February 3, 2010

Golden Moments Senior Care in Jacksonville, Illinois Fined $50,000 for Nursing Home Neglect

State officials have fined the Golden Moments Senior Care Center in Jacksonville, Illinois $50,000. The nursing home was fined for poor care that has been connected with the wrongful death of a 74-year-old resident who choked on food. The elderly man was developmentally disabled and staffers knew that he had a risk of chocking on food. The nursing home employees did not feed the patient a proper diet. An Illinois Department of Public Health report revealed that the man had no teeth and should have ground up meat. However, the nursing home gave the victim a piece of ham that had only been torn into pieces. The man then collapsed and died upon eating the ham. The coroner found ham pieces and mashed potatoes lying next to his body and a wad of ham the “size of a tangerine” in his windpipe. The coroner than filed a complaint with the Illinois Department of Public Health. Golden Moments Senior Center has already faced fines after an employee was accused of nursing home abuse. This nursing home has been the center of many posts on this nursing home negligence blog as well. If you have had problems with Golden Moments Senior Center, please contact a Chicago nursing home lawyer. To read more about the choking incident, please click the link.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Golden Moments Senior Center, Incidents, Wrongful Death

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January 14, 2010

Chicago Lawyers Levin & Perconti File Nursing Home Negligence Lawsuit against The Renaissance at 87th

Chicago nursing home abuse attorneys Steven Levin and Margaret Battersby of Levin & Perconti filed a nursing home negligence lawsuit against the Renaissance at 87th nursing home in Chicago. The nursing home lawsuit alleges that the 92-year-old African-American woman died because the nursing home failed to properly care for her gastric tube. In December 2007, the woman received a gastric tube to receive food and medications and it malfunctioned. In May 2009, the resident’s g-tube fell out and the nursing home staff had to insert a Foley catheter to replace the tube.

The resident’s daughter then noticed changes in her mother’s condition and behavior. When the daughter brought this to the nursing home staff’s attention they ignored her complaint. On June 1, the Director of Nursing immediately recognized her urgent medical care. She was transferred to the hospital and died on June 2. The Illinois Department of Public Health launched an investigation and cited the Renaissance at 87th. Nursing home neglect lawyer Steven Levin stated that The Renaissance at 87th violated the Nursing Home Care Act by failing to provide the proper care to prevent the g-tube from malfunctioning. He added that as a nursing home lawyer, he oftentimes sees nursing home owners put profits before their resident’s needs. The resident’s daughter visited her mother daily and found that the staff had not bathed her or changed her undergarments. Many family members could not communicate their disapproval for the nursing care and had no advocates to speak on behalf of them. The Renaissance at 87th is among the many homes in Illinois that have a one star rating, the lowest possible, from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Nursing Home Compare Website.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Residents and Family Members, Chicago Nursing Homes, Levin & Perconti in the News, Nursing Home Abuse, Selecting a home, Wrongful Death

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January 7, 2010

Family Files Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuit

A family has filed a nursing home negligence lawsuit claiming that the 51-year-old wrongfully died as a result of the nursing home abuse. The family alleges that the victim was abused while residing at the nursing home. They also allege the nursing home left her malnourished. The nursing home did not properly treat her wounds, leaving her to rot to death. The woman was suffering from cerebral palsy and mental disabilities when a relative placed her in the nursing home. The nursing home abuse lawsuit states that the victim rotted to death as a result of the facility owners. Supposedly the nursing home employees actively hid the victim’s physical condition by wrapping her in blankets and a toboggan to cover her ears and face. A nurse is quoted in the lawsuit stating that “the staff failed to provide adequate and appropriate care, treatment and services.” The victim developed bedsores and smelled of urine. This type of nursing home abuse is deplorable and all nursing homes should ensure that this kind of abuse never occurs. To read into the nursing home abuse lawsuit, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Abuse, Nursing Home Abuse, Pressure Ulcers, Wrongful Death

