perconti represent the family of one of the residents whose death is in question. Our attorneys filed a civil lawsuit against the nursing home, alleging that the nursing home's administration was aware that staff was administering morphine to residents without an order or outside prescribed parameters. As a result, our 78-year-old client died. We will continue to update our nursing home blog with related stories as both the civil and criminal cases unfold. To read the Daily Herald’s report on the Woodstock Residence case follow the link.

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Posted In: "Angel of Death" case, Levin & Perconti in the News, Woodstock Residence

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February 25, 2010

Nursing Home Provisions Present in White House Reform Bill

The new healthcare reform proposal contained a number of provisions that hold a significant interest in those concerned with long-term care professionals. The first is the Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act which would seek to assess nursing home quality and provide consumer information about facilities. The Elder Justice Act is another part of the bill that will greatly help improve the life of seniors. Also there is a provision that would require nursing homes to provide more stringent background checks on potential caregivers contained in the bill. This has been labeled the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act. The president’s proposal will furthermore include incentives for home-and community-based care programs that will expand the senior care workforce. Finally, the bill contains the CLASS Act which creates a payroll deduction system for long-term expenses. To learn more about the long-term care legislation, please check out the McKnight’s newsletter.

Currently there are problems between the GOP and the Democrats on many of the provisions of the health care bill. Republicans are trying to block many of the provisions that would help improve elder care. This is important legislation that must be passed in order to better safety for nursing home residents. The NCCNHR has been working around the clock in order to ensure that this important legislation is passed. Currently, 51 votes are needed to pass in the Senate. The Chicago nursing home abuse attorneys at Levin & Perconti applaud NCCNHR and Sentor Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging. Their hard work has hopefully made this important legislation a reality. In order to aid their efforts, please contact your Senator and voice your support for long-term health care legislation that would protect nursing home residents.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Legislation, National Legislation

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February 24, 2010

Man Files Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Lawsuit Against Glenbridge Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre in Suburban Chicago, Illinois

An Illinois man recently filed a nursing home negligence lawsuit against Glenbridge Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre in Niles, IL. According to an article in the Niles Herald –Spectator, the nursing home failed to treat the resident’s injured hand after he fell at the home. As a result of his injury, his right ring finger became gangrenous and required surgery to amputate his finger one month after his fall.

The resident fell on December 7, 2008, despite being at high risk for falls according to nursing home assessments. He injured his hand during the fall, but the nursing home staff failed to record his injury in their notes. Twelve days later, a nurse observed that his finger was swollen and required monitoring, but the nursing home again failed to record any notes on his injury. It was not until January 4, 2009 that staff discovered his finger was necrotic, and several days later his finger was amputated.

According to the complaint, the nursing home failed to supervise the resident and failed to discover or treat his injured finger in a timely manner. The Chicago nursing home neglect attorneys at Levin & Perconti have handled a number of cases in which nursing homes failed to properly supervise residents. When nursing homes fail to adequately supervise residents, falls, elopement or nursing home abuse may occur and may lead to injury or death. Nursing homes are responsible for monitoring residents to protect them from harms such as these. Nursing home staff members are also responsible for evaluating and treating health problems in a timely manner. If Glenbridge staff had addressed the resident’s injury initially, they may have prevented it from progressing to the point of amputation.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Failure to supervise, Nursing Home Negligence

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The purpose of this blog is to deliver news and information that is relevant to our areas of practice. The news and information reported on this blog represent the legal actions of attorneys throughout the United States. Our firm does not claim to represent plaintiffs in all of the lawsuits, settlements, and jury verdicts reported, only those noted as Levin & Perconti cases.

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