July 15, 2010

Illinois Resident Files Lawsuit Against Negligent Nursing Home

My Journal Courier reported on a nursing home lawsuit filed by James Niles following the premature 2007 death of his 66 year old mother, Neida Niles. The suit was first filed in Cook County, but the Jacksonville, Illinois based defendants had the case moved downstate to Morgan County.

Neida was a resident of the Prairie Village HealthCare Center in Jacksonville. Mrs. Niles fell while receiving routing dialysis treatment in April 2007. The nursing home is cited for failing to assess her fall risk and taking precautionary steps to limit the risk of a fall. In addition the suit alleges that the negligent nursing home failed to properly treat and limit the progression of pressure ulcers caused by the fall as well as failure to stop a skin infection the developed on her lower extremities.

The suit further argues that the nursing home staff failed to provide the necessary daily skin treatments or properly treat her wounds, ultimately leading to Mrs. Niles death two months after her initial fall. The plaintiff believes that Prairie Village provided inadequate staffing levels and untrained staff which led to the negligent medical care and unnecessary death.

Several other defendants have been named in the lawsuit which was filed as a violation of three Illinois statutes, including the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act.

According to the nursing home quality reports filed at Medicare.gov, the Prairie Village HealthCare Center received the lowest possible rating (much below average) in nursing home staffing and quality indicators. For example, while the average Illinois nursing home resident receives an average of 42 minutes of registered nurse care each day, residents at Prairie Village average only 14 minutes of such care. Also, while an average of 11% of long-term residents in Illinois nursing homes ultimately suffer less mobility while at the health care facility; nearly 27% of Prairie Village long-term residents have less mobility following an extended stay at the facility.

Our Chicago nursing home lawyers at Levin & Perconti have fought similar battles against Illinois nursing homes that repeatedly provide inadequate medical care to residents. The negligence occurs in various forms often resulting, as in this case, from inadequate and untrained nursing home care workers. If you know of any victims of similar abuse, please contact a nursing home attorney immediately to help assess the situation.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | | Email This Post

Posted In: Incidents

| Share
June 4, 2010

Lawsuit Claims Illinois Nursing Home Negligent

The Madison/St. Clair Record is reporting that the administrator of a victim’s estate has filed a nursing home negligence lawsuit against an Illinois facility in Belleville called the Lincoln Home. The nursing home lawsuit alleges that the woman suffered a broken thigh bone while a resident at the nursing home. The complaint states that the nursing home employees were continuously violated her rights until her death. The victim had sustained a comminuted left femur fracture while she stayed at the nursing home which caused her repeated pain, mental anguish and emotional distress. The Chicago injury attorneys at Levin & Perconti have previously filed a lawsuit against the Lincoln Home after the home neglected to prevent a victim from falling.

The nursing home lawsuit claims that the home failed to evaluate Lockett to ensure she received adequate supervision, failed to provide her with adequate care, failed to provide her with immediate treatment by trained personnel, failed to notify her physician of significant changes in her physical condition, failed to ensure that they established a nursing care plan based on her needs, failed to provide necessary services to maintain Lockett's highest state of well-being and failed to appropriately update her plan following her fracture.

Weiss Management, which owned The Lincoln Home, also allegedly performed a number of negligent acts, including its failure to operate the home in such a way that provided Lockett with adequate supervision, its failure to operate the home in such a way as to protect Lockett from neglect, its failure to properly monitor its employees and staff, its failure to screen and evaluate the references of nursing staff, its failure to terminate employees at the home who were known to be careless and incompetent, its failure to provide nursing personnel duties consistent with their education, its failure to prevent and correct problems at the nursing home and its failure to discharge its legal obligations. To read more about this nursing home abuse case, please click the link.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | | Email This Post

Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Incidents, Nursing Home Abuse

| Share
June 2, 2010

Illinois Nursing Homes are Facing Reformation

The Chicago Law Bulletin is reporting that Illinois Governor Quinn may soon sign legislation that will greatly reform nursing homes. The bill has already passed both chambers of the legislature was the result of many task forces that were created in response to violence and sexual abuse in the understaffed nursing homes. The bill would increase the required staffing in Illinois’ 1,200 nursing homes to 3.8 hours of nursing care for each resident. Additionally, the licenses fees for nursing homes would increase as well as fines for any nursing homes guilty of nursing home abuse.

The new nursing home legislation would also change the number of inspectors employed at the Illinois Department of Public Health. By 2013 Illinois would be required to employ one inspector for every 300 licensed nursing home beds. Hospitals are also affected. They would be required to initiate criminal background checks before transferring patients who are ambulatory and between 18 and 70 years old to nursing homes for the first time. This provision was implemented because many nursing home residents were physically and sexually abusing other residents in the homes. The problems of mixing those elderly residents with the mentally ill have created many problems. The bill tries to address this by including a pilot program to require expanded fingerprint background checks for those younger residents in mixed homes. This will hopefully put an end to the sexual assaults and batteries that occur at the home.

The Chicago nursing home lawyers at Levin & Perconti applaud the efforts of the Illinois legislature to hold nursing homes more accountable for their actions. The safety of our most vulnerable residents should be a top priority. Hopefully, these measures will be able to prevent nursing home abuse from occurring, and will send a strong message to those nursing homes who continue to commit elderly abuse.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | | Email This Post

Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Chicago Nursing Homes, Incidents, Legislation

| Share
May 25, 2010

Illinois Nursing Home Sweep Finds Violations

The State Journal-Register is reporting that the Illinois Attorney General’s office has conducted a sweep at the Golden Moments Senior Care Center in Jacksonville, Illinois. This was the 11th sweep of an Illinois nursing home in the past several months. There were five former sex offenders living in the nursing home. The nursing home was targeted because it had not complied with risk assessments for three of these five residents. Although the felons are placed in their own separate rooms, the attorney general’s office believes that this puts the other residents at risk for being abused by the felons. These risk assessments are mandated by state law. To learn more about this Illinois nursing home raid, please check out the link.

This is not the first time that Golden Moments Senior Care Center has been under attack. In February of this year, they were fined for $50,000 for nursing home abuse after the wrongful death of a 74-year-old resident. In this case, the resident choked on food despite staffer’s awareness that he had a risk of choking on food. In 2009, the nursing home was fined $20,000 after the home was accused of failing to keep residents from being mentally, verbally and physically abused. Staff members were causing residents to cry and were slapped in the face.

Nursing homes that have a history of elderly abuse and neglect must be closely watched by government entities. This Jacksonville nursing home has several documented cases of abuse that have spanned a great deal of time. The type of violations that the nursing home has been guilty of has varied a great deal. This shows that the nursing home has difficulties not only keeping track of residents, but their employees as well. If you or a family member have been injured as a result of negligence at Golden Moments or any Illinois nursing home, please consult a Chicago nursing home attorney to discuss your potential claim.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | | Email This Post

Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Golden Moments Senior Center, Incidents, Nursing Home Abuse

| Share
May 15, 2010

Cahokia, Illinois Nursing Home Resident Suffers Injury as a Result of Employee Error

The Madison Record is reporting a case of serious Illinois nursing home abuse. A Cahokia woman is claiming that nursing home employees at St. Paul's Home in Belleville, IL allowed her to sustain numerous injuries while she was a resident. The victim filed the nursing home lawsuit in St. Clair County Circuit Court on April 29. The suit claims that the while the victim lived at the nursing home, nursing home employees violated her rights as a resident through multiple acts. Employees failed to elevate the woman’s feet to offer the proper treatment and care for her edema, or swelling. The negligence suit also claims that they failed to assist her to the shower which resulted in a fall where she suffered injuries to her ankle and her leg. Finally, the nursing home lawsuit claims that the victim had a contusion to her leg due after nursing home employees hit her with a motorized wheelchair. She is seeking a judgment of more than $30,000 plus other costs.

Nursing home staffing levels greatly affect resident well-being and care. When homes do not employ enough staff members to properly care for residents, there is an increased chance for residents to be injured or killed due to nursing home abuse and neglect. If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a nursing home with insufficient staffing levels, you may be able to seek compensation. Please consult a Chicago nursing home lawyer to learn more about your legal options. To read more about this nursing home neglect lawsuit please click the link.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | | Email This Post

Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Incidents, Nursing Home Abuse

| Share
April 28, 2010

Illinois Attorney General Leads South Side Nursing Home Sweep

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Illinois State Attorney General Lisa Madigan led a team of state and local law enforcement officials in a sweep of Presidential Pavilion on Chicago’s south side. The nursing home sweep was planned to find wanted criminals at the nursing home. Three arrests of felons were made at Presidential Pavilion in the unannounced visit. Madigan arrived at the nursing home accompanied by 30 police and state officials who went room to room talking to the residents about their nursing home safety.

The authorities had issued 14 warrants for felon residents at Presidential Pavilion. Their were 20 resident in the nursing home that had a criminal record of a total of 950 arrests and 399 convictions. Morris Esformes owns this nursing home and total they control 28 homes in Illinois and Florida. This raid occurs as Governor Quinn and his nursing home task force are in the final stages of completing a nursing home safety-reform bill. This Illinois nursing home legislation will help decrease the nursing home abuse that so often occurs in Chicago nursing home. The nursing home debates include increasing nursing home employees at facilities. This is an extremely important matter because studies show that the per staff to resident ratio has the greatest effect on nursing home abuse. There will also be stiffer penalties for those nursing home that commit nursing home abuse. These raids and the new legislation will greatly help reduce the problems that are occurring in Illinois nursing homes. To read more about the nursing home raids, please click the link.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | | Email This Post

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

| Share
April 22, 2010

Somerset Place Gives Up License

The Chicago Defender is reporting that the Chicago nursing home of Somerset Place has had to give up their nursing home license. They also have to pay fines that will total $20,000. Until their closure, Somerset Place had more than 300 mentally ill residents housed in the facility. Investigators found that the nursing home had many fights and verbal abuse amongst the elderly residents and the mentally ill patients. The nursing home was also cited for lack of supervision to the point that the federal government terminated their funding. Countless nursing home studies have found that proper staffing is one of the quintessential factors to a well-functioning nursing home. If you or a loved one experienced nursing home abuse at Somerset Place, please consult a Chicago nursing home lawyer.

While a license-revocation hearing was scheduled for this week, it was canceled due to the recent settlement. Somerset Place had been owned by a group of investors and was a for-profit nursing home. To read more about Somerset Place’s closure, please click the link.

The Illinois Department of Health is responsible for the regulation of nursing homes along with to the US Department of Health and Human Services’ and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Illinois licensure surveys are conducted on the nursing home site and cover a three to four day period. These inspectors evaluate all aspects of resident care by making sure residents are being properly medicated, fed and looked after. As in the above case, they also look into any suspected or alleged crimes and consult with the local police department. The IDPH plays a vital role in the assurance of nursing home safety and seek to diminish nursing home abuse.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | | Email This Post

Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Bad nursing homes, Chicago Nursing Homes, Incidents, Somerset Place

| Share
April 20, 2010

Money Making Scheme Revealed in Chicago Nursing Homes

Federal investigators have discovered that a nursing home doctor who treated many Illinois nursing home residents was using referrals to gain kickbacks and monetary bribes, endangering the safety and well-being of those under his care. These investigators, along with The Chicago Tribune, uncovered that thousands of dollars were moving between physicians, nursing home owners and hospital administrators, all the while nursing homes focused on keeping populations up and nursing home beds full.

This corruption led to the public paying millions of dollars in Medicaid and Medicare bills while a select few profited. Federal prosecutors found that the doctor at the center of the controversy was guilty of accepting more than $500,000 in kickbacks for referring residents to specific long-term care facilities. The doctor is now serving a six-year sentence in prison.

The operation revolved around Rock Creek Center which is located in Lemont, Illinois, however the hospital was never charged. The investigation also found that Methodist Hospital and Loretto Hospital were paying the doctor to bring patients into the Chicago facilities. Along with these hospitals, the article also mentions the involvement of Illinois nursing home owners Floyd Schlossberg and the Esformes family. Schlossberg owns the Alden group of nursing homes, including Alden Wentworth, Alden Princeton and Alden Northmoor. According to the IDPH website, the Esformes family has ownership in nursing homes such as Burnham Healthcare and Crestwood Care. The article alleges that while serving as the medical director at Burnham Healthcare, the doctor was aware of false charting by other physicians. Negligent behavior such as this can be extremely harmful to residents and can lead them to suffer serious injuries or medical conditions without receiving the proper care or treatment.

Additionally, the article reports that the nursing homes actively recruited psychiatric patients to fill beds in order for the nursing homes to receive federal money. These greedy acts of filling beds and unneccessarily moving residents to psychiatric facilities were harmful to vulnerable nursing home residents because they were not receiving the proper care for their conditions. To read the Tribune's full report on the Chicago nursing home scheme, please click the link.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | | Email This Post

Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Nursing Home Staff, Incidents

| Share
April 12, 2010

Care Needed for Mentally Ill in Own Homes, Not Just in Nursing Homes

Those diagnosed with mental illnesses are oftentimes placed in nursing homes so that they may be closely watched and supervised. However, mentally ill patients will thrive better if they are just given extra help finding and keeping an apartment while continung to take their medications. A St. Louis Today editorial is reporting that Illinois nursing homes currently are housing 4.500 people with serious mental illness. Illinois has the most mentally ill patients living in nursing homes. Nationally, the number of mentally ill nursing homes patients has jumped by 41 percent in 8 years.

Illinois is trying to do something to solve this problem. Officials signed a consent decree that requires them to assess all mentally ill nursing home residents. They would then move those mentally ill patients to group homes and apartments if they would be better placed there. It should also be noted that it is less expensive to treat people with mental illness as outpatients in health centers. States say that they lack money to expand these community mental health programs and instead confine the patients. The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that mentally ill patients should receive treatment in the “least restrictive environment.” This occurred when two patients wanted to get care at the community psychiatric center instead of a state psychiatric hospital. The Illinois agreement echoes this same sentiment. The Chicago nursing home lawyers at Levin & Perconti applaud the efforts of the Illinois legislator to rectify this problem. To learn more about the mentally ill in nursing homes, please click the link.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | | Email This Post

Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Incidents

| Share
April 4, 2010

Nursing Home Lawsuit Filed over Sexual Assault

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the family of a disabled woman has filed a nursing home negligence lawsuit against the Fox River Pavilion nursing home in Aurora, Illinois. The lawsuit also includes a nursing home resident who is alleged to have sexually assaulted the disabled victim. The nursing home lawsuit alleges that the 39 year old aggressor sexually assaulted and beat the victim in his room at the Aurora nursing home. This patient had been arrested multiple times and is suffering from bipolar disorder. The nursing home lawsuit claims that the staff should have more closely monitored this aggressor and failed to treat his anti-social behavior. It describes the victim as “bruised, battered and bloodied.” The man is now being held in jail on eight counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault and battery. The Fox River Pavilion has been threatened by state and federal officials that their funding may be terminated.

This is a grave example of the violence that keeps occurring in Illinois nursing homes when older residents are mixed with those younger residents suffering from mental illness. Many times the nursing home staff does not have the proper training or resources to specifically care for the growing needs of the mentally ill population. Currently, the Illinois nursing home task force is working to create a better system for those people living in nursing homes with severe mental illness. If your loved one is experiencing difficulties at a mixed nursing home please consult a Chicago nursing home lawyer. To read more about this specific case, please click the link.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | | Email This Post

Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Failure to supervise, Fox River Pavilion, Incidents, Sex offenders and parolees in nursing homes

| Share
March 29, 2010

Clinton, Illinois Nursing Home Cited by the Department of Public Health

Manor Court of Clinton, a Clinton, Illinois nursing home, has not only been cited for deficiencies but its administrator has been replaced. This comes after many complaints and an inspection by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). Pantagraph.com is reporting that the IDPH discovered that the nursing home was not in compliance with several federal regulations. Manor Court will now receive a daily fine of $400 from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services until it is back in compliance. The IDPH is instrumental in investigating cases of nursing home negligence throughout the state of Illinois.

The home was cited for failure to maintain hot water and failing to relieve residents’ pressure sores. The negligent nursing home was also unable to prevent a resident from falling and was found to have insufficient nursing staffing. These issues may have led to an inability to administer and monitor resident medications. A regional long-term care ombudsmen with the East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging , Tami Wacker, said her office has investigated many complaints with the Manor Court administrator. They found that when their complaints were voiced, there was an obvious lack of cooperation from the nursing home administration.

The Nursing Home Compare website does not give favorable ratings to Manor Court. The overall rating is one out of five stars and they only give the home one star for nursing home staffing. The compare website is a helpful tool in choosing a nursing home. If you or a loved one has experienced nursing home negligence at Manor Court of Clinton, please consult an Illinois nursing home attorney. To read more about the Illinois nursing home inspections, please click the link.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | | Email This Post

Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Bad nursing homes, How to choose a home, Incidents, Ombudsmen Program

| Share
February 23, 2010

Illinois Nursing Home Neglect: Department of Health Issues Nursing Home Citations

According to an article on MyWebTimes.com, the Illinois Department of Public Health has secured documents that indicate the owner of Camelot Terrace in Streator, Illinois might have tried to convince inspectors to change their reports to reflect positively on the condition of the nursing home. This came after inspectors found unsafe living conditions in the Illinois nursing home. The department of health has issued an “immediate jeopardy” citation for Camelot Terrace because of the presence of mold and termites throughout the nursing home’s living quarters. The IDPH classifies an immediate jeopardy citation as one that poses an immediate threat of serious injury or death. The mold inspection company representative stated that the nursing home is a wreck. Nursing homes must have a clean atmosphere to protect the safety and welfare of their residents. Camelot Terrace’s owner has filed an “information dispute resolution” to contest the department’s citations. The owner is also being accused of attempting to mislead the Department. He supposedly instructed staff to provide less than truthful information to Department representatives. To learn more about the Camelot Terrace inspection, please check out the MyWebTimes.com article.

This article highlights the important role the IDPH plays in overseeing nursing homes. The IDPH is responsible for ensuring that all nursing homes comply fully with mandatory state regulations. By comporting with mandatory regulations nursing homes help avoid elderly abuse and neglect. The IDPH works closely with Medicare and Medicaid to ensure that all payments are rendered to the appropriate people. Each year, the IDPH conducts approximately 1,300 full on-site inspections of the nursing homes in response to the complaints. To learn more about how the IDPH regulates nursing homes, visit their nursing home website.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | | Email This Post

Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Bad nursing homes, Incidents

| Share
February 11, 2010

Illinois Nursing Home has Funds Cut Off After Incidents of Nursing Home Abuse

Illinois and federal authorities have stopped funding to the Fox River Pavilion nursing home in Aurora Illinois. This occurred after a series of violent incidents that included the wrongful death of one resident in a fight. State investigators believe that a lack of staffing contributed to the resident-on-resident attacks at the 98-resident nursing home in Aurora. They found that the staff failed to properly monitor and treat aggressive mentally ill felons housed there. The problem of inadequate staffing has become widespread in Illinois. Illinois has the highest ratio of mentally ill patients housed with the elderly. Many of these psychiatric patients have felony records.

A Chicago Tribune investigation has revealed that the nursing homes with the most felons also have the fewest nursing home staff employees. Fox River Pavilion housed 26 felons and had a ratio of nursing home staff to patients “well below average” than desired. During the wrongful death residents said that no staff were present to control the incident. This termination marks the second time in one month that Medicare and Medicaid Services has cut off funding of an Illinois nursing home. The state has also moved to decertify the Somerset Place nursing home in Chicago.

The Chicago injury attorneys at Levin & Perconti believe that nursing home staffing levels are one of the most important issues that plague modern day facilities. In order to combat nursing home negligence there needs to be a number of well-trained staff members that are employed 24-hours a day. If you believe that a loved one has been injured in a nursing home due to insufficient staffing numbers, please consult an Illinois nursing home abuse lawyer. To read more about this Illinois nursing home, losing funding, follow the link.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | | Email This Post

Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Nursing Home Staff, Fox River Pavilion, Incidents, Nursing Home Staff News

| Share
February 5, 2010

Somerset Place in Chicago, Illinois is Facing Shutdown for Nursing Home Negligence

Chicago’s Somerset Place nursing home has filed a civil lawsuit to stop the government from administratively shutting it down. State and federal authorities were threatening to close Somerset Place until it remedies the serious safety breaches they found upon inspection. The officials stated that these breaches put “the health and safety of residents in immediate jeopardy.” The Chicago nursing home has filed a submitted plan of correction. This story correlates to the recent Chicago Tribune reports that found violence and elderly abuse at the facility. There were also numerous Department of Public Health citations along with complaints from the community. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services did warn the facility that it would face termination from their programs unless these problems were addressed. The nursing home negligence has lead to fines of at least $6,050 per day. Also, their Illinois state license is in the process of being revoked. If you have a loved one within Somerset Place, please consult a Chicago nursing home attorney. To learn more about the nursing home revocation, please click the link.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | | Email This Post

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

| Share
February 3, 2010

Golden Moments Senior Care in Jacksonville, Illinois Fined $50,000 for Nursing Home Neglect

State officials have fined the Golden Moments Senior Care Center in Jacksonville, Illinois $50,000. The nursing home was fined for poor care that has been connected with the wrongful death of a 74-year-old resident who choked on food. The elderly man was developmentally disabled and staffers knew that he had a risk of chocking on food. The nursing home employees did not feed the patient a proper diet. An Illinois Department of Public Health report revealed that the man had no teeth and should have ground up meat. However, the nursing home gave the victim a piece of ham that had only been torn into pieces. The man then collapsed and died upon eating the ham. The coroner found ham pieces and mashed potatoes lying next to his body and a wad of ham the “size of a tangerine” in his windpipe. The coroner than filed a complaint with the Illinois Department of Public Health. Golden Moments Senior Center has already faced fines after an employee was accused of nursing home abuse. This nursing home has been the center of many posts on this nursing home negligence blog as well. If you have had problems with Golden Moments Senior Center, please contact a Chicago nursing home lawyer. To read more about the choking incident, please click the link.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | | Email This Post

Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Golden Moments Senior Center, Incidents, Wrongful Death

| Share
January 21, 2010

State and Feds Threaten to Close Somerset Place Nursing Home in Chicago

State and federal authorities have warned the Chicago nursing home Somerset Place that it will be shut down unless it quickly fixes its safety breaches. They claim that these breaches put “the health and safety of…residents in immediate jeopardy.” A 10-day investigation led the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to warn Somerset Place that it would be terminated in 23 days unless the problems were corrected. A public health department spokeswoman stated that this was a very serious decision for Illinois state health inspectors. The Chicago Tribune reported that Somerset Place allowed the murder of a resident who had been prostituting herself and using crack cocaine when living at the home. The home specializes in the treatment of mentally ill adults and houses 66 felons among its 400 residents. It has been cited repeatedly for patient safety violations. Also Chicago police have investigated incidents of sexual assault and drug use at the home. To read more about the possible closing of Somerset Place nursing home, please click the link.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | | Email This Post

Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Chicago Nursing Homes, Incidents, Somerset Place

| Share
January 13, 2010

Chicago Aldermen Discuss Tougher Oversight for Nursing Homes

Chicago aldermen stated that they were considering steps to strengthen oversight of troubled nursing homes that admit high numbers of felons and psychiatric patients. The city began focusing on felons and psychiatric patients in nursing homes after the Chicago Tribune published a series that exposed cases of rape and murder in nursing homes that mix criminals with the elderly. The Foster District police commander stated that there were nearly 5,000 calls for police service coming from Somerset Place nursing home in Uptown. She added that nearby shop owners were adversely affected by some residents who cause disturbances. While Chicago once inspected and licensed nursing homes, they have now turned over those responsibilities to the state. One alderman stated that the city should consider resuming licensing and inspecting facilities. Many were shocked at the number of felons and mentally ill patients that were housed with seniors. A representative from Loyola University stated that students are harassed by residents at Wincrest Nursing Center. She stated that residents were using drugs and panhandling because they were not getting the requisite care. To learn more about the Chicago nursing home plans, please click the link.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | | Email This Post

Posted In: Chicago Nursing Home Abuse, Chicago Nursing Homes, Compromised Care: Tribune Investigation, Incidents, Somerset Place

| Share
January 10, 2010

Chicago Nursing Home Lawyers Reach Record Settlement Against Coles County Home

The Chicago nursing home lawyers at Levin & Perconti recently reached the largest nursing home settlement in a case against a nursing home in Coles, County IL. The Prairie View Center in Charleston, IL and a doctor agreed to pay $700,000 to the family of a 43-year-old victim who died from injuries he suffered while he was a resident a the nursing home. The victim was admitted to Prairie View Care Center on March 19, 2002. He suffered from severe cognitive impairments and was dependent on the nursing home staff for all of is daily activities. His impairments also made him unable to communicate his needs to the nursing home staff. In the two months he spent in the nursing home before he was discharged he developed a massive infected stage IV bedsore on his sacrum. The pressure wound was so deep that his sacral bone was visible. This caused his overall condition to deteriorate and he was hospitalized. Six months later he died after his inability to bounce back from the pressure wound. Nursing home lawyer Michael Bonamarte stated the nursing home failed to prevent the progression of the victim’s sacral pressure sore, and he eventually died from complications related to his injury. In 2006, Prairie View Care Center was bought by new owners who changed the name of the nursing home. Chicago attorney Steven Levin stated that it is common for nursing home owners to own multiple nursing homes, many of which are far from where they are located. Without oversight nursing homes administrators are not in touch with the day-to-day happenings in the nursing home. This causes nursing home abuse to go unnoticed.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | | Email This Post

Posted In: Client Tell Extras, Illinois Nursing Homes, Incidents, Levin & Perconti in the News, Nursing Home Abuse, Pressure Ulcers

| Share
January 9, 2010

Chicago Nursing Home Neglect Lawyers Reach Settlement for Bedrail Entrapment Death

Levin and Perconti has reached a settlement with a south suburban nursing home after a victim died when her neck became entrapped between her bedrail and mattress at the nursing home. Attorneys Steven Levin and Michael Bonamarte represented the family and reached a $570,000 settlement for the adult grandchildren of a 99-year-old resident. The client’s grandmother was admitted to the facility on December 6, 2007, after being hospitalized with seizers. According to the nursing home lawyers, bedrails were placed on her bed upon admittance. On January 27, 2008 a nurse was making her nightly rounds and discovered the client’s grandmother on the floor next to her bed with her head entrapped between the bedrail and mattress. While healthcare professionals tried to revive her, her injuries were too severe and she died hours later. The autopsy confirmed that the client’s grandmother died from compressional asphyxia when her neck became entrapped between the bedrail and mattress. The compression from the entrapment was so severe that in addition to cutting off her oxygen supply, it fractured a bone in her neck. The coroner stated that her death was similar to strangulation or hanging. The nursing home lawyers argued that the nursing home placed her in danger of serious harm by using bedrails. Nursing home lawyer Michael Bonamarte stated that it was a terrifying way to die and noted that this could easily be avoided. Chicago lawyer Steven Levin added that the nursing home failed to consult the decedent’s family members regarding the use of bedrails. After the wrongful death, the Illinois Department of Public Health cited the facility for improper nursing care and resident injury, fining them $10,000.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | | Email This Post

Posted In: Client Tell Extras, Illinois Nursing Homes, Bedrails, Incidents, Levin & Perconti in the News, Nursing Home Abuse

| Share
January 8, 2010

Restrictions Sought in Illinois for Chemical Restraints in Nursing Homes

Nursing home resident advocates in Illinois are pushing for new rules on the use of antipsychotic drugs among nursing home residents. This would prevent the misuse of the drugs as a form of chemical restraint in nursing homes. A grassroots organization that fights to improve nursing home care in the state, entitled Illinois Citizens for Better Care, is pushing for new state laws and regulations that would prevent nursing homes and doctors from using antipsychotic and psychotropic drugs as a form of chemical restraint on the elderly residents. The concerns over the use of certain drugs have increased considerably as the result of the Chicago Tribune’s reports on problems in Illinois nursing homes. The Illinois governor has established the Nursing Home Safety Task Force to address the nursing home abuse problems that were uncovered by the investigation. A recent study has find that the side effects of the antispychotics commonly given to elderly residents have been linked to death and strokes. Nursing home care advocates say that the state could prevent the “off-label” use of antipsychotics in eldely patients by refusing to pay for those specific drugs. Also the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family can grant consent for the drugs on a case-by-case basis. The use of standardized forms and disclosure may also help the problems associated by the drugs. The use of chemical restraints is becoming commonplace as physical restraints become outlawed. If you or a loved one has been harmed by chemical restraints, please contact an Illinois lawyer. To read more about the solutions for chemical restraints, please click the link.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | | Email This Post

Posted In: Chemical Restraints, Incidents

| Share

Contact Us

Disclaimer

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.

Subscribe

Subscribe

Enter your email address: Delivered by FeedBurner

Topics

Legal Blogs