Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog

Two sisters are on trial, charged with criminal abuse or neglect of an elderly person, after their mother was found dead in their care. Prosecutors in Kane County, Illinois believe that malnourishment, dehydration and the bed sores on the woman’s body were contributing factors in the elderly woman’s death. The medical examiner outlined the damage to the woman’s body at the time of her death, indicating she had 9 bed sores on her back, a curved spine and cancer. The victim had a 4-inch bed sore on her back that was so severe that it provided a direct way for infections to move into her bone marrow. A patient-care technician testified that when the woman was brought into the hospital her clothes were wet with urine. She also had fecal matter on her legs and ants on her clothing. To read more about the elderly abuse, please click the link.

A Brown University Study shows that more than 74,000 nursing home residents have bed sores in five states with high Mexican-American populations. This study mirrors conditions in Chicago, Illinois long-term care facilities. The report concluded that residents in nursing homes with overwhelmingly Latino patient populations are more likely to suffer from bed sores than those in nursing homes with mostly while patients. Experts say that there is a very limited methodology available to understand the course of life for Latinos in the U.S. and the stress that causes high mortality rates in an older Latino population. Chicago’s Latinos tend to be quite young, thus senior care is not the foremost health concern in the community. The large number of illegal Latino immigrants creates problems when many facilities are paid by Medicare. Governor Pat Quinn stated that he will commit $1.7 billion to help repay the state’s $2 billion in overdue Medicaid bills to health care providers. To read more about the nursing home study and it’s relation to Chicago, please click the link.

An expert on geriatric medicine testified that an 84-year-old Illinois woman did not die a dignified death under the care of her two daughters, both of whom are on trial in Kane County for criminal neglect. The two women are charged in connection with the wrongful death of their mother, who was found in squalid conditions in the Geneva, Illinois house that the three shared. The elderly woman, who had serious bedsores and weighed about 70 pounds, died a few days later in a hospital. The doctor, an expert on bedsores, testified that the woman’s two daughters failed to provide adequate care. The testimony focused on the serious pressure ulcers that were discovered once the elderly woman was brought to the hospital. The most serious ulcer was one that caused her vertebrae to be visible and resulted in damage to bone. This indicates the bedsore would have taken months to form and that the victim spent long periods in bed without being repositioned. To read more about the elderly neglect trial, please click the link.

A nursing home neglect lawsuit has been filed against a nursing home, contending that the doctors found maggots crawling in a 95 year-old woman’s bedsore. In addition to this nursing home abuse lawsuit, the facility has faced multiple state and federal sanctions. This nursing home lawsuit alleges that the victim suffered poor hygiene, bedsores with maggot infestation, malnutrition, weight loss and dehydration.

To read more about the nursing home neglect lawsuit.

In a February 2009 report from the Department of Health and Human Resource’s center, it was revealed that one in ten residents in nursing homes in 2004 suffered from pressure sores. The report stated that residents aged 64 years and under were more likely than older residents to have pressure ulcers, which is a reflection of nursing home negligence. Additionally, residents of nursing homes for a year or less were more likely to have bed sores than those with longer stays. The nursing homes are also not doing a good job at caring for those pressure sores. The report found that only 35 percent of nursing home residents with stage 2 or higher (more severe) pressure ulcers received special wound care services in 2004. The report reflects that unnecessary pressure sores are occurring in younger people who are there for short periods but also that the nursing homes are not aggressively treating them. To read more about this nursing home report, click here.

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 trial lawyer who was represented many victims of elderly abuse and neglect has seen enough in America’s 15,000 nursing homes. After a report by the Department of Health and Human Services found that 94% of America’s nursing homes violated federal and health safety standards it is obvious that the elderly are suffering and nothing is being done. Pressure ulcers have become all too common among the elderly in nursing homes. They often occur because nursing homes are so short staffed. Senator Chuck Grassley observed that more than half the nation’s nursing homes don’t meet the minimum for staffing. Corporate greed and a poor economy have contributed to these shortfalls in nursing homes. It is time that America wakes up to the substandard care that we are providing our elderly family members. To read this essay on nursing home negligence, click here.

CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) has published new guidelines regarding pressure sores (decubitus ulcers). SNFs (Skilled Nursing Facilities), like nursing homes and long-term care facilities, are commonly cited for elder abuse and neglect. Often this nursing home abuse and neglect can result in the development of pressure ulcers on elderly patients. The new regulations specify that “a resident who enters [a] facility without pressure sores does not develop pressure sores unless the individual’s clinical condition demonstrates that they were unavoidable.” With attentive care, pressure ulcers are usually preventable. Therefore, all nursing homes under the Medicare/Medicaid program will receive amplified attention from State Surveyors with the goal of zero tolerance for bed sores. This will put an increased burden on nursing homes and facilities to treat and prevent decubitus ulcers, which are often concurrent with elder abuse and neglect. For the full article, 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" »

