Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog

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.

A new survey has revealed that nurses working at nursing homes feel that there are fewer staff members than needed. Nearly three-quarters of nurses surveyed declared that at the nursing homes and hospitals they worked for, the staff numbers were inadequate. A lack of staff members can lead to neglect, and even abuse, as recognized by those surveyed, half of whom reported feeling that quality of care is on the decline. The problem of inadequate numbers compounds itself as more nurses leave their positions because of concerns about sub-par care resulting from the low numbers of staff. Most shockingly, little more than half of the nurses felt comfortable about the idea of one of their loved ones being treated at their respective facilities. This announcement by nurses shows that there is a rising danger of hospital injuries and nursing home injuries, especially medication errors, wrongful death, and other nursing errors as existing staff members are unable to keep up with high demands which can lead to medical mistakes.

Read more here.

A jury awarded $1 million in punitive damages to the family of a 104 year-old who died after a brief stay in a nursing home operated by Sunrise Senior Living. The jury found that the nursing home’s abuse and neglect led to her developing pressure ulcers. These ulcers could have been treated, but adequate measures, such as skin checks, were not taken by the facility. The woman only stayed in the Sunrise facility, one of 440 homes operated by Sunrise, for about two months. However, the facility’s negligent care of her pressure ulcers resulted in the woman’s death a mere two weeks after she left the facility.

For the full article, click here.

A recent study shows that elderly people with dementia who are prescribed antipsychotic medications like Haldol (haloperidol), Zyprexa (olanzapine), and Risperdal (risperidone), even for a short time, faced increased risks of ending up in the hospital and dying. Though there are limited alternatives to antipsychotics for the treatment of some behaviors associated with dementia and impaired cognitive functions, there is a clear indication that treatment with antipsychotics may lead to an increased risk of antipsychotic medication injury, nursing home wrongful death, and nursing home medical malpractice or medication injury. Elderly patients who were put on antipsychotics were 3.2 times more likely than individuals who had received no antipsychotics to be hospitalized or to die during the 30 days for follow-up.

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 nursing home has closed its doors voluntarily after five months on a federal list that catalogues the worst nursing homes in America. The federal list contains nursing homes that have repeat violations and that routinely lag behind federal standards. This home had been on the list for five months and had a record of nursing home abuse and neglect. The original corporate owner of the nursing home transferred its interest to a new party before the nursing home ownership corporation’s creator plead guilty to tax evasion and conspiracy relating to his ownership of more than 70 nursing homes.

See the story here.

Seniors now have a place to turn for advice and shelter when tragedy strikes. A community has now opened a senior abuse shelter and abuse hotline for seniors who need assistance. The community recently reflected that teenagers, women, and children have hotlines but not seniors. In response, a local community organization has provided an initial $100,000 budget to fund services after a saddening incident of elder abuse and neglect happened in the community. A local woman was found dead in her home after suffering from profound malnutrition after her daughter stopped feeding the elderly woman.

You can read more about the center here.

A jury has awarded a $900,000 verdict in a nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuit to an 86-year-old woman with Alzheimer's disease after she suffered a loss of dignity when police forced her to the floor of her nursing home and handcuffed her. The nursing home called for an ambulance to aid the resident, but the police answered the call as well when the nursing home stated that the resident was abusive and dangerous. When the police responded, they handcuffed the woman and placed her on the floor, face down, for six minutes before she was put on a stretcher. During this process, the nursing home resident sustained bruises and sprains. What is most outrageous is that the nursing home staff never told the family members about the incident; it was only from the family members of another resident that the victim’s family members found out why she had been injured. Luckily, closed circuit television captured the incident which proved helpful at trial. Even though the victim was not able to recall her loss of dignity due to her Alzheimer’s, the jury still found that she did suffer and awarded her the verdict.

See the news story here.

