Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog

A nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuit is being filed in New Mexico after a resident died in a nursing home. According to the plaintiff, his wife died as a result of gross negligence on behalf of the nursing home staff. He says that findings of two independent investigations by state agencies corroborate his nursing home abuse and neglect allegations.

The nursing home took the victim off of a drug and she then experienced withdrawal. Ultimately, the failure to give the drug to the patient resulted in her seizure and fall, the health department investigation found.

Although the plaintiff realizes that the lawsuit cannot bring his wife back, he hopes that it will help make people advocate in promoting awareness of the conditions at nursing homes.

For the full article.

The families of all 23 nursing home residents who died during their evacuation from Hurricane Rita in a bus explosion have settled their lawsuits against the nursing home. Terms of the settlement were confidential.

Two years ago, a Texas nursing home bussed residents north as Hurricane Rita approached. A rear wheel of the bus caught on fire on a freeway near Dallas and within minutes, the vehicle was engulfed in flames and smoke. Those who died in the fire were too frail to escape the bus on their own.

Victims and relatives of victims last year reached an $11 million settlement with the bus company.

For the full article.

A recent New York Times investigation into private equity’s practice in the nursing home business have shown America the truth behind elder care: a growing neglect. Private investors have found a way to make a profit on nursing homes by cutting costs and limiting their own liability for nursing home abuse and neglect. Although private investors can provide a needed financial boost to the nursing home industry, government regulations are necessary to protect the vulnerable residents from nursing home abuse and neglect.

For the full article.

A statement was issued by the President of the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care (AQNHC) in response to the New York Times Article released on Sunday in which the AQNHC surprisingly refuses to condemn the practice of providing less than quality care while simultaneously using corporate shells to operate long-term care facilities and avoid accountability. The AQNHC, a group committed to improving the quality of long-term care nationwide, takes the unsupported position that care in America’s nursing homes is improving overall, noting that the New York Times focused their analysis on only 10% of our nation’s nursing homes.

The AQNHC does not deny that care is being sacrificed at these private equity owned homes, nor do they condemn this practice. Further, AQNHC is non-responsive to the issue of accountability where the owners of long-term care facilities - those who reap the profits - are not held accountable for bad care.

Is the AQNHC applauding this practice or not responding at all? One would expect an organization that is engaged in improving care in our nation’s nursing homes to condemn a practice by profit seekers who cut resident services and staff, decreasing the overall quality of care provided to residents.

Instead, the AQNHC lauds the profession’s “demonstrated commitment to public data disclosure,” and transparency, asserting that nursing homes make data available for potential residents to assess the quality of the facility. However, AQNHC forgets that long-term care facilities’ receipt of Medicare funds is conditioned upon reporting this data, making such reporting essentially government mandated.

In essence, the AQNHC applauds long-term care facilities who participate in a government mandated regulatory scheme with no regard for the bad care residents suffer when profits are put ahead of people.

Click here for the statement.

In a recent wrongful death case, an Arkansas jury has returned a nursing home neglect verdict against national nursing home chain, Beverly Health Care. The case was filed by the family of an elderly man who was moved into the Beverly Healthcare of Camden nursing home after a shoulder injury. The man, who was independent and otherwise healthy before his injury, died of pressure ulcers, malnutrition, and other symptoms of nursing home abuse and neglect.

Continue reading "Arkansas jury returns $2.2 million verdict against Nursing Home chain" »

Twelve days was all it took for Manorcare at Peoria to neglect an 81-year old nursing home resident so badly that he was near death. Steven M. Levin, of Chicago law firm Levin & Perconti, filed a lawsuit today on behalf of the wife of an 81-year old man who died from complications of injuries he sustained in Manorcare at Peoria nursing home.

The 81-year old man was admitted to the facility for a short-term rehabilitation stay after a fall he sustained in his own home. A mere 12 days after the man was admitted, his family arrived to find the man unresponsive and struggling for breath. The man was transferred to a hospital where he was diagnosed with pneumonia, sepsis, acute kidney failure and dehydration. The lawsuit alleges that the staff at Manorcare failed to properly hydrate the man and assess his needs and risk for dehydration. The staff also failed to notify the man’s physician that his condition was deteriorating.

Further investigation revealed the man was needlessly in pain during his stay at the facility as he only received 40% of the pain medications he was prescribed. The Illinois Department of Public Health cited the facility for improper nursing care and failure to notify the resident’s physician and family of his change in condition.

Attorney Steven Levin explained the nature of James’ neglect: “In an unfortunate case of
improper nursing care, ManorCare failed to inform James’ doctor or his family that he was not eating or drinking and that his overall physical and mental condition had been rapidly deteriorating. Had the doctor been notified, a plan of intervention could have been established and implemented to prevent James from suffering needlessly. Whenever there is a significant change in a resident’s condition, it is the duty of the facility to notify the doctor and the family about these changes in a timely manner so the resident’s needs can be met with the appropriate standard of care.”

Click here for the Press Release

A WV resident recently filed a nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuit against a Greenbrier County nursing home. The nursing home abuse lawsuit claims that the facility’s abusive care caused malnutrition and dehydration of the 84 year-old woman who also suffered many falls. The nursing home neglect is also alleged to have led to the woman losing 12% of her body weight in less than three months.

For the full article.

Profits come before protecting our nation’s most vulnerable citizens. Nursing homes housing our nation’s elderly that are owned by private investment groups often put profits over people in operating their facilities, the New York Times reported on Sunday.