The corporate owner of a Forest Park, Illinois nursing home pleaded guilty to felony gross neglect that resulted in the death of a long-term patient. The woman died at the Pavilion of Forest Park, owned by Forest Park LLC, in 2002. In September 2005, a Cook County grand jury indicated the company, along with its former medical director and wound-care physician. The woman lived at the home from May 2002 until her she died in September 2005. She was taken to the hospital where doctors diagnosed her with severe bed sores and tissue damage to the bone. Cook County Circuit Judge James Schreier ordered the company to pay a $25,000 fine and $75,000 in investigation and court costs for the nursing home negligence. The company also was sentenced to the maximum sentence of 30 months conditional discharge; however the nursing home had been sold to another company the past year. The charges began after the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Bureau and the Illinois state Police Medicaid Fraud Control Unit conducted an investigation. The case against the owner for elder abuse is still pending. To read the full story, click here.

A city and a home health care agency wrote a check for $600,000 to a woman with multiple sclerosis after she nearly died in their care. The settlement is for a negligence lawsuit alleging the woman was neglected in her wheelchair and was left for so long that she developed life-threatening bedsores. The woman is in a city-run program that pays contracted caregivers to take care of her at home. The plan has workers shift her weight every 15 minutes to prevent pressure ulcers or bedsores. In 2005, while the city was paying more than $3,000 a month for an agency to care for the victim, the caregiver at the time says she wasn’t moving the victim much at all. The worker wrote in a declaration that the victim complained of pain, but no one had trained her on anything to do with pressure sores. The suit alleged that the care providers basically left the woman to rot in her wheelchair. The victim was rushed to the hospital where doctors operated twice on the sores they had cut through to the bone. They were also infected with MRSA, potentially life-threatening bacteria. The victim hopes that the settlement money will buy her a better chair and pay for physical therapy. To read the full story, click here.

On October 24,2008, a lawsuit was filed against Washington Heights Nursing Home by John J. Perconti, of the Chicago law firm Levin & Perconti, for nursing home abuse and neglect. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the family of Stanley “Ted” Dancy, is for personal injuries that Ted sustained while under the nursing home’s care, which contributed to his death.

In September, 2007, Mr. Dancy began experiencing confusion and changes in his mental health status, prompting his doctors to recommend temporary rehabilitative care. Upon this recommendation, he was admitted to Washington Heights Nursing Home. At the time of his admission, Mr. Dancy had no evidence of skin breakdown or pressure sores but, after just one month at the Chicago nursing home, it was necessary to send him to Mr. Sinai Hospital where he was diagnosed with four advanced-stage pressure ulcers (or bed sores), a urinary tract infection, and malnourishment. After being treated at the hospital, his family decided to send Mr. Dancy to a different nursing home. Charlotte Parnell, Mr. Dancy’s daughter, stated, “there was no way that we were sending him back to Washington Heights. Unfortunately, by that time, it was too late to reverse the deterioration of his condition.” Unable to recover from the injuries that he suffered at Washington Heights, Ted Dancy passed away on December 12, 2007.

“We trusted Washington Heights to rehabilitate our father, but their lack of care or concern for him was astonishing. They clearly did not do all that they could have done to try to better his condition, instead they made him much worse,” said Ted Dancy’s daughters, Charlotte Parnell and Delorise Dancy-Johnson.

A nursing home negligence lawsuit was filed against South Shore Nursing & Rehabilitation Center by attorney John J. Perconti of Levin & Perconti on Friday, October 24, 2008. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the family of Lula Moore of Chicago, is for the personal injuries Lula suffered as a resident at South Shore, which lead to her death on November, 17, 2007.

Lula Moore was admitted to South Shore in August of 2007 after her doctors recommended that she be moved into a nursing home in order to receive constant care necessary for her Alzheimer’s. “We did a lot of research and we chose South Shore because of its reputation and that it was close to home to make visitation easier. We placed our faith and trust in this facility and thought we made the best choice for our mother,” said Brenda and Karen Moore, Lula’s daughters.

Lula had no signs of pressure ulcers, or bed sores, when she entered South Shore but just 3 days after her admission the staff discovered an ulcer on her tailbone. This sore progressed and required Lula to be hospitalized twice to surgically treat the wound, which ultimately declined to the point of infection. Lula’s doctors diagnosed her with Sepsis, a blood infection, and her health continued to deteriorate rapidly. On November, 17, 2007, 3 months after being admitted to South Shore, Lula died. The cause of death was determined to be sepsis as a result of her infected pressure ulcer.

The Illinois Department of Public Health investigated the circumstances leading up to Lula Moore’s death, found several deficiencies in the care provided by South Shore, and cited the facility for improper nursing care. John J. Perconti, the attorney who filed the case, stated, “Lula Moore’s case is a devastating example of nursing home negligence. The staff at South Shore failed to carry out a simple plan of care that would have prevented the pressure ulcer from forming. The facility also failed in its treatment plan, allowing the wound to become infected, requiring surgery and ultimately contributing to her death.”

