Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog

While Cynthia and Earl Wade look through a photo album, they remember their mother who was rushed to an emergency room less than 10 days into her stay at the International Nursing and Rehab Center. Their mother had explicit instructions on her medical chart not to administer dialysis through her left arm. However, the nurse ignored these explicit directions and inserted a needle into her left arm, sending her to the nursing home. Unfortunately, Luzella Wade could not recover from her injuries, and wrongfully died. Her attorney Steven Levin filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family in Cook County for the wrongful death of their mother. However, the story goes deeper, when the Chicago Reporter investigations revealed that this type of nursing home negligence occurs more in black nursing homes than those in white. In fact, Illinois has the highest number of poorly rated black nursing homes nationwide. Additionally nearly 85 percent of black nursing homes got the lowest rating for nurse staffing. To read more about the inadequacies in nursing homes, please read the Chicago Reporter.

Chicago personal injury lawyer Steve Levin of Levin & Perconti was featured in a Chicago Reporter article that highlights the differences in care received in black seniors’ homes when compared to white seniors. Attorney Levin is representing Cynthia and Earl Wade in their suit against International Nursing and Rehab Center. Since 2004, the nursing home has been sued 18 times in the Cook County Circuit Court. The article focuses on the difference in care that seniors receive in minority care centers than that given in predominately white nursing homes.

Westshire Nursing & Rehab Center in Cicero, Illinois has received a Type “A” Violation and a fine of $35,000 after inspectors found that the nursing home did not prevent pressure sores. Additionally, an inspector found that a resident had a diaper soiled with feces.

The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators. To access the violation website, please click the link.

Southview Manor in Chicago, Illinois has received a Type “A” Violation and a fine in the amount of $15,000 after inspectors found that the nursing home did not have a psychiatric rehabilitation program. Also, inspectors found that employees allowed residents to consume drugs or alcohol while taking psych medications.

The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators. To access the violation website, please click the link.

South Shore Nursing & Rehab Center in Chicago, Illinois has received a Type “A” Violation and a fine in the amount of $25,000 after inspectors believed that nursing home negligence had taken place. The nursing home neither failed to comprehensively asses a resident with a complaint of pain nor notified the physician in a timely manner of the medical change.

The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators. To access the violation website, please click the link.

Phoenix Court in South Holland, Illinois has received a Type “A” Violation and a fine in the amount of $20,000 after the nursing home failed allowed a client to sustain a decubitus ulcer. The nursing home was also cited for failing to develop written plans for residents as part of a total habilitation plan.

The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators. To access the violation website, please click the link.

Somerset Place in Chicago, Illinois has received a Type “A” Violation and a fine in the amount of $25,000. The nursing home has been cited for failure to apprise their residents of rights and a failure to report allegations of elderly mistreatment or elderly abuse.

The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators. To access the violation website, please click the link.

Fox River Pavilion has received a Type “A” Violation relating to the area of nursing home negligence was fined $5,000. This violation was based on the home’s lack of employee oversight and inability to implement a proper smoking plan.

The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators. To access the violation website, please click the link.

Chicago personal injury attorneys Michael Bonamarte and John Perconti of Levin & Perconti filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Sacred Heart Home in Chicago. The complaint was filed on behalf of the victim’s mother in the Circuit Court of Cook County for the severe injuries her mother sustained while under Sacred Heart’s care. These injuries lead to her death eight months after her accident at the nursing home. The victim had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. On December 21 of 2007 she left her second floor room and exited the hallway through an unalarmed stairwell door at the nursing home. She was found in the first floor stairwell having suffered serious injuries including a broken back, significant head injuries and paralysis. She died approximately eight months later at the age of 61. After her mother’s death, a complaint was filed with the Illinois Department of Public Health who investigated the victim’s case. The IDPH cited the nursing home for Type A violations for failing to appropriately monitor and supervise the victim. Sacred Heart Home had previously been cited for failing to properly supervise residents. The complaint alleges that the nursing home staff failed to develop and implement a proper care plan based on the victim’s medical conditions. Attorney Michael Bonamarte believes that if the proper precautions were put into place, her accident and subsequent death could have been avoided. If you suspect nursing home negligence, find an Illinois nursing home lawyer.

Chicago nursing home lawyers Levin & Perconti have filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of a Harvard, Illinois woman who alleges that the nursing home failed to prevent a fall that led to her mother’s death. The woman is suing Sacred Heart Home in Chicago after her mother died after suffering from a broken back, head injuries and paralysis after she allegedly fell in a stairwell at the home. The 61 year old died eight months later. The case alleges that staff should have better supervised the victim because they knew she had been diagnosed with both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The wrongful death lawsuit is seeking damages in excess of $50,000, although Levin & Perconti attorney Mike Bonamarte states that they would be seeking an amount much greater than that. To read more about the Chicago nursing home lawsuit, please click the link.

Clearbrook East has received a Type “A” Violation and a fine assessment of $15,000 for failing to protect their clients. The nursing home must also develop and implement written policies and procedures that prohibit mistreatment, abuse and neglect of their clients.

The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators. To access the violation website, please click the link.

The family of a 95-year-old Illinois woman recently filed a nursing home negligence lawsuit, alleging that she fell on multiple occasions as a result of the nursing home negligence at her facility. The woman suffered multiple hip fractures after she was not properly monitored and supervised on at lest three occasions, despite having Alzheimer’s and dementia. This put her at a high risk for falling. The Illinois woman resided at the facility for a little over a month, yet suffered at least three falls that left her with serious and debilitating injuries. The complaint alleges the staff allowed the woman to walk in the hallways unattended in the middle of the night, despite their knowledge of her confusion. This lack of care allowed the woman to fall and suffer a hip fracture. Later, the nursing home staff left her unattended in her wheelchair, and she fell once again. The Illinois woman fractured her other hip when the nursing home staff left her in her wheelchair with the alarm turned off. The nursing home negligence lawsuit has been filed in Madison County Circuit Court in Illinois. To read more about the hip fracture, please click the link.

The wrongful death of an 85-year-old Chicago nursing home resident launched an investigation by The Chicago Reporter to determine the qualities of nursing homes throughout Illinois. The investigation found that the specific South Side nursing home has the worst rating that any home can receive and that residents get less than half the time each day with staff than residents at a predominately white facility in Evanston which is operated by the same owner. If this nursing home negligence lawsuit is filed, it will be the 14th in Cook County court against the Alden nursing homes between 2004 and 2009. That’s more than three times the elderly neglect lawsuits than half of the city’s 91 nursing homes, with the median number being four. Schlossberg has ownership in 30 homes in Illinois. An analysis of those homes revealed that there were racial disparities in the care that that residents received. Each of the three predominately black facilities received the lowest possible nursing home rating. The two facilities with the highest ratings had 84 percent white residents. Residents at the predominately black homes received much less staff time than residents of the white facilities. For example residents at the Evanston location received 5.53 hours of care per day, while the Harvey facility received 1.73 hours per day. The investigation also found that the disparities between black and white homes were even greater where at least 75 percent of care was paid by Medicaid. The idea that race plays a role a facility’s quality of care is greatly disturbing fact recovered by this investigation.

To read more about the disparities in nursing homes, please click the link.

For a map of the Schlossberg nursing homes in the Chicago land area, please click the link.

A woman is claiming she received injuries after a Cahokia, Illinois nursing home failed to provide adequate care. The woman filed the nursing home negligence lawsuit in St. Clair County Circuit Court. The elderly negligence lawsuit alleges that employees at the center failed to care for her as they should have by failing to develop an individualized comprehensive care plan to ensure that she was kept clean to prevent infection in the skin of her abdominal folds. Additionally, they failed to develop a comprehensive care plan for her to address her medical, nursing, mental and psychosocial needs. As a result of this negligence, the woman was injured and is seeking a judgment in excess of $50,000. It is important that nursing homes develop comprehensive plans for each individual resident in order to avoid nursing home negligence. To read more about the elderly lawsuit, please click the link.

The family of a 69-year-old woman has filed a nursing home negligence lawsuit against an Illinois nursing home for failing to protect her from being sexually assaulted by a 21-year-old mentally ill resident. The Elgin facility tried to cover up a brutal rape by calling it consensual sex. This is an example of how mixing frail elderly residents and younger mentally ill tenants in nursing homes can lead to violence if facilities do not monitor potentially dangerous residents. The 21-year-old was missing at bed check, but “no search was made or alarm sounded to alert residents and staff that a young, aggressive, sexual frustrated, convicted felon was prowling the halls oft he nursing home,” the suit alleges. A night shift nurse heard an elderly woman moaning and entered her room. She then found the woman in her bathroom and was trying to call 9-1-1 to report someone attacking the woman. The suit was filed in Cook Count Circuit court and seeks at least $50,000 in damages. The man has pled not guilty to aggravated sexual assault. To read more about the Chicago nursing home abuse , please click the link.

A 49-year-old Illinois woman was charged with felony theft and 20 counts of felony forgery after she admitted to writing 20 checks from the account of an 86-year-old woman she was caring for. Prosecutors say that the elderly woman was financially exploited out of $740. When police arrested the woman she told officers she felt bad about writing the checks and meant to tell the family, but didn’t have time. If you believe you are a victim of elderly financial abuse, find an Illinois lawyer. To read more about the elderly financial abuse, please click the link.

An Orland Park, Illinois nursing home has been sued for nursing home negligence after a resident with dementia was discovered lying on train tracks. The woman was suffering from cold exposure eight hours after wandering off during a group field trip to a local high school. The nursing home negligence lawsuit was filed in the Cook County Circuit Court against Sunrise Senior Living Services, the Brighton Gardens Assisted Living of Orland Park and the home’s Activity Director Debra Ann Adler following the incident that left a disabled woman with visible injuries. The nursing home negligence lawsuit claims that the woman suffered from various psychological and physical conditions, severe dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and required full-time supervision by staff. After the group arrived at the high school, the elderly woman wandered away unnoticed and was found approximately eight hours later one mile away, lying on train tracks with visible injuries she had suffered from falling down and being exposed to cold temperatures. The lawsuit alleges that the nursing home failed to properly monitor the elderly woman and failed to assess her risk of wandering off. To read more about the nursing home negligence lawsuit, please click the link.

Images of filth were the first things testified to at an elderly neglect trial. A paramedic described the cluttered home where ants crawled along the foot of an ailing 84-year-old woman’s bed. He immediately knew something wasn’t right. He testified that he found a cluttered home with a “distinct” smell of urine and feces. There was also testimony as to “an overall layer of filth” and unwashed dishes on the kitchen counter. The elderly woman appeared to be dehydrated and “emaciated” estimating her weight to be around 75 pounds. He also noticed fecal matter under her fingernails and urine soaked clothing. The man is mandated by law to report suspicions of elder abuse and thus told authorities that his 84-year-old patient could be a victim of elder neglect. The home was in Geneva, Illinois. The two sisters who were to take care of their ailing mother have pled not guilty to charges of criminal neglect of an elderly person. To read more about the elderly neglect, please click the link.

Attorneys Steven Levin and Margaret Battersby of Levin & Perconti have filed a lawsuit against Alden Poplar Creek Rehabilitation and Health Care Center in Hoffman Estates. Levin & Perconti filed the lawsuit on behalf of Warren Osborn for the wrongful death of his 94-year-old mother, Mildred Osborn, who was a resident at the nursing home.

When admitted, Mildred was assessed at being as high risk for falls and accidents which required her to have supervision and assistance with activities of daily living. Attorney Steven Levin noted that, “Mildred could not get around independently; she had difficulty walking and needed assistance moving from her bed to wheelchair. She relied on the staff at Alden to help her with almost everything.” After an initial fall, the nursing home developed a plan so that she would not suffer anymore falls. However, she two more times and required hospitalization. Doctors diagnosed her with a laceration above her left eye, a hip fracture and a subarachnoid hemmorage, or bleeding around the brain. She passed away four days later an her autopsy listed her cause of death as being attributed to the injuries she sustained at Alden Poplar Creek.

“Falls can have devastating effects on older people, leading to serious injury or death,” said Steve Levin. “In Mildred’s case, the nursing home knew she was at risk for falls and allowed her to fall on several occasions. Even after these falls, they neglected to implement new precautions to prevent her from falling again, and failed to consistently implement the fall precautions that were already required. Mildred’s death could have been prevented if Alden had only taken the proper steps to ensure her safety.”

In a recent Daily Southtown article, the writer spoke with the son of an elderly man who is accused of elder abuse homicide. According to the medical examiner’s office, the neighbors found the elderly man bruised and severely dehydrated at his home duct-taped and tied with a dog leash to a chair. He died from the elder abuse four days later.

To read more about the Illinois elder abuse homicide.

A McHenry, Illinois woman alleges that poor care at a Lake Zurich nursing home led to her mother’s shattered hip. Due to this elderly negligence, Levin & Perconti has filed a lawsuit against the facility. The nursing home negligence lawsuit was filed in Cook County Circuit Court against the Lexington Health Care Center of Lake Zurich, on behalf of Edna Kneidek who was 83. “We hope that our case will bring about changes at Lexington so that other residents don’t suffer like my mother did,” said Lisa. “We visited often, but there are so many residents who do not have family nearby to speak up for them. We do not want anyone else to go through what my mother went through.” The daughter alleges that her mother fell five times during 2007 while undergoing care at the nursing home despite staff member’s knowledge that she was at risk for falling. A fall in August of 2007 prompted the lawsuit when the woman allegedly fell and then complained to staff members of severe hip pain. However, staff members allegedly did not transfer her to a hospital for another five days. X-rays showed that the woman had shattered her left hip and realized she also had pneumonia. To read more about the nursing home negligence, please click the link

A woman was sentenced to two years in prison for abusing a 60-year-old woman in her care last year outside the woman’s home. The Cook County judge sentenced the former live-in caregiver as part of an agreement in which she pled guilty to events in the victim’s back yard in Inverness, Illinois. Neighbors reported seeing the woman hosing down the naked victim as she sat in a lawn chair. They also saw the woman strike the victim in the face with the hose’s metal nozzle and attempt to hit her with a mop. Police arrived and the woman refused to let him in the house. The police noticed old bruises on the elderly woman’s body and red marks on her face. The woman did admit that she had hosed the woman off, but denied striking her face. The woman was sentenced to two years in jail for elderly abuse. To read more about the Illinois abuse, click here.

Criminal charges are expected in the case of a nursing home resident who was found frozen to death outside. Authorities now believe that that woman may have been the victim of elderly neglect and a cover-up. The three daughters of the woman have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Illinois nursing home. Authorities believe that four women who work at the facility made the woman appear as though she had died in her sleep. The medical examiner’s report revealed that hypothermia was part of the reason for her death. It appears that the woman did signal an alarm, but a nursing home employee negligently ignored it because she was watching television. This nursing home negligence case is outrageous, and the DuPage state’s attorney’s office must investigate. To read more about the elderly negligence cover-up, click the link.

An employee at an Illinois nursing home was too absorbed by an episode of “Dog the Bounty Hunter” to respond to a security door alarm sound. The alarm was most likely triggered by the electronic bracelet worn by an 89-year-old resident who wandered outside the nursing home. The woman wrongfully died of exposure to the cold. Law enforcement believes that after the employees found the elderly woman in the subfreezing cold, they allegedly tried to cover up the tragedy by returning the deceased woman to her bed. The former Chicago woman, who suffered from dementia and other health problems, was a resident at the nursing home for nearly three years. At the moment, the nursing home is facing both criminal and civil charges after they originally told officers that the elderly woman died while asleep in her bed. Authorities became suspicious because the woman was dressed in a hospital gown and covered in blankets and lying on a gurney while hooked up to an oxygen machine. To read more about the wrongful nursing home death, please click the link.

Chicago person injury attorneys Steven Levin and Margaret Battersby of Levin & Perconti have filed a nursing home abuse and neglect complaint in Cook County Circuit Court against Lemont Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Lemont IL and Care Centers, Inc. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of James Nelson of Palos Heights for the wrongful death of his mother Loretta, in October of 2008. His mother died at the age of 87, two months after falling and fracturing her hip at the nursing home. Loretta was a resident at Lemont Nursing & Rehabilitation Center for seven years prior to her death. The family was initially pleased with the care that her mother was receiving but noticed changes once the new owners took over. They even hired someone to go to the home to feed her lunch and dinner when we couldn’t be there to make sure she was fed and hydrated. Then in 2008 their mother suffered a fall from her bed that resulted in a bruised left thigh. After this fall, the nursing home instituted a new care plan that called for the use of a low bed, a bed alarm system and floor mats on the sides next to her bed. One month later the nursing home staff found her lying on the floor next to her bed. Once again the woman had fallen out of her bed and fractured her hip. The Illinois Department of Public Health then cited the facility after this fall because investigators could not find any documentation that the new precautions were in place when she fell for the second time. After the second fall, the mother was taken to the hospital and released back to the nursing home. At this time her care worsened and she developed several pressure sores while at the home and became malnourished and dehydrated. She then died. Attorney Steven Levin was outraged when he heard this story saying, “As a resident for seven years, the nursing home and its staff were familiar with Loretta’s risk for falls. After her first fall, they failed to implement precautions to prevent further falls and Loretta soon fell again, unfortunately, hip fractures are extremely serious for the elderly, and she was never able to recover from this fall. Had the nursing home taken the proper steps, Loretta’s fatal injury may have been prevented.”

A woman who was too frail to get out of bed or change her clothes without assistance ended up leaving her Itasca nursing home last week and freezing to death in the courtyard. The family has now filed a lawsuit alleging elderly neglect and abuse on the part of The Arbor of Itasca, the nursing home where the woman had lived for more than two years. The major question is how the woman who had been suffering from symptoms of dementia could have wandered from her room and the building without staff members noticing. The woman was found dressed only in a hospital gown after being outside for at least 90 minutes, still wearing the exact ankle bracelet that should have triggered the alarm keeping her inside the home. Although the daughters of the woman say that they had never been concerned about the safety of their mother at the nursing home, public records show that the Illinois Department of Public Health had conducted 12 separate investigations in response to complaints. To read more about the pending nursing home lawsuit, click the link.

The family of a nursing home resident who froze to death outside is looking for answers. While the police are currently investigating the death, her family is outraged. Her daughter states that her mother’s greatest fear was to be alone and cold, which is the way she wrongfully died. The woman had been living at the Illinois nursing home for two years and had been suffering from dementia for more than a decade. The police have determined that elderly neglect contributed to the woman’s death. The focus of the investigation is centered on how an 89-year-old woman, wearing an ankle monitor, got through two doors with alarms in the middle of the night. The wandering woman then froze to death in the nursing home’s courtyard without being spotted. The Illinois Department of Public Health website shows that The Arbor of Itasca nursing home had more than 14 complaints filed against them last year. To read more about the wrongful nursing home death, click the link.

A Berwyn, Illinois nursing home has been hit with additional serious health violations. The Illinois Department of Health released an inspection report showing that investigators found six violations at the Berwyn Rehabilitation Center. One such violation stated that the nursing home failed to quickly treat patients with wounds. For two days, inspectors observed a woman with a large sore surrounded by dried blood receive no intervention or wound assessment. Inspectors also noticed another resident with a long redden area on the right cheek. Only after the inspector complained did the staff take notice. The inspectors noticed that the nursing home did not have a working mechanical lift to help residents out of bed, resulting in the facility not providing showers or getting some patients out of days. While the six violations were quite serious, they were much lower than the 25 violations that had been reported in July of 2008. The Berwyn nursing home was one of the 81 nursing homes in the Chicagoland area to receive a one-star quality rating by the federal government’s ranking system. To read more about the Berwyn home, click here.

An East Moline, Illinois nursing home employee is facing a felony sexual assault charge for an alleged elderly abuse incident involving an 82-year-old female resident. Police were called to the nursing home to investigate the alleged sexual assault. This alleged elderly sexual abuse took place at the Parkview Terrace nursing home in East Moline. Currently, Levin & Perconti has a nursing home negligence suit against this home. Levin & Perconti filed the suit after a resident wrongfully died. To read more about the sexual abuse, please click here.

An Illinois man is behind bars after police say he sexually assaulted an 82-year-old woman at a Parkview Terrace nursing home. He was arrested after a nursing home employee saw him raping a woman. The court records show that a 57-year-old worker at the nursing home had sexual intercourse with an 82-year-old resident. Another employee walked into the room and saw the man having sex with a woman who could not give him consent. The Illinois Department of Public Health has concluded an investigation and says that the nursing home did not violate any rules or regulations. Elderly sexual abuse cannot be tolerated at any nursing homes, and background checks must be done to ensure this does not happen. To read more about the sexual abuse, click here.

In a case of elder financial abuse, an in-home caregiver from Maywood, Illinois was arrested last year for stealing about $300 from the home of a woman with terminal brain cancer. Elders in nursing homes and those being cared for at other facilities or their own homes are at serious risk for financial exploitation, a form of elder abuse. The caregiver was recently sentenced to 180 days in jail by a DuPage County, Illinois court. For the full article, click here.

Elder abuse and neglect is widespread in today’s nursing homes and long-term care facilities. The failure to prevent falls among the elderly is one of the most common examples of negligence in nursing homes. Many of the falls that cause death or serious injury among elderly nursing home patients are, in fact, preventable. Patients should be evaluated on neurological status, debilitating diseases, drug status, mental state, sensory deficits, history of falls, and age. If they are deemed at any risk for falls, homes and facilities should take extra precaution to prevent injury. An at-risk patient should be escorted to the bathroom or frequently offered the use of a bedpan, for instance. Failure to supervise elderly at-risk patients could result in falls with serious consequences. Every elderly patient is entitled to proper and attentive care, and the prevention of falls is a responsibility of every nursing home and health care facility.

Click here for more information

High carbon monoxide levels were detected at a CHA senior housing building in the Lake View neighborhood of Chicago. The Mary Hartwell Cartherwood Apartments is a senior housing center operated by the Chicago Housing Authority. No one was personally injured by the toxic gas. Police were notified in the early morning of elevated readings on every floor of the nine-story building. Warming buses were brought to the scene but the building was not evacuated and all of the elderly residents were allowed to stay in their rooms. There were very high levels of CO in the building, but the gas company responded quickly and fire crews were able to ventilate the building without evacuating the 90 senior citizens living in the building. Authorities turned off the heat in the building and called in someone to perform maintenance on the furnace. To read the full story, click here.

Steven M. Levin and Margaret P. Battersby of Levin & Perconti filed a nursing home negligence lawsuit against an Illinois nursing home last week. The nursing home lawsuit was filed in Cook County and brought on behalf of a 77 year-old woman. The Illinois nursing home lawsuit alleges that the nursing home failed to monitor and treat pressure sores that ultimately contributed to the 77 year-old’s death.

Continue reading "Levin & Perconti files negligence lawsuit against Illinois nursing home for failing to prevent and treat pressure sores" »

Steven Levin and Margaret Battersby of Levin & Perconti filed a complaint in the Circuit Court of Cook County against International Village nursing home in Chicago. The complaint was filed on behalf of James Yearword who experienced elderly neglect while a resident at the nursing home in May 2008. The nursing home failed to care for James’ condition properly and he wrongfully died as a result at the age of 55. When the victim entered International Village on May 7, 2008 he was a quadriplegic and could not breathe on his own. The victim had a ventilator and tracheotomy tube that required daily maintenance and suctioning to keep it clear. On May 9, a nurse at the home was changing the oxygen supply on his ventilator and failed to turn it back on. For 24 hours, James had to breathe without the oxygen from his ventilator. The victim stayed in the hospital for several days and returned to International Village 4 days later. When he was released from the hospital, his doctors gave the nursing home orders to continue tracheotomy care and suctioning, but included new orders to administer chest physical therapy three times daily. His physicians’ orders were never carried out by the nursing home staff and for thirteen days he did not receive chest physical therapy. In addition, the nursing home failed to suction his tracheotomy tube regularly.

On May 26, nurses found James unresponsive, pulse-less and barely breathing in his bed. After he was transported to the hospital he was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival. The Illinois Department of Health conducted an investigation that revealed a number of failures in care by the nursing home. The nursing home was then cited for improper elder care. Attorney Steven Levin stated that the victim’s case is “An unfortunate example of nursing home neglect. The nursing home staff failed to consider the proper care and therapy that his physicians ordered and that was required to help ultimately led to his death.” Mr. Levin believes that these failures led to the victim’s death. In February 2008, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) listed that International Village had poor inspection ratings and histories of serious problems. In October, International Village was one of the two Illinois nursing homes listed as a “Facility That Has Not Improved.”

A nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuit against River Valley Supportive Living Residence in Kankakee, Illinois and its former employee was settled for $500,000, the facility’s insurance policy limit, by Steven M. Levin, of the Chicago law firm Levin & Perconti, and James Spiros of Spiros & Wall. The suit was filed on the behalf of a 93 year-old woman who was a resident at the nursing home. The complaint alleged that she was sexually and physically assaulted by a 22 year-old former employee of River Valley, who now faces criminal charges of aggravated sexual assault. The complaint also alleged that River Valley’s administration ignored numerous complaints of sexual and physical assault by the victim in addition to ignoring reports from other residents that the victim claimed to have been raped. Further allegations included that the nursing home ignored obvious signs such as the inordinate amount of time that the employee spent in the victim’s room and the unusual amount of attention that he provided her, especially during bathing times. Instead of investigating the claim, the staff dismissed the charges as possible early signs of dementia, subjecting the victim to further abuse. During the victim’s final two months at River Valley, she suffered multiple personal injuries, including unexplainable bruises to her face, around her eye, on her elbow, inner arm, back, and wrist.

The settlement was reached back in June, 2007, but its details were not allowed to be made public until the recent unsealing of its terms by a judge. The Circuit Court of the 21st Judicial Circuit, Kankakee County, sealed the settlement, preventing both sides from disclosing the terms prior to the former employee’s criminal trial. The public announcement comes as state attorneys prepare to take the criminal case to trial.

One of Lake County, Illinois’s largest nursing home negligence lawsuits ended after the county agreed to a $1 million payment to the family of the woman. Lake County agreed to pay the settlement to the family of an Alzheimer’s patient who died at age 83 while she was a resident at the Winchester House in Libertyville. Levin & Perconti filed the lawsuit on behalf of the woman’s husband and daughters claiming that the county-operated nursing home failed to take proper measures to prevent the woman’s continuous falls. The woman was admitted to the Winchester House in January 2004 as her dementia had increased and she became unsteady in her walking. Attorney Steven Levin argued that despite her unsteadiness, the woman never had a fall assessment completed by the staff at the nursing home. He also stated that the nursing home took no significant action to prevent further falls after she tumbled six times in her first eight months at the home. Levin stated that the nursing home had six opportunities to assure future injuries would not occur. By September of 2004, nurses at implemented wheelchair and bed alarms, but the technology was not used properly and the woman fell two more times. These falls caused her to suffer brain injures and hip and elbow fractures. She died in early January 2005. According to Levin, the $1 million settlement is the largest nursing home settlement in Lake County history. To read the full story, click here.

Residents of Bourbonnais Terrace in Bourbonnais, Illinois were evacuated from their facility after the discovery of toxic asbestos. The building was forced to be temporarily closed due to the toxic asbestos. The nursing home has 197 patients, primarily mentally ill and immediate-care patients. They were dispersed to two different nursing homes throughout the area. On Oct. 7, the Illinois Department of Public Health received an anonymous tip about asbestos at the nursing home owned by Phillip Esformes. Tests were done the next day and airborne asbestos were found. The nursing home maintenance workers were renovating the building’s floor tiles when they released asbestos into the ventilation system. In violation of state law, nursing home administrators did not call a licensed asbestos contractor. All of the nursing home patients have returned to the Bourbonnais home, but the common areas remain closed. To read the full story, click here.

A report found that a nurse repeatedly told administrators that she feared a coworker was improperly drugging patients to keep them quiet during her shift. The Illinois Department of Public Health report states that the administrators did nothing to stop it. The nursing supervisor allegedly giggled and gave the nurse permission to continue playing “angel of death.” That supervisor is currently facing criminal charges. The former administrator and co-owner are denying that she knew that drugs were allegedly being mishandled two years ago. Steve Levin, who has filed a nursing home negligence suit on behalf of one of the victims, stated that many of the individual nurses had reported the incident to the administrator and the director of nurses. He further argues that the individual nurses has a responsibility to report this to the police when they did not get a response from the administration. The nurse had allegedly told co-workers that a particular patient “would not be bothering her” because she had given him a drug “cocktail”. To read the full story, click here.

A state report issued after there were six mysterious deaths at a Chicago, Illinois nursing home shows that the deaths may not have been mercy killings. The report indicates that the nursing home residents were killed because they were too difficult to deal with. The shocking report shows that the nurse talked openly of sedating or giving overdoses of drugs to patients who were either difficult to handle or who had lived long enough. The nurse in question has been charged with criminal neglect and possession of a controlled substance and her supervisor has been also been charged. Attorney Steve Levin stated that, “Other nurses had been reproving to the administration that the nurse under investigation was acting in strange and unusual ways and the administration ignored, if no encouraged, her actions.” The attorneys at Levin & Perconti have already filed on behalf of a nursing home victim. The Illinois Department of Public Health has issued one of the largest fines against a nursing home, $300,000. To read the full story, click here.

A report has found that the death of six elderly patients at a nursing home in 2006 may have been the work of a nurse overdosing patients she found to be troublesome or believed had lived long enough. A 130-page report from the Illinois Department of Public Health claims that the nurse told co-workers she gave restless patients drug cocktails to keep them calm and flatly stated that “she made sure” one patient would not make it through the day. The report was generated as part of a 15-month state investigation into six mysterious deaths at the Illinois nursing home. The nurse faces criminal neglect charges alleging she intentionally gave four patients unsafe doses of drugs, including morphine. All four residents died within some hours of receiving the drugs. The nurse is alleged to have told co-workers that she gave difficult patients a medication cocktail so that she could have a quiet shift. Levin & Perconti have already filed lawsuits on behalf of victims of the “Angel of Death” case. To read the full story, click here.

A McHenry County, Illinois nursing home was fined nearly $360,000 after regulators alleged that an employee used drug cocktails to ensure residents “would not be bothering her during her shift.” These fines were imposed after the Illinois Department of Public Health concluded that improper use of drugs like morphine sulfate contributed to the deaths in 2006 at the Illinois facility. The nurse is accused of stating that she made sure that a patient would not make it through the day. The nursing home was fined a record $300,000 by the state and the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services added another $57,350 in penalties. The Department of Public Health said the most serious violations involved the use of “chemical restraints” which are drugs used to sedate patients. State law prohibits using drugs to discipline nursing home residents or as a staff convenience. Levin & Perconti have already filed lawsuits on behalf of victims of the “angel of death” case. To read the full story, click here.

An anonymous complaint brought federal investigators to an Illinois nursing home. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sent investigators from a Medicare/Medicaid fraud unit to the nursing home. The unannounced visit is part of an ongoing investigation which arose from an anonymous complaint. Illinois has a Medicaid Fraud Control Unit that investigates and prosecutes Medicaid provider fraud and incidences of patient abuse and neglect. The nursing home had faced closure earlier in the year after the state found several deficiencies and halted Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements for new patients until the deficiencies were corrected. Less than a week later, the state had cleared the nursing home after receiving a corrective-action plan. To read the full story, click here.

Nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys Levin & Perconti filed a nursing home negligence suit against a Nursing home near Chicago, Illinois for the wrongful death of Mr. Joseph Pazera. Mr. Pazera received negligent nursing home care and treatment from Lexington of Orland Park. Mr. Pazera’s family, his wife, and his children trusted the nursing home to provide adequate care to their husband and father. On numerous occasions, however Mr. Pazera’s family found him left without oxygen he needed, without proper hygiene care and found that nursing home theft had occurred. While under the care of Lexington of Orland Park the nursing home transported Mr. Pazera to a local hospital but in transit the nursing home failed to provide Mr. Pazera with his oxygen. As a result of the negligent care and treatment Mr. Pazera received Mr. Pazera passed away. Survived by his family and friends a lawsuit has been filed against the nursing home by Levin & Perconti.

Levin & Perconti has filed a personal injury lawsuit on behalf of Reverend Clarence Ballenger’s family for his death as a result of nursing home abuse and neglect and common law negligence at Pavilion at Forest Park nursing home. The Reverend is survived by ten children and thirty-five grandchildren. Levin & Perconti filed the suit on July 15, 2008. Reverend Ballenger was a resident at the Pavilion at Forest Park, 8200 W. Roosevelt Road, Forest Park, Illinois and was under the medical care of several doctors.

continue reading . .

Levin & Perconti has filed a personal injury lawsuit on behalf of Theresa Alexander’s surviving family members. Theresa was a resident at Glenshire from February 2006 to February 2007. Theresa entered Glenshire at 22660 South Cicero Avenue in Richton Park, Illinois without any pressure ulcers. While at Glenshire, Theresa was noted to be at risk for falls and for decubitus ulcers, commonly known as bed sores. Despite these known risks, the nursing home did not care for her properly.

continue reading . . .

The wrongful death of a nursing home resident has lead to a nursing home negligence lawsuit. A resident in a Chicago, Illinois nursing home was beaten by his nursing home roommate. A lawsuit has been filed against the nursing home for negligence in its placement of an Alzheimer’s patient with a non-Alzheimer’s patient. The nursing home abuse and beating caused the death of a Chicago, Illinois nursing home resident. To read more about this story and the lawsuit click here.

A Chicago man was found beaten to death in the South Side nursing home All Faith Pavilion. The Cook County medical examiner's office determined that the Alzheimer's patient was beaten to death in the nursing home. All Faith Pavilion has a history of Illinois Department of Health Violations for nursing home abuse and nursing home neglect, having paid upwards of $80,000 in fines since 2004. The home's record of elder abuse includes two prior deaths. According to police information, the man's death was ruled a homicide.

See video coverage here.

Levin & Perconti has filed a nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuit in Cook County on behalf of Michael Tadelman’s daughter and guardian under the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act. The suit was filed on July 22, 2008.

Mr. Tadelman suffered multiple falls while in residency at Abington of Glenview. As a result, he had special designation as a fall risk and the nursing home was required to monitor him closely. Abington of Glenview and its staff failed to care for his needs properly: he suffered multiple falls during his residency.

Read the entire press release here.

Levin & Perconti has filed a personal injury lawsuit on behalf of Reverend Clarence Ballenger’s family for his death as a result of nursing home abuse and neglect and common law negligence at Pavilion at Forest Park nursing home. The Reverend is survived by ten children and thirty-five grandchildren. Levin & Perconti filed the suit on July 15, 2008. Reverend Ballenger was a resident at the Pavilion at Forest Park, 8200 W. Roosevelt Road, Forest Park, Illinois and was under the medical care of several doctors.

continue reading . . .