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January 2, 2010

Illinois Nursing Home Fined

A Jacksonville, Illinois nursing home has agreed to pay a $6,500 fine over accusations of elderly abuse and negligence. Golden Moments Senior Care Center at 1021 N. Church Street and the Illinois Department of Public Health has agreed the nursing home will pay the fine. Additionally, a certified nursing aide was fired after claims that she committed nursing home abuse. The nursing home was fined because public health officials believed that the state failed to keep six residents form being mentally, verbally or physically abused. The report shows that one person was being threatened to have their throat cut, another was denied food and a resident was being taunted by one employee while the actions were videotaped. As of November 23 of 2009, Golden Moments has been fined more than $40,000 for substandard compliance with federal regulations. The October inspection revealed that the nursing home neglected to follow its policies and procedures for residents requiring partial assistance with feeding and failing to have a policy and procedure for assisting residents who eat too fast and are at risk for choking. One 74-year-old resident wrongfully died after choking on his food at the nursing home. The nursing home did have orders that they were supposed to watch the victim so that he did not put too much food in his mouth. To learn more about violations at the Golden Moments Senior Care Center, please click the link.

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Posted In: Failure to supervise, Incidents, Nursing Home Abuse, Wrongful Death

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November 18, 2009

Nursing Home Fined $90K in Man’s Death

A nursing home is facing a stiff penalty after state investigators found the facility did not adequately protect a 92-year-old resident from a fatal fall. The 120-bed nursing home received a “AA” citation and a $90,000 fine for the 2007 death of a resident. The state said the death certificate listed the victim’s cause of death as accident from falling down on his head in the bathroom. Falls are a common form of nursing home abuse. To read about the nursing home citation, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Wrongful Death

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November 14, 2009

Columbus Park Nursing & Rehabilitation Center Guilty of Nursing Home Abuse

Illinois state authorities are investigating the murder of a 72-year-old man by a psychotic felon residing in at the Columbus Park Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Chicago. The aggressor, Nauden, has a history of drug convictions and aggressive behavior. He is being charged with attempted first degree murder and aggravated battery of a senior citizen; however prosecutors are looking to upgrade the charges after the victim died. The alleged beating at the Columbus Park nursing home is emblematic of the volatile mix at some Illinois nursing homes. The victim was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and dementia. On Aug. 21the aggressor awoke in his room to find the victim eating off his lunch try. Nauden then tossed a glass of water in the victim’s face and began punching him. The victim then slumped into his wheelchair, unconscious and “bleeding, profusely,” from one eye. He went to the hospital and was put on a ventilator and died weeks later from the effects of the assault. Columbus Park employees had documented the aggressor’s history of “violent, aggressive behaviors” yet the nursing home neglected to protect the residents. Roughly a quarter of the 186-patient facility’s residents have a primary diagnosis of mental illness and almost half are felons. Only one other Chicago nursing home had more reports of assault, battery or sexual assault inside the facility. Illinois relies on nursing facilities to house felons and younger mentally ill adults more than any other state. The case is known as one of three resident deaths labeled as potential homicides in Illinois during the last 18 months. To read more about the nursing home negligence, please click the link.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Chicago Nursing Homes, Compromised Care: Tribune Investigation, Incidents, Wrongful Death

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October 31, 2009

Sedated Man Dies after Fall

Just eight hours after moving into the Pekin Living and Rehab Center, a man was approached by four employees who injected him with a high amount of the antipsychotic drug Haldol. According to state records this quickly sedated him, and he fell in his room several hours later. The fall hurt his head and he died at the hospital. The employee was not licensed as a nurse and did not have a doctor’s order to give the man medication. The death shows the reality that heavily drugged residents are oftentimes falling and suffering injuries in nursing homes. Inspectors have documented hundreds of instances of residents falling while on psychotropic drugs since 2001, yet the authorities have done little to address the issue. The man was admitