Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog

The family of a woman who died while being cared for in a nursing home has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the nursing home for abuse and neglect. The family is suing because they feel that the nursing home neglected their daughter by not treating her properly and that her not receiving the proper care resulted in her untimely death. Shortly before her death, the family confronted hospital staff telling them that the patient looked uncomfortable and the staff told them that everything was under control. The next day the patient was in a catatonic state and ended up dying. The family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against not only the individual nursing home but against the company that owns this nursing home as well as many others for abuse and neglect of their patients. When asked about the lawsuit the company said they hadn’t had time to review the complaint fully and did not comment further. The issue of nursing home abuse and neglect is a common problem and happens in Chicago, Illinois as well. For the full story click here.

The family of a nursing home resident that died after a cerebral hemorrhage due to a fall while in her nursing home has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the nursing home. The patient had suffered four falls during her brief stay at the nursing home prior to her death, causing it to seem that the nursing home was neglecting to provide the appropriate care to their patients. While many nursing homes including ones in Chicago, Illinois have issues with staffing shortages which can lead to inadequate patient care and could lead to patient accidents, this nursing home seems to have neglect issues. This case is just one of many lawsuits that the company that owns this particular nursing home has received that claim similar neglect or wrongful death. An employee of the nursing home was previously sued for felony elder abuse after a patient showed signs of head injuries consistent with being beaten. The issue of nursing home abuse and neglect is a prevalent issue and is seen all over the country, including in Chicago, Illinois. To read the full story click here.

A nursing home resident that has been missing for several weeks was found dead on Friday morning. The patient suffered from dementia and went missing from the nursing home where he resided in early August. When questioned, the nursing home would not answer any specific questions regarding the case and there is no word yet on whether the family will be a filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the nursing home or whether the nursing home has any past history of nursing home abuse or neglect. For the full story click here.

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.

Vunies High, the sister of famous boxer Joe Louis, died earlier this year in an independent living facility. High was 92 and had early stages of Alzheimer’s when she was found dead outside of The Heatherwood in February of this year. She had apparently wandered outside where she then died. Yesterday a lawsuit was filed by High’s family against the senior living management corporation that ran the facility. In the suit, the family alleges that the company labeled itself and independent living center yet provided the same services that a nursing home or assisted living facility would. The company may have designated itself as an independent living facility because in the state where the accident occurred nursing homes and assisted living facilities are strictly regulated while independent living facilities are not. High’s family was not aware of this distinction when they placed High in The Heatherwood. Read more here.

The Pamela Shay Angel Arm Family group home, where two men recently died, was inspected in January; that inspection revealed for 29 violations. Amongst the violations were inadequately trained staff and failure to provide a clean, healthy environment. Three people with mental illnesses lived at the home when two residents, one 79, the other 47, both died recently because of heat stroke. The room they shared was more than 90 degrees in temperature, authorities said. The investigating detective has stated that charges are pending the final autopsy results. Both deceased men were taking anti-psychotic medications, which increase the risk of heat stroke as the medication impairs the body’s ability to regulate temperature. Apparently the men were not found until 8 to 15 hours after they had become incapacitated. There is no word yet whether wrongful death lawsuits will be filed in this apparent nursing home neglect case.

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Bond was set at $500,000 for a nursing home resident accused of brutally murdering his roommate at All Faith Pavilion. The man charged with the murder suffers from extreme dementia. He was found sitting outside his room with blood on his shoes and hands. The case demonstrates the general failures of nursing homes throughout the country to monitor and supervise their residents. All Faith in particular has been cited by the Illinois Department of Public Health on multiple occasions for deaths related to neglect.

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A recent state inspection of Alden Town Manor Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Cicero, Illinois revealed one resident who broke a wrist after a preventable fall, another with a pressure sore, and, finally, three more who had experienced unhealthy drops in weight. In December of 2007, the facility had been found to be in non-compliance with the laws that govern Medicare and Medicaid services, having six months to comply or have its public aid terminated. The six-month term is coming to an end and two weeks from now public aid services will no longer be available if the facility fails to become compliant. While termination of public aid is not necessarily a death knell for nursing homes, it is very detrimental as, on average, 90 percent of money for residents is provided by Medicaid. Facilities whose aid has been terminated have to turn to private funding, and existing solely on that is practically impossible. The original inspection came after complaints about two residents who had bed sores, a result of not being moved for a long period of time. This inspection led the Illinois Department of Public Health to give the nursing home a level 3 citation, on a scale of 1 to 4, 4 denoting such severity that a death has occurred or a resident is in danger of dying because of substandard care. In the most recent inspection, the resident who broke her wrist was known by the staff to be at risk for falls at the nursing home because of her behavioral history of wandering around the nursing home hallways and trying to move without the use of her wheelchair. It is not yet known whether the families of the victims will seek to file nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuits against Alden.

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A missing nursing home resident has left the facility he was residing in. A search continues for the 56 year old missing nursing home resident. Problems with resident wandering and resident elopement are often related to a nursing home failure to supervise its residents. So far no nursing home lawsuit has been filed against the facility. To read the full story and see a picture of the missing resident click here.

A nursing home lawsuit is to be filed by the family of a woman who was prone to nursing home wandering. The woman, a 46 year old, with a history of seizures and brain injuries was found naked in a motel in Chicago, Illinois after wandering off from an alleged negligent nursing home. The woman found in Cook County was beaten to death and had suffered serious personal injuries caused by an unknown suspect. The woman went missing after leaving Somerset Nursing Home. The family will likely also file a wrongful death suit against the defendant nursing home. To see the full story on this alleged Somerset Nursing home abuse click here.

Joyce Earline Bigelow, a patient at MontVue Nursing Home, died last October after taking a fall in the nursing home. Bigelow suffered complications after she fell while trying to use the restroom without assistance. The fall came after repeated instructions from Bigelow’s family to the nursing home staff that she required assistance when using the bathroom. After the fall, Bigelow suffered complications and died a few weeks later. As a result, Bigelow’s daughter sued the nursing home’s parent company for $10 million in compensatory and punitive damages. The parent company denies any negligence and claims that Bigelow did not fall, but instead that staff was helping her use the restroom when she became unable to support her own weight so they lowered her to the floor. The home claims that the staff then took her to a hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries. The family’s lawsuit allegations involve wrongful death and nursing home negligence.

Read more here.

A nursing home lawsuit was filed on behalf of a man whose mother was killed after wandering from a nursing home. The nursing home failures included a failure to ensure its residents were kept safe and cared for within the home. The wrongful death nursing home lawsuit follows after the man’s 94 year old mother became a car accident casualty after the nursing home failed to keep her within its premises. A nursing home's failure to supervise its residents can lead to multiple consequences including nursing home resident falls, nursing home resident wandering and nursing home resident elopment. To see the full story click here.

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.

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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.

An elderly couple has died in a nursing home, apparently the result of a nursing home murder-suicide. The husband of the nursing home resident, who often spent time with his wife in the nursing home, apparently shot her in the head before killing himself. News reports indicate that there was a suicide note that both had signed. This incident raises serious questions about the ability of nursing home staff to diagnose mental disorders and depression in nursing home residents. Often, nursing home psychological and psychiatric staff are in short supply and many nurses and nursing aides may not be trained to detect signs of mental illness. It is important that family members stay active and involved with their loved ones’ mental health.

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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.

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State health authorities have fined a California nursing home $100,000 in the death of a 91 year old resident who choked on food. The “AA citation” is the most severe penalty for nursing home abuse under state codes. The state assessed the fine for failing to find out what was wrong with the patient while he was choking, not providing emergency care, and failing to use procedures such as the Heimlich maneuver to try to save the resident.

For the full article.