The daughter of a victim of an Illinois nursing home fire filed a lawsuit against the nursing home for negligence. Two elderly residents of the nursing home died after a fire started in a third floor closet. Due to their compromised evacuation abilities, elders provide a challenge for firefighters who must slowly and carefully evacuate residents. However, because of this increased risk, nursing homes need to exercise a higher degree of care and ensure proper evacuation plans are implemented.

For more information, click here.

Levin & Perconti has filed a personal injury lawsuit on behalf of Theresa Alexander’s surviving family members. Theresa was a resident at Glenshire from February 2006 to February 2007. Theresa entered Glenshire at 22660 South Cicero Avenue in Richton Park, Illinois without any pressure ulcers. While at Glenshire, Theresa was noted to be at risk for falls and for decubitus ulcers, commonly known as bed sores. Despite these known risks, the nursing home did not care for her properly.

continue reading . . .

Penny Whitlock, a former nurse and director of nursing at the Illinois nursing home, Woodstock Residence, now called Crossroads Care Center of Woodstock, requested that three charges against her related to nursing home abuse and neglect be thrown out. The charges allege that she neglected three nursing home residents by failing to blow the whistle on the mistreatment of another patient. Whitlock filed a motion asking the judge to throw out three charges for neglecting long-term care facility residents, claiming she cannot be charged for neglect of patients other than the one who she allegedly knew was being mistreated. In total, Whitlock is charged with five counts of criminal neglect of a long-term care facility resident and two counts of obstructing justice. Additionally, former Woodstock Residence nurse Marty Himebaugh was charged with, and pleaded not guilty to, four counts of criminal neglect of a long-term care facility resident, one count of obtaining morphine by fraud, and one count of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance. At the heart of the issue is whether Whitlock failed to take action after receiving complaints from other staff members alleging that Himebaugh was overmedicating nursing home patients with morphine and whether Whitlock urged Himebaugh to continue being an “Angel of Death.” The charges touch on nursing home abuse , nursing home neglect, medication errors, and physical or chemical restraints.

In a related suit, Levin and Perconti has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Woodstock Residence, Whitlock, and Himebaugh.

Read more here.

The Chicago nursing home fire that lead to the death of two nursing home residents has resulted in a nursing home wrongful death lawsuit in Chicago. The surviving family members have filed the nursing home wrongful death lawsuit alleging that the nursing home failed to ensure the residents’ safety. The nursing home fire started in the men’s room at night and eventually spread smoke throughout the floor. The nursing home was evacuated and residents were treated for injuries. In conjunction with their attorneys, the surviving family members will now try to get access to the scene of the nursing home fire.

Read the story here.

A hidden camera has caught nursing home abuse and neglect on tape and the footage was used to prove that a nursing home resident’s pressure sores were not adequately cared for. Per the doctor’s orders for pressure sore treatment, the resident was supposed to be turned every two hours. The cameras revealed to the family that the nursing home staff had not been turning and repositioning him and that the nursing home staff had lied on the charts. The state has responded by revoking the corporation’s business license and banning them from doing business in the state. Other complaints against the corporation include failure to maintain feeding tubes, nursing home residents being left to lie in their own waste for hours, and falsifying paperwork to cover up violations.

See the news story here.

A jury has granted a $300,000 verdict in a nursing home abuse and neglect case against the county that runs the nursing home. The victim, an elderly resident of the home, died in the nursing home after a fall. An error in the installation of a toilet seat and inadequate staffing caused the woman’s fall. The surviving family members filed a wrongful death lawsuit for the nursing home fall.

See more here.

The Hampton Plaza nursing home fire in Niles, IL that killed two nursing home residents and injured others continues to raise questions about for-profit nursing home facilities. The Hampton Plaza nursing home is a for-profit facility that contains 152 beds according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. The home provides a variety of nursing home services and other medical services. Hampton Plaza does accept Medicare and Medicaid residents. Often, for-profit nursing home facilities lag behind their nonprofit and public competitors in safety, quality of care, and have increased incidents of nursing home abuse and neglect.

See the Department of Public Health site here.

A local news affiliate has posted video of firefighters attempting to revive one of the victims of the Niles nursing home fire outside of Chicago last night that claimed two lives and critically injured other nursing home residents. The firefighters can be seen performing CPR on one of the victims. The Niles nursing home fire killed two residents who lived in the third floor room where the fire started in a closet. There is no word yet whether the families of the nursing home fire victims plan to file a wrongful death lawsuit or whether the injured nursing home residents will file a nursing home personal injury lawsuit for their nursing home injuries.

See the video here.

The Niles, IL nursing home fire that claimed the lives of two residents and critically injured two other nursing home residents has unearthed more information on the nursing home’s safety record. The nursing home was inspected in 2007 for fire safety and three minor deficiencies were found at that time. All three were corrected before re-inspection in November. There is no report available about any 2008 inspections to the home for fire safety.

See the story here.

A nursing home fire has killed two residents in north suburban Niles. The nursing home residents were killed by the fire which started shortly after 11:00pm in a third floor room. According to early reports, it appears the two men may have died from smoke inhalation in the nursing home fire. Though the nursing home fire was contained to one room in the six story complex, residents from the floor and surrounding rooms had to be evacuated. The entire nursing home was not evacuated.

Read more here.

Levin & Perconti has filed a nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuit and wrongful death lawsuit against Care Center and Helia Healthcare for the death of a nursing home resident due to osteomyelitis. The resident developed osteomyelitis, which is a bacterial infection of the bones, while in the nursing home’s care because her pressure ulcers and nutrition were not properly supervised. Malnutrition and pressure sores are a dangerous combination: malnutrition impedes a person’s ability to heal when afflicted with a pressure ulcer. Worsening pressure ulcers can spread bacterial infections to the body like osteomyelitis in this case. In this case, the pressure ulcers eventually required surgical intervention. The decedent is survived by four daughters and three sons.

