Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog

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.

Steve Levin and Michael Bonamarte of the law firm of Levin & Perconti recently settled a nursing home lawsuit for $532,000.000 on behalf of the family of an 83 year old nursing home resident who died from injuries she sustained during a fall.

The resident, who had lived at the Woodbridge Pavilion Nursing Home for approximately 3 years, had fallen several times at home. The Defendant nursing home knew she was a risk for falls. Despite this knowledge the Defendant nursing home failed to ensure that the resident was appropriately monitored and supervised.

As a result of the negligence of the Defendant nursing home and the failure on the part of the staff the resident wandered through an exit door and fell down a flight of stairs. The fall resulted in a bleed in her brain which caused her death a week later.

The nursing home was cited by the Illinois Department of Public Health for violations of the Illinois Administrative Code and OBRA regulations.

Click here for the press release

Steven M. Levin of Chicago law firm Levin & Perconti has filed another lawsuit against an Alden care center, Alden Long Grove Rehabilitation & Health Care Center, alleging that Alden failed to obey the Nursing Home Care Act and that the negligence of the staff at the facility resulted in the plaintiff's wrongful death. The family of the patient, a man who experienced severe weight loss at the facility, had taken action in alerting Alden staff and filing a complaint with the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). The IDPH investigation detected an inadequacy; the facility failed to implement a plan of care for the man's rapid weight loss. The patient lost an astounding 23 pounds between May and July of 2006.

In 2007, Alden Long Grove has been investigated 7 times by the IDPH. Alden care centers all over the Chicago-land area have been investigated 40 times. Levin & Perconti has filed numerous nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuits against multiple Alden care centers around Illinois.

Click here for the full article

It is important for families of nursing home residents to be aware of an important issue: signing nursing home agreements can wind up ultimately costing you large sums of money. The Elder Law Minute brings to discussion the fact that unfortunately, many nursing home admittances occur after a rushed discharge from a hospital, resulting in family members being forced to hurriedly sign mounds of paperwork. In some instances, family members signing papers as the "responsible party" guarantees that the resident's fees must be paid in full- if not from the resident, then from the responsible party. In the Nursing Home Care Act, a nursing home that participates in the Medicare or Medicaid program must not require a third party to guarantee payment. This is why it is important to make sure that paperwork is reviewed by an elder law attorney.

In a case of nursing home abuse and neglect, the Illinois Department of Public Health fined the Claremont Rehab and Living Center $20,000 for an incident that caused a 78 year-old patient’s death. The patient’s legs were amputated below the knee and was at high risk for falls. The DPH’s investigation led the agency to believe that the man’s fall and consequential death was as a result of the nursing home’s failure to supervise him. The fall caused a brain injury, which ultimately brought about the man’s death. The fine issued was for the most serious of violations of the Nursing Home Care Act, and was the third investigation made by the state for negligence leading to hospital or emergency room visits. In addition to the fine, the man’s family is being represented by Levin & Perconti in a personal injury lawsuit against the nursing home.

Click here for the full article

Steven M. Levin and Michael F. Bonamarte, IV of Levin & Perconti recently settled a Chicago nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuit for $925,000 against Manorcare at South Holland Nursing Home. An 86-year-old woman was so badly neglected that she developed severely infected pressure sores, and suffered malnutrition and dehydration during her three month stay at Manorcare. Despite regular complaints by family members, this visible neglect ultimately contributed to her death.

Her son stated, "Manorcare promised to provide the best care possible for my mother. My mom wanted nothing more than to regain her strength and independence so that she could return to her own home. She suffered needlessly because Manorcare did not keep their promise."

Manorcare’s staff failed to follow the orders of the woman’s doctor regarding her diet, causing her to become severly malnourished. Additionally, the staff neglected to reposition her and check her skin for any breakdown, triggering the development of severe pressure ulcers. The pressure sores caused a bone infection, as well as an infection in her blood (sepsis). After three months, the woman died from complications directly related to these injuries.

As noted by Michael Bonamarte, “These are exactly the type of injuries that the Nursing Home Care Act was intended to prevent.” Manorcare at South Holland Nursing Home is one of the many Chicago-area homes listed on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid’s Illinois Nursing Home Watch List.

Click here to read the press release
Click here to read the Chicago Tribune article

Steven M. Levin of Levin & Perconti and John P. Nicoara of Nicoara & Steagall recently filed a nursing home neglect lawsuit against an East Peoria nursing home on behalf of a resident who died earlier this month from head trauma sustained while under their care. The complaint alleges that while under the care of the nursing home, the resident fell and sustained serious head injury and a general decline in her health that led to her death.