The Times piece revealed that since the year 2000, 1200 nursing homes have been purchased by large investment groups. While investors of these private groups have been making millions from operating these nursing homes, resident care has declined. The model these groups have been following – reduce costs, increase profits and quickly sell. The consequences of implementing this model are decreased levels of staff and decreased budgets for supplies, activities and other resident services. Decreases in care and services provided to residents leads to nursing home abuse and neglect, a prevalant problem in our nation's long-term care facilities.

Click here for the full article

He spent his life serving this country in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. His family never thought to save for his future medical expenses because they all believed the Army would take care of him. However, now that the veteran is 88, his savings is quickly being devoured by the cost of his nursing home.

His wife filed a claim in January to the Veterans Administration asking that it help pay for his nursing home care. As of mid-August (nearly $21,000 later), his wife had not heard back. His wife believes that the VA is waiting for the veteran to die so that they will not have to pay.

For the full article.

A nursing home neglect lawsuit was filed today for the family of a 75-year old woman who was neglected in a Manorcare nursing home in Oaklawn, IL. Susan L. Novosad, of Chicago nursing home law firm Levin & Perconti, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the family. The lawsuit alleged that during her four week stay in the Manorcare facility, the woman developed a severely infected Stage IV pressure ulcer. The resident also was allowed to become malnourished and dehydrated, suffering a 13 pound weight loss in only 4 weeks.

Eventually, the resident was hospitalized for sepsis and pneumonia, conditions the lawsuit alleges were caused by the mistreatment and neglect she suffered as a resident of Manorcare.

Attorney Susan Novosad said, “Nursing facilities like Manorcare promise families that
they can provide for the complex medical care of their loved ones. They promise to provide dignified care in a home-like setting. Helen depended on ManorCcre to meet all of her needs because she was unable to care for herself. Instead, she was allowed to suffer needlessly. ”

Click here for the Press Release

The family of a 46-year old disabled woman will received a $600,000 settlement from the nursing home that caused her death. Chicago law firm Levin & Perconti represented the mother of the 46-year-old disabled woman who died as a result of the neglectful treatment she received while in the care of Alden Wentworth Rehabilitation and Health Care Center.

The woman was admitted to the facility in Fall 2000. In only five weeks in the facility, the woman developed severely infected bedsores and became malnourished and dehydrated. She was hospitalized for sepsis before her death. The family’s attorneys alleged that the nursing home abused and neglected the woman, failing to provide the care and treatment necessary to prevent the development of bedsores and failing to treat the bedsores once they developed.

Specifically, Alden failed to keep the woman from developing pressure ulcers by not performing daily skin checks or turning and repositioning her. Her nutritional status
was also allowed to decline which caused her wounds to worsen.

Click here for the Press Release

An $800,000 settlement was reached on behalf of a cerebral palsy patient against Riverside Foundation, an intermediate care facility, for neglect of residents by Levin & Perconti. In addition to the developmental disability, the patient was also diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder which manifested in a behavior involving stealing food items and stuffing them whole into her mouth. The Riverside staff was aware of the resident's habit and was alerted of the need to provide one-on-one supervision of the patient at each meal in the dining room. The extension of the dining room procedures to outings outside the facility was not made. On a group trip to a pizza restaurant, the patient grabbed a piece of pizza and stuffed it whole into her mouth which caused her to choke and ultimately led to her death. Even though the staff was aware of the patient's tendency, they failed to extend supervision beside the explicit dining room procedures instructed, resulting in this tragic incident.

Two Oklahoma nursing homes are being sued by the EEOC over allegations of sexual harassment. The complaint claims that a former employee suffered sexual harassment when a male employee made lewd comments to her and tried to kiss her at both nursing homes. When the woman complained to management, they did nothing.

When employees are being distracted by sexual harassment, they undoubtedly pay less attention to the residents. This puts residents at more risk for nursing home abuse and neglect.

For the full article.

A 73 year-old nursing home resident thanks her doctor at the nursing home who took her off of the risky experimental drug that hospital doctors had administered to her. The 73 year-old began taking Avandia, an experimental blood sugar regulating drug, in 2004. Her daughter believes that the drug led to the 73 year-old woman’s heart attack in October of 2005. After the nursing home doctor received notice that Avandia was causing health problems, he took her off. She is doing better today than she was two years ago.

For the full article.

A Connecticut nursing home is being fined $75 a day because it is unable to pay a $228,000 nursing home abuse lawsuit settlement to the family of a 74 year-old Hartford man who died there in 2003. The 130-bed facility did not carry medical malpractice insurance at the time that the death occurred.

For the full article.

A nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuit has been filed in Chicago, IL on behalf of the family of an 85-year old resident who suffered needlessly at Manorcare Palos Heights nursing home. Steven M. Levin and Michael F. Bonamarte of the Chicago-based law firm Levin & Perconti filed the lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Cook County, alleging violations of state and federal law due to the poor nursing care the resident received at the Manorcare Palos Heights facility. In a detailed report from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), which can be found here, ManorCare was cited for failing to prevent Nancy Cirantineo’s mistreatment, neglect and abuse by their own staff members. Specific examples of staff mistreatment and neglect included delayed medical treatment, failure to provide necessary care and services, failure to provide necessary treatment to prevent existing pressure sores from worsening and failure to prevent the development of new sores.

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Illinois Citizens for Better Care (ICBC) reminds residents, family members and advocates that Illinois requires that all staff of