Levin & Perconti has filed a nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuit and wrongful death lawsuit against South Shore Nursing Home for the death of a nursing home resident due to sepsis. The resident developed a sacral ulcer while in the nursing home’s care that was not properly treated and became septic. In addition to the nursing home failing to treat the septic sacral ulcer properly, the resident suffered from weight loss and malnutrition while at the nursing home. Malnutrition, dehydration and weight loss can seriously impede a person’s ability to heal when afflicted with a pressure ulcer and infection. Malnutrition also promotes the development of new sores. The nursing home also did not properly inform the family members of their mother’s care and status of her pressure sore and infection. The decedent is survived by 3 sons and 2 daughters who were all continually involved with their mother’s care.

A nursing home in Canton, Ohio has lost its federal funding for having too many violations. According to inspectors, each time they went to the facility there was another problem. Unlike large corporate facilities, many smaller homes survive on Medicare and Medicaid to supplement what individual residents can pay to live in the home. This facility had a troubling list of violations including a patient not getting blood thinning medication until five days after the doctor prescribed it, a resident reported an instance of patient on patient rape and the doctor was not notified until 11 hours afterwards, a patient had severely matted and soiled hair resulting from his hair only being washed two or three times in six months at the facility, and old, used syringes lying around in patient rooms.

Read the full news report here.

A nursing home employee has been arrested and charged with theft of medications from nursing home residents. The employee apparently switched prescription pain relievers with over the counter pain relievers and then gave the wrong medication to the nursing home residents. This case shows another example of how medication mixing, giving the wrong medication, and prescription drug theft are more and more common in nursing homes. Family and patient advocates should be sure to check with their loved ones in nursing homes to make sure the resident feels like their medication is working and should also watch how medication is administered.

See the news story here.

Levin & Perconti have filed a nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuit against Summit Assisted Living Naperville North for the wrongful death of an 87-year old woman under the Illinois Assisted Living Act. The woman entered the Summit Assisted Living center in 2005 with a condition called Meniere’s disease which disrupts a person’s normal balance in the inner ear, making her more susceptible than a normal resident to falls and losing her balance. However, the assisted living facility did not accommodate for her disorder and she fell 7 times in a 5 month period, leading to a fractured hip, multiple lacerations, and injuries to her right knee and back. This is an assisted living wrongful death action because the woman’s injuries – her fractured hip, damaged knee, lacerations and back injuries – precipitated her death.

A mental health nursing home has made the news for two colossal problems: frequent resident suicide and unsanitary conditions. Multiple residents in the past year have attempted suicide and the state inspectors believe mental health nursing home abuse and neglect may be the culprit. For instance, two residents jumped from a window and were severely injured in the mental health nursing home and one resident died in the nursing home and was not noticed for 36 hours. These incidents are clearly signs that something has gone terribly wrong. Another resident was found living in a room with a dirt floor, covered with earthworms. The state has opened a major investigation into the home.

Read the full story here.

Assisted living facility residents are increasingly in danger as incidents of assisted living facility abuse and misconduct by their fellow residents are more common. Recently, an assisted living facility saw two residents arrested in the same day. One resident was arrested for sexual abuse of an assisted living facility resident and the other was arrested for conspiring to sell drugs at the assisted living facility. Both residents have been removed from the facility, but neighbors and the town manager knew of multiple prior problems including failure to supervise residents and wandering.

For the full story, click here.

Investigators have asked the state to examine whether the professional licenses should be suspended or revoked for two former nurses at an Illinois nursing home charged with Illinois nursing home neglect after a string of suspicious deaths. The family of a 78 year-old resident, represented by Levin & Perconti’s Steve Levin, announced plans to file an Illinois nursing home neglect lawsuit.

For the full article.

Elder abuse in Illinois has increased by 53% since 1993 according to the Illinois Department on Aging. In 2007, 9,489 complaints of elder abuse were reported. Unfortunately, the department estimates that upwards of 90,000 cases of elder and nursing home abuse go unreported each year. As the population of Illinoisans over 60 is expected to rise above 3.7 million by 2030, this means that a staggering number of elder abuse cases could go unreported in the near future.

The new law will encourage individual counties to create task forces on elder abuse and will allow investigators to share sensitive patient information with team members, helping to shed light on often unreported cases of abuse. The new Illinois task forces will involve collaboration between medical examiners’ offices, state’s attorneys’ offices, county sheriffs, and the Illinois Department of Public Health and Department of Aging.

For the full story, click here.

A man who has been accused of running an illegal nursing home facility now faces up to six years in prison and $12,000 in criminal fines. The man is accused of abusing an elderly man in his care at the illegal nursing home facility. The reports of abuse included a tennis ball sized ulcer resulting from a bed sore, extreme weight loss and malnourishment, dehydration, withholding medication, and canceling doctor appointments. During this abuse, the nursing home operator charged the victim’s family $4,000 a month. This story highlights the importance of family members being involved and informed: family members should be sure to stay current with trends in the nursing home industry and learn how to spot signs of elder abuse.

Read the full story here.

Steven Levin of Levin & Perconti will represent Virginia Cole’s surviving family members in a nursing home abuse and wrongful death lawsuit. Virginia Cole was one of the victims at Woodstock Residences, the Chicago-area nursing home at the center of a pending criminal trial.

Two former nursing home employees of Woodstock Residences were charged in McHenry County with causing the deaths of four residents at the nursing home. The charges include criminal neglect of the nursing home residents and overmedicating patients with morphine.

At a press conference on Monday with the victim’s son in law, Steven Levin commented on the role of nurse Marty Himebaugh at Woodstock Residences: “The director of nurses at the facility -- and this is a quote from the indictment -- was encouraging Marty Himebaugh to act in a role of angel of death.” Mr. Levin will file suit in the Circuit Court of Cook County shortly.

To read the original article and see video, please click here.