Many nursing homes require residents or their families to sign arbitration clauses, whereby they sign away their right to bring suit in court for any abuse or neglect by the nursing home. A Senate committee is currently investigating the issue and heard from the family of William Kurth on Wednesday. Kurth fractured his hip and leg and received numerous pressure ulcers while living out his final months in a nursing home. His family attempted to sue for negligence, but the case was dismissed on account of his wife having signed an arbitration clause when her husband was admitted. Arbitration clauses benefit nursing homes because of their speed, cost, and, most notably, their confidentiality. The problem, however, is that most families are not thinking about suing a home when they admit their family member or loved one into the nursing home. Kurth’s wife, for example, was distressed about her husband’s recent stroke and overall condition and was, herself, taking medication when she agreed to arbitration. The Kurth family attorney called that day one of the most stressful in her life, and states that she would not have signed those papers if she knew what she was giving up: the right to a trial by jury. Kurth’s children allege that their father got infections because excrement and urine were left on his bed sores without being cleaned for multiple days in a row. While there is mounting support for banning arbitration clauses for nursing homes, the issue is still hotly contested and far from decided.

Read more here.

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.

Read more here.

On May 15 a 13-year-old Illinois boy died at University of Chicago Hospital after being brought there with very severe signs of neglect including ulcers, one of which was seeping pus, a black crusted patch on his tongue, and hair, skin, and nails that were flaking and dirty. His mother and two nurses were charged with his home care, where over an extended period his condition slowly deteriorated. Despite finding him when she started her shift lying in his own feces and urine, one of the nurses, Morris Lee Brinkley, failed to make a call to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, which could have saved the boy’s life. The other nurse, Loren Brown, knew that the boy’s mother was not taking him to doctor’s appointments, yet she did not call the Department of Children and Family Services either. Although both nurses claim to have notified their supervisor, she claims to have had no knowledge about the boy’s condition. The boy’s mother is far from without fault, however, as she had missed at least five medical appointments last year, had left him at a hospital once past his discharge date, and admitted to not bathing him in more than a year. The boy’s death has been ruled a homicide, and his mother and the two nurses have been charged with felony neglect and failure to report a neglected child. This boy's neglect is similar to nursing home abuse and neglect deaths where extreme neglect leads to severe injuries and even death.

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.

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 recent article highlights the dangers of residing in and placing family members in uninsured nursing homes. Uninsured nursing homes are extremely dangerous for residents because there is no way that residents can get fair and reasonable compensation for their injuries and families can recoup fair and reasonable compensation for their loved one’s wrongful death in a nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuit. The article highlights three tragic cases where a woman suffered severe pressure sores because nurses did not maintain her cast, another woman suffered when she was left on a bedpan for too long, and one resident died from dehydration in a nursing home. Unfortunately, none of these residents nor their families could fair and reasonable compensation for their injuries. Currently, the Illinois House is considering HB 5213 which would require at least $1 million in insurance coverage for Illinois nursing homes to protect residents who may be victims of nursing home abuse and neglect.

Read more about the dangers of uninsured nursing homes here.

Steven Levin of Levin and Perconti has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a Chicago nursing home for the death of a patient who developed pressure sores while under their care. The family chose the facility believing a promise that the staff would provide the best care for the deceased after he had just undergone extensive hip surgery, consequently requiring assistance from the nursing staff with all the tasks of daily living. His limited mobility placed him at risk for the development of pressure sores, and so his recovery depended on staff turning and repositioning him often and making sure that he had adequate nutrition and hydration.

Unfortunately, the care he was given proved to be completely inadequate. On many occasions, he was found in soiled clothing and bedding, was constantly thirsty but his requests for water were ignored. After voicing these concerns to the staff, the man’s wife was told the facility was simply understaffed. Only two weeks into his stay at the facility, he developed pressure sores. Again, when his wife complained to the staff, nothing was done, even though the staff assured her that he would be turned frequently and that he would get a special mattress to keep the pressure off the wound.

Four weeks into his stay, the man’s wife was informed her husband was being taken to a hospital because he was running a high fever. Doctors diagnosed him with a large, deep, and severely infected Stage IV pressure sore on his sacrum and a Stage II pressure sore on his left him and both heels. He was also suffering from sepsis caused by the pressure sores, dehydration, a urinary tract infection and malnutrition. He was never able to recover from these injuries.

Full article

New research suggests that the fight against pressure ulcers, commonly known as bed sores, will be most effective where facilities take a team approach to prevention. Estimates suggest that two million Americans suffer from pressure ulcers every year, many of which occur in nursing homes and similar facilities.

Preventing pressure ulcers is a round-the-clock job that requires a high level of monitoring by caretakers. Unfortunately, many nursing homes do not have the proper procedures in place to reduce the risk of pressure ulcers. A physician studying the impacts of collaborative efforts to reduce pressure ulcers suggests that facilities could achieve better results if nursing homes improved their documentation so that all relevant information about a resident would be readily available to any caretaker. Such documentation would also provide key reminders to nurses and staff members about the best practices for a particular resident. However, many facilities have no standardized procedures, and thus, it seems that these facilities are not providing the best care available for their residents. Institutional change and work-flow redesign could provide a solution to the widespread problem of inadequate nursing home care, especially with regards to pressure ulcers.

Full article:

A wrongful death lawsuit was recently filed against a nursing home where a 76 year-old’s pressure ulcers were left untreated until it ultimately caused his death. The family of the nursing home abuse and neglect victim said that the nursing home stopped giving her father physical therapy, which would have prevented the bedsore. Then, the bedsore went untreated for months.

For the full article.

Nursing home abuse and neglect has been consistently on the rise, and the rapidly aging population in the United States only makes this serious problem more worrisome. A recent study has found that from 2000-2006, there was a 22% rise in the serious reprimands nursing homes received for dangerous conditions such as medication errors, physical and sexual abuse, financial exploitation, and allowing patients to sustain injuries by falling or developing pressure sores; these are only a few examples.

The chance of this problem ceasing any time soon has been greatly decreased by the recent trend of private investment firms acquiring nursing home chains. The nursing home industry has been a sought after one as demands for long term care increase along with the aging population. Homes owned by private investment firms have proven to have conditions worse than other nursing homes. In 12 out of the 14 areas used by regulators to track ailments prevalent in nursing homes, homes owned by private investment firms scored worse than the national rates. According to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the residents at nursing homes and facilities owned by private equity are shown to suffer more from depression, loss of mobility, and inability to bathe and dress themselves. These homes also have more citations for things like inappropriately restraining residents and serving unsuitable or moldy food.

Steven M. Levin and Michael F. Bonamarte of the Chicago law firm Levin & Perconti recently filed a nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuit against Lincoln Home in Belleville, Illinois in the Circuit Court of Cook County on behalf of a man who was neglected at the nursing home. Lincoln Home assessed the 72-year-old resident upon his admittance to the facility and noted in his Plan of Care that he was at risk for falls and wandering.

Based on the nursing home staff's negligence and lack of supervision, the resident was allowed to wander off from the facility on multiple occasions and also sustain a fall that broke his hip and required surgery. Hospital staff noticed that the resident had developed two bed sores: one on his coccyx and one on his heel. The pressure sores developed because the nursing home staff failed to change the resident's clothes allowing him to lay in his own waste for long periods of time. The resident lost 30 pounds while at the facility, but after being moved to a different nursing home he regained his strength and positive outlook. Unfortunately, he has been unable to fully recover from his fall and is living out his remaining days in Hospice care.

There are many different forms of elder abuse and neglect and it is important to watch for signs of abuse in order to protect loved ones. Anyone over age 60 can be a victim of elder abuse. Elder abuse and neglect comes in many forms:

-Physical abuse
-Emotional abuse includes verbal assaults, threats, intimidation and harassment
-Confinement is restricting an elderly person without their consent. Many believe that restraining seniors with Alzheimer's or other illnesses should be restrained in order to prevent wandering off. This is illegal and there are better alternatives
-Passive neglect is when a loved one, caregiver, nursing home or assisted living facility is unable to provide a senior with the care they need. This can include failing to provide medication at appropriate times, causing malnutrition or dehydration by forgetting meals, allowing falls due to lack of supervision, allowing bed sores to develop as a result of neglect, failing to monitor the hygiene of the elderly person and more.
-Financial exploitation is the misuse of a senior's money, accounts, insurance, etc. It is the most commonly reported form of elder abuse. Many different types of people can exploit elders financially including family members, caregivers and employees of nursing homes or assisted living facilities.
-Sexual abuse is any type of sexual act or conduct performed against the elderly person's will.

If you are aware of elder abuse or suspect that a senior is being abused, call the Illinois elder abuse hotline at (866) 800-1409. It is available 24 hours a day.

A Louisiana jury recently awarded the family of a 84 year-old man $1 million in damages stemming from a nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuit . Shortly after entering his nursing home, the 84 year-old had to be taken to a hospital because of infected pressure sores, weight loss, malnutrition, and dehydration. The 84 year-old died six days later from the infected pressure sore, one of which was so advanced that it went to the bone.

For the full article.

A $1 million verdict was reached recently on behalf of the family of an 84-year-old man who died of infected pressure sores as a result of nursing home abuse and neglect. The man, who had lived at his daughter's home without complications up until his stay at the nursing home, developed stage IV pressure ulcers, weight loss, dehydration and malnutrition after only 26 days at the facility. The man was admitted to the hospital and died 6 days later as a result of those symptoms including a pressure sore so infected that it went to the bone and was infected with his own feces. The plaintiff was awarded $250,000 in survival damages, $500,000 in wrongful death damages, and an additional $250,000 for the nursing home's medical malpractice and neglect.

The family of a deceased Chicago nursing home resident has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Villa Scalabrini Nursing and Rehabilitation Center for failing to provide care. The man was first admitted to the nursing home after a stroke. Over the next year, the man lost 43 pounds and developed multiple pressure ulcers over the lower part of his body.

Also named in the nursing home neglect lawsuit is Westlake Community Hospital in Melrose Park for its failure to ensure that hospital staff made sure that the man received the nutrition and water he needed. Westlake Community Hospital, as well as the Villa Scalabrini nursing home, is a part of the Resurrection Health Care system, which is named in this suit. The family has hired the law firm Levin & Perconti to handle their case.

Click here for the full article.

Susan L. Novosad of Chicago-based law firm Levin & Perconti has recently filed a lawsuit against Manor Care of Oak Lawn on behalf of the family of an abused and neglected resident. The resident, a 75-year-old woman, entered the nursing home for rehabilitation after a hip fracture. She also suffered from Alzheimer's disease. The woman was a patient at Manor Care for only four weeks. During those few weeks, the patient developed severe pressure sores; one of the sores developed into a Stage IV pressure ulcer. The woman was eventually taken to the hospital for wrist pain, but during that visit she was diagnosed with pneumonia, dehydration, severe malnutrition and sepsis (an infection in her blood), in addition to the bed sores. The malnutrition and dehydration caused the patient to lose 13 pounds during those four weeks. As a result of these injuries, the woman ultimately died.

Family members had complained to the facility, but a nurse replied that she was too busy to take constant care of the patient. The nursing home is also accused of negligently allowing the patient to lie in her own waste for prolonged periods of time and failing to follow the orders of the patient's doctor, allowing for mistakes in the administration of medication and treatment. Novosad discovered that the woman's chart revealed that sixteen days had passed without any notes by a nurse. In regards to Manor Care's promise to sufficiently care for patients and meet their needs Novosad stated, "families really trust them. It's heartbreaking."

Click here for the full article

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" »

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

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.

Continue reading "Chicago nursing home neglect lawsuit filed against Manorcare Palos Heights " »

A nursing home lawsuit was filed today by Steven Levin and Michael Bonamarte of the Chicago-based law firm Levin & Perconti in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois on behalf of the daughter of 78-year-old resident who died on January 31, 2007. The lawsuit alleges that the woman died as a result of the nursing home abuse and neglect she suffered while a resident at Glenshire Nursing and Rehabilitation Center located at 22660 South Cicero Avenue, in Richton Park, Illinois. While a resident at Glenshire, the woman developed multiple infected pressure ulcers which ultimately caused or contributed to cause her death. The lawsuit also alleges that the staff at Glenshire Nursing and Rehab Center allowed the resident to become dehydrated and malnourished.

Click here for the press release

Levin & Perconti recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of the wife of a nursing home resident who died as a result of neglect at the home. The home, William L. Dawson Nursing Center, acted neglectfully in allowing the resident to develop bedsores and failing to prevent them from worsening over time. The suit alleges that multiple infected pressure sores, sepsis, dehydration and malnutrition caused by the neglect of the nursing home eventually led to the resident's death. Sadly, this is only one example of negligent nursing homes allowing patients to develop bedsores and preventing the sores from worsening.

Steven M. Levin of the Chicago-based law firm Levin & Perconti filed a nursing home negligence lawsuit today in Lake County, Illinois on behalf of 65-year old Barbara Clapman against Manorcare at Libertyville, alleging neglect and mistreatment. The facility has also been cited by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) for neglect and improper nursing care.

During her stay at the Manorcare Nursing Home, Ms. Clapman was neglected so badly that she developed severely infected pressure ulcers. One of the pressure sores, located in the sacrum area, became so deep that it caused osteomyelitis, an infection in the bone.

Click here for the press release

The family of a woman who died after residing in a Manor Care facility recently filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the national nursing home management corporation. The woman was only 53 years old when she became a patient at the Manor Care facility in Springfield, Missouri and was first admitted to the ManorCare facility for rehabilitation with a decubitus ulcer on her right buttock. However, during the course of her stay at ManorCare, this decubitus ulcer grew larger, worsened, and ultimately became infected. Sadly, this story is a common one for ManorCare facilities across the nation, and this case, like the ones that came before it, also alleges that ManorCare provided inadequate and negligent care.

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Levin & Perconti has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Chicago area hospital, Swedish Covenant Hospital, and Chicago area nursing home, Glencrest Nursing and Rehab. The lawsuit alleges that both Swedish Covenant Hospital and Glencrest Nursing and Rehab were negligent in their care for the nursing home resident. The man developed severe pressure ulcers while in the care of Swedish Covenant Hospital and Glencrest Nursing and Rehab, and the pain from these severe pressure ulcers caused such disability, disfigurement, and pain and suffering that the man requested to stop dialysis which caused, or contributed to the cause of, his death.

The New Jersey Hospital Association released today the findings from its Pressure Ulcer Collaborative and announced that it was able to decrease the incidence of pressure ulcers by 70% in just two years. These substantial successes were not the result of new pharmaceuticals or new technological breakthroughs. Rather, the health care facilities were able to drastically reduce the number of pressure ulcers with simple techniques such as: "complete skin evaluation within eight hours of admission; evaluation of the risk of skin breakdown using the internationally respected Braden scale; implementation of preventive strategies, such as proper positioning and use of assistive devices; and ongoing observation of the condition of patients' skin, particularly for those identified as being at high risk for developing a pressure ulcer."

Contrary to the common excuse of nursing homes and hospitals that painful and sometimes fatal pressure sores are somehow unavoidable, the findings of the New Jersey Hospital Association's Pressure Ulcer Collaborative show that health care providers already have the tools that they need to fight pressure ulcers. The key to the Pressure Ulcer Collaborative's success was a simple sharing of knowledge and improved efforts at coordination of health care services between hospitals and nursing homes. Said Aline Homes, RN, NJHA senior vice president of clinical affairs, "When caregivers communicate and work together, they can learn from each other and improve patient outcomes."

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The National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel recently released a new set of guidelines for health care providers to use in staging pressure ulcers. These updates reflect a better understanding of pressure ulcers, and they are intended to help differentiate pressure ulcers from other types of wounds. In addition, the new guidelines are expected to increase clinical utility of the staging system by providing greater uniformity, clarity, and succinctness.

Click here for the full article and the new guidelines.

A federal lawsuit has been filed against a Texas company which alleges that serious accounts of nursing home abuse and neglect were present in its five St. Louis area homes. Residents suffered from dehydration, weight loss, and bed sores. The seriousness of some of these pressure sores ultimately led to amputations. The suit also cites incidents where residents were allowed to wander and exit the facilities, where the staff failed to administer proper medication, and where the residents were forced to live in unsanitary conditions. The US Attorney alleges that the homes were seriously understaffed. The suit also accuses the company of false and fraudulent billings to Medicare and Medicaid programs.

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Federal authorities have joined two nurses who have filed a qui tam action against a company that operated five nursing homes in the St. Louis area. Qui tam lawsuits, or whistleblower lawsuits, are filed on behalf of the United States government. In this case, the whistleblower nurses had knowledge that the nursing homes they worked in were defrauding the government by charging Medicare and Medicaid for services that were actually "worthless." Cathedral Rock slashed its nursing staff to cut costs, failed to pay property taxes, failed to pay vendors, continued to employ staff who failed drug screenings, failed to properly lock up medications, and consistently neglected its residents.

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A 56-year-old Chicago area assisted living facility resident was recently awarded a $1,000,000 settlement in a law suit against Alden North Shore Rehabilitation and Health Care Center in Skokie, Illinois. The man, a quadriplegic, was a victim of abuse and neglect at the facility which resulted in the development of multiple pressure ulcers on his tailbone, hips and heels. The nursing home maintained that the victim’s severe bed sores were unavoidable for quadriplegics. However, when the victim’s wife removed him from the home, he spent a year receiving treatment at another Chicago area facility and the pressure sores healed. They have yet to return. The man’s attorneys, Steven M. Levin and Michael F. Bonamarte IV of Chicago law firm Levin & Perconti, said that the injuries resulted from the fact that the nursing home was understaffed, and the staff it did employ was inadequately trained. Levin & Perconti has extensive experience representing victims of abuse and neglect who have suffered from pressure ulcers and the attorneys were able to prove that the bed sores were, in fact, entirely preventable.

Click here to read the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin article

A $1 million settlement was just reached against Alden North Shore Nursing Home in Skokie, Illinois. When a 51-year-old man was rendered a quadriplegic resulting from a work-related injury, he was placed in the care facility for rehabilitation therapy. When he developed severe bed sores on his tailbone, hips, and heels, the nursing home claimed that pressure ulcers were an unavoidable side effect for quadriplegic patients. After the man’s wife determined that the facility was neglecting to properly care for her husband, she brought him to a Chicago area specialty hospital where it took one year for the pressure sores to heal. Since that time, under the care of his wife, the man’s sores have not returned. Attorneys Steven M. Levin and Michael Bonamarte IV of Chicago law firm Levin & Perconti proved that the pressure sores were avoidable, as the man has been free of them since leaving the facility.

Michael Bonamarte commented, “This is a classic example of a nursing home facility that was understaffed and inadequately trained and supervised. When [the man] was admitted to the nursing home, they promised that they could meet his care needs. The nursing home broke their promise to [the man] and his family, and as a result [he] suffered needlessly.”

A resident in an Arkansas nursing home argued before her state supreme court that she should be allowed to sue for negligence on behalf of herself and all of the other residents of her nursing home. While a resident of Batesville Nursing & Rehabilitation, the plaintiff alleged that she and her fellow residents received substandard and negligent care due to chronic nursing home understaffing. As a result, the plaintiff developed pressure ulcers that were so severe that one of her legs had to be amputated. The lawyer for the plaintiff argues that a class action is appropriate because the evidence of understaffing and negligence would be the same for all the residents, as would the effects of understaffing on the nursing home residents' care.

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While a resident of Alden Lakeland Rehab and Healthcare center, an 80-year old man developed multiple bed sores, became malnourished and septic and eventually died from complications of these injuries. The man’s family has decided to proceed with a wrongful death lawsuit against the Chicago nursing home on behalf of the 80-year old man. The family is represented by attorneys Michael F. Bonamarte and Steven M. Levin, two Chicago attorneys from the law firm Levin & Perconti, who have been representing victims of nursing home abuse and neglect since 1992. The lawsuit alleges the nursing staff members at Alden Lakeland were negligent in failing to assess the resident for his risk of developing pressure sores and in failing to provide treatment to the man’s pressure sores once they developed. The home also allowed the man to become malnourished during his residency at the facility.

An 82-year-old woman died after just two months at a Chicago land nursing home. She developed severe bed sores and pressure ulcers due to the nursing staff's negligence. The woman was able to walk with a cane, and had no pressure ulcers or bed sores before entering the home. One of the pressure ulcers was so deep it caused osteomyelitis, an infection in the bone. She died due to complications of these injuries. The jury found the defending nursing home guilty, and awarded a sum of $1,200,000 to the plaintiff.

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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

The number of pressure ulcers throughout the U.S. remains unacceptably high. A recent study in the April 2007 American Journal of Nursing examined the incidence and high cost of pressure ulcers and presents the results of an implemented protocol to reduce the occurrence of the widespread problem. Clinical nurse specialists institute a Pressure Ulcer Prevention Protocol Interventions (PUPPI) at the Ohio State University Medical Center. The protocol is a nursing initiative that involves assessing risk and nutritional status, providing skin care, documenting, and giving referrals as needed. Pressure ulcer protocols have shown a decrease in incidence by almost 90% in nursing homes and almost 25% in critically ill patients.

For the full article.

A bedsore, properly known as a “pressure ulcer,” is an area of skin and tissue that has become damaged. Pressure ulcers usually happen when a person is in a sitting or lying position for an extended period of time without shifting his or her weight. The continuous pressure against the skin causes a decreased blood supply to that part of the body. Without the normal blood flow, that part of the body and the affected tissue dies.

For more information on bedsores.

From 2003 through 2005, Medicare beneficiary mortality rates associated with bedsores rose 9.03%, according to a recent Healthgrades study. For elder Americans residing in nursing homes, bedsores are common indicators of nursing home neglect.

For the full study.

Although mortality due to medical malpractice is relatively rare, patient safety incidents play a role in the mortality of Medicare beneficiaries. Patient safety indicates used in the Healthgrades study include: accidental puncture or laceration, complications of anesthesia, decubitus ulcers, failure to rescue, foreign body left in during procedure, latrogenic pneumothorax, selected infections due to medical care, various post-operative care incidents, and transfusion reactions. Although the rate has declined in the recent years, the 16 patient safety incidents studied by Healthgrades may have contributed to 247,662 deaths from 2003 through 2005. This is approximately a 21.35% mortality rate in Medicare patients potentially attributable to the development of one or more patient safety incidents.

For the full study.

A quadriplegic who suffered severe nursing home abuse and neglect at a Denver nursing home was awarded more than $3.2 million by a jury of his peers yesterday. The 41 year-old resident developed severe bed sores while at the nursing home. Additionally, the 41 year-old man was dropped on his neck and burned on his chest.

For the full article.

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.

A North Carolina jury awarded a $480,000 judgment when it found a Lexington nursing home responsible for the abuse and neglect of an 83 year-old Alzheimer’s disease patient. After 3 hours of deliberations, the jury unanimously decided that the Lexington nursing home owners had to pay the money to the victim and her family. The nursing home abuse and neglect resulted in numerous pressure sores on the 83 year-old’s body that eventually led her to be permanently crippled.

The woman entered the nursing home for care and rehabilitation following knee replacement surgery. Within two months, due to the nursing home’s abuse and neglect, she had lost nearly 20 pounds, was dehydrated, and suffered from multiple pressure sores.

For the full article.

The National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Committee (NPUAC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating patients and medical personnel on pressure ulcer prevention and care, and advancing research in the field.

The NPUAC’s website provides helpful information including definitions of common pressure ulcer terms, and pressure ulcer prevention tips.

To visit the NPUAC’s website.

For definitions of common pressure ulcer terms.

For prevention tips.

The FDA released a guide and recommendations for products that will treat chronic cutaneous ulcer and burn wounds. The guide also applies to pressure ulcers, a common symptom suffered by nursing home patients who have victims of nursing home abuse and neglect.

To view the guide.

Robert Wachter, the former CEO of American Healthcare Management, St. Louis, a now-defunct nursing home chain, pleaded guilty to criminal charges of healthcare fraud and conspiracy and failure to care for residents. The charges alleged Medicare and Medicaid fraud, and Wachter was named because he ordered cost cutting measures at the nursing homes. Three of the other 11 homes in the chain pleaded guilty. The homes were understaffed and unsanitary. The residents at the homes were suffering from dehydration, malnutrition and pressure ulcers, or bed sores, and did not receive adequate care.

From Modern Healthcare.