Continue reading "Nursing home abuse lawsuit filed against Illinois nursing home" »

Three Chicago nursing homes were recently cited for type “A” violations of the Nursing Home Care Act by the Illinois Department of Health. One home has been fined $27,500 for its nursing home abuse and neglect in failing to ensure a resident who had a history of suicidal attempts did not possess a massive quantity of medications. The resident ingested pills and overdosed on narcotics. The resident was taken to a hospital where he died. The second nursing home has been fined $17,500 for failure to follow policy and procedure in monitoring blood sugar levels. The staff failed to report seriously abnormal blood sugar levels to a resident’s doctor, resulting in the resident being hospitalized. The third nursing home has been fined $60,000 for failing to comply with its plan of correction. Nursing staff failed to monitor and document changes in the conditions of two residents and failed to notify their doctors. As a result, two residents were hospitalized and one later died.

For the full release of violations cited.

A Peoria nursing home was recently cited for a Type “A” violation of the Nursing Home Care Act and fined $25,000 for its nursing home neglect. A resident was admitted with a stage one pressure sore. Under the Peoria nursing home’s watch, the pressure sore progressed to stage four. The resident was admitted to the hospital and died.

For the full release of violations cited.

The Illinois Department of Health recently released information about two Rockford nursing homes that were cited for type “A” violations of the Nursing Home Care Act. An “A” violation is the most serious licensure violation imposed by the state and pertains to a condition in which there is a substantial probability that death or serious mental or physical harm will result. One home was fined $6,000 for its nursing home abuse and neglect in failing to supervise a newly admitted resident who had a history of wandering. The resident was later found in the facility parking lot. The second home was fined $20,000 for failure to ensure that residents are free of medication errors. Two residents were given the wrong medication.

For the full release of violations cited.

The Illinois Department of Health recently released information about an Energy nursing home that was cited for a type “A” violation of the Nursing Home Care Act. An “A” violation is the most serious licensure violation imposed by the state and pertains to a condition in which there is a substantial probability that death or serious mental or physical harm will result. The Energy facility has been fined $5,000 for its nursing home abuse and neglect. The nursing home failed to supervise a resident who left the facility without the staff knowing. The resident was later found by police asleep, lying face down in the grass outside a house nearby the facility in 55-degree weather.

For the full release of violations cited.

Three Chicago nursing homes were recently cited for type “A” violations of the Nursing Home Care Act. The Chicago facilities have been fined a combined total of $35,000 for the nursing home abuse and neglect that occurred. Two of the facilities were cited for failing to ensure a safe environment for the residents. The third failed to monitor and provide supervision for a resident who displayed aggressive and harmful behavior toward staff and residents. The resident attacked and severely injured another resident, resulting in multiple fractures and impaired vision.

For the full release of violations cited.

A Hazel Crest nursing home was cited for type “A” violations of the Nursing Home Care Act and fined $20,000 for its nursing home abuse and neglect. It neglected a resident for approximately 14 hours because the resident had demonstrated animosity toward staff members. The resident was found behind a barricaded room door, dead on the floor.

For the full release of violations cited.

A Naperville nursing home was recently cited for a type “A” violation of the Nursing Home Care Act. An “A” violation is the most serious licensure violation imposed by the state and pertains to a condition in which there is a substantial probability that death or serious mental or physical harm will result. The Naperville facility has been fined $5,000 for its nursing home neglect. The facility failed to supervise a resident. Because of its neglect, the nursing home resident was able to leave the facility without the knowledge of staff and was found in the parking lot at 4:30 a.m. by pharmacy staff.

For the full release of violations cited.

The Illinois Department of Health recently released information about a Centralia nursing home that was cited for a type “A” violation of the Nursing Home Care Act. The Centralia facility has been fined $5,000 for its nursing home neglect. The facility failed to provide adequate supervision for a cognitively impaired resident when a resident left the facility without staff knowledge.

For the full release of violations cited.

The Illinois Department of Health recently released information about 3 Rockford nursing homes that were cited for type “A” violations of the Nursing Home Care Act. An “A” violation is the most serious licensure violation imposed by the state and pertains to a condition in which there is a substantial probability that death or serious mental or physical harm will result.

Continue reading "3 Rockford nursing homes cited for type “A” violations" »

The following posts explain the Nursing Home Care Act (NHCA) which is an Illinois law that encourages nursing home residents to contact attorneys and file lawsuits if they are abused or neglected in a nursing home.

To view the entire act.

Sec. 3-601
Under our law the owner of a nursing home is responsible and accountable in a court of law if you or your loved one is abused or neglected in a nursing home. Abuse and neglect often times results when a nursing home is understaffed. Abuse includes intentional misconduct like verbal, physical or sexual abuse. Neglect includes carelessness that causes injury, death or decline in physical or mental conditions.