Ventas, once one of the poorest performing corporations in the health care business, has now turned its company around to be one of the most profitable. Ventas will move its corporate headquarters to Chicago, bringing a $10 billion portfolio of nursing home, assisted living, and health care facilities. In Illinois, Ventas already has significant real estate holdings after its acquisition of Sunrise Senior Living. Sunrise Senior Living has faced complaints to the Illinois Department of Health for nursing home abuse and neglect and has been the subject of individual nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuits.

Read more here.

The GAO has released a study on the results of federal monitoring surveys of state inspections in nursing homes. The federal government often contracts with state employees to perform annual compliance surveys which are a prerequisite to Medicare and Medicaid funding. The GAO’s report unfortunately contains some very troubling reports of nursing home abuse and neglect.

The study found that a substantial proportion of state inspectors and surveys miss deficiencies in nursing homes regularly, including malnutrition, severe bedsores, overuse of prescription medications and nursing home abuse and neglect. Some of these deficiencies are at the most dangerous levels and could cause immediate harm to nursing home residents. However, less serious noncompliance was more frequent: approximately 70% of state surveys missed at least one instance of low-level noncompliance.

Click to view the full text of the study or the abstract.

Continue reading "GAO Report Finds Faults with Current Nursing Home Compliance System, Recommends Changes" »

Steven Levin of Levin & Perconti will speak on nursing home abuse and neglect issues at an upcoming continuing legal education (CLE) seminar presented by JAMS during their CLE day on June 5th. The event is free and counts for 2 CLE credits.

The panel discussion is entitled “Nursing Home Litigation, Insurance, and Beyond” and will be headed by Hon. Julia M. Nowicki (Ret.) of JAMS, and feature Samia Amamoo, J.D. VP, Risk Management, of Boulevard Healthcare, LLC, Jean Golden of Cassiday Schade LLP, Lynn Reid of Johnson & Bell, Ltd., and Steven Levin of Levin & Perconti.

You may RSVP for the event by May 30th to Beth Horwitz at 312-655-0555 or bhorwitz@jamsadr.com.

A new report from the GAO has concluded that state nursing home inspectors are not reporting incidents of nursing home abuse and neglect, are failing to document them, and may be understating deficiencies at national nursing homes. The report comes as Congress considers a bill to increase fines to nursing homes that violate federal standards for nursing home care. Some states have begun to close repeat offender nursing homes who have excessive violations and incidents of nursing home abuse and neglect.

Read more 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.

The US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing on nursing home care this week. During the hearing, a government official told lawmakers that 20% of US nursing home care is directly harmful to nursing home residents. This means that aside from nursing home abuse and neglect, some nursing home care techniques are directly harmful. Additionally, the hearing provided valuable information on possible federal plans to centralize information about non-compliant nursing homes and new suggestions for quality of care policies.

Read more 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.

A Hillcrest-West resident has had her leg amputated after extensive nursing home abuse and neglect. The resident’s leg initially suffered from deep pressure sores which worsened because of the nursing home resident’s malnutrition. Apparently, nursing home staff neglected some of her feedings and failed to administer proper foods to help the pressure sore heal. The treating physician in the case said that this pressure sore and nursing home abuse and neglect was one of the worst cases he had seen in practice. Proper wound care and appropriate nutrition are essential to healing pressure sores. Unfortunately, in this case the pressure sore went to the bone and nearly caused system-wide sepsis.

Read the story here.

A southern assisted living facility may now face a state investigation after the police arrested a 54 year old man who resides at the facility for nursing home attempted rape of 89 year old resident of the facility. Police records show 273 police calls from the facility over the last two years, resulting in 30 crime reports. This incident of nursing home abuse shows the dangers that fellow nursing home residents can pose each other. Often, nursing homes do not screen incoming residents for previous crimes and criminal backgrounds. Furthermore, this story shows that it is not always nursing home staff that are accused of nursing home abuse and neglect; residents are often the source of nursing home sexual abuse.

See the full news report here.