Steve Levin of the law firm Levin & Perconti was quoted in Crain’s Business this week for a case he is working on involving a 71-year-old man who developed pressure ulcers, or bed sores, during two extended stays at Advocate Trinity Hospital last fall.

For the full article.

This month, the National Citizen’s Coalition for Nursing Home Reform will kick off a two year commitment to improving the quality of care in the nation’s nursing homes. In conjunction with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care, the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, the American Health Care Association, the American Medical Directors Association, and the Commonwealth Fund, one of the foremost goals of the initiative is creating awareness on a national level of the grave conditions in many of our nation’s nursing homes. The initiative has enumerated eight specific goals it hopes to accomplish by the projects end:

1. Reduction in high risk pressure ulcers
2. Reduction in the use of daily physical restraints
3. Improvement in pain management in long stay residents
4. Improvement in pain management in short stay (post acute) residents
5. Setting individualized quality improvement targets
6. Regularly assessing resident and/or family satisfaction and incorporating this information in their quality improvement activities;
7. Reduction Regularly measuring staff turnover and working to reduce turnover rates
8. Adoption of consistent assignment whereby residents are regularly cared for by the same caregiver.

For more information on the campaign and NCCNHR, visit their website.

A two year national campaign to address quality in nursing home care will kick off with a summit on September 29, 2006. The goals for the project center around nursing home abuse and neglect and include: reduction in high risk pressure ulcers; reduction in the use of daily physical restraints; improvement in pain management in both long stay and short stay residents; setting individualized quality improvement targets; regular assessment of resident and/or family satisfaction; reduction of staff turnover; and adoption of consistent staff assignment whereby residents are cared for by the same caregiver regularly. One of the founders of the campaign is the National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform (NCCNHR).

To learn more about the campaign.
To learn more about NCCNHR.

Willow Creek Rehabilitation has been fined $50,000 for failure to have a system in place to timely identify, asses and treat pressure sores and have measures in place to prevent pressure sores from developing and promote the healing of existing pressure sores. This failure resulted in a resident not receiving timely care.

The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators

Last week, a Winston-Salem jury awarded $1million to the estate of a man who suffered pressure ulcers due to neglect at Springwood Care Center. The man’s estate sued for both wrongful death and personal injury.

While the jury found the pressure ulcers did not contribute to the man’s death, the jury found the home and nursing staff was negligent in treating the man and awarded the $1million for the man’s pain and suffering.

For the full article.

A Marshall County woman filed a lawsuit on behalf of her deceased mother against Cameron Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in West Virginia. The suit alleges that the home failed to provide the proper care to prevent, assess, treat and manage pain when her mother developed pressure sores. The facilities were unequipped to deal with her mother’s condition and failed to provide adequate staffing.

The lawsuit requests compensatory and punitive damages for pain and suffering of the nursing home neglect victim and sorrow and mental anguish for her family members.

Last October, Levin & Perconti settled a nursing home abuse and neglect case for $3 million, a record verdict for nursing home cases in Illinois. A 65 year old woman was the victim of nursing home abuse and neglect at Renaissance Hillside in Hillside, IL. The woman developed 4 large pressure sore affecting her back, foot, heel and ankle when the employees of the home failed to monitor, assess and treat her bed sores. Bed sores like these develop when blood supply to the skin is cut off for long periods by pressure and movement.

The woman was admitted to the home for rehabilitation after a stroke. She trusted the home to provide the things she could not give herself after the stroke: nutrition, hydration and movement needed to prevent the development of pressure sores. The chronic understaffing and lack of care subsequently led to the development of pressure sores on parts of her body unaffected by the stroke she suffered and the reason for admittance to the home.

In depositions, the employees of the home admitted they were understaffed and unable to properly turn and reposition the woman to prevent the development of sores. Further, nurses at the home admitted to administering medicine to the woman that was not prescribed by a doctor.

The judge granted leave to plead a willful and wanton count and include a prayer punitive damages. However, no punitive damages were paid towards the settlement.

To see the press release.

Levin & Perconti filed a lawsuit earlier this month against Advocate Trinity Hospital in Illinois.

The suit alleges medical malpractice in the wrongful death of a 70 year old man who died when the hospital failed to observe, assess, evaluate and report the patient’s changing conditions to his doctor and family members. The man developed pressure ulcers which became infected due to inadequate care.

The hospital then failed to appropriately treat the infection and provide nutrition and hydration to the man. Eventually the man died of multiple infected pressure ulcers, malnutrition, dehydration and sepsis.

During a recent deposition investigating negligent care at ManorCare Oak Lawn East, in Illinois, a nurse testified as to the negligent nursing care patients were receiving. The case concerned pressure ulcers and the nurse testified that the dressings on these ulcers were consistently not changed.

In one example, this particular nurse did her own "in house" test where she changed a bandage on an ulcer. She then placed a $5 bill over the bandage and another layer of dressing. When she arrived the next day, after the bandage had allegedly been changed; the $5 bill was still there. This confirmed to the nurse that the bandage had been left unchanged overnight, violating the care orders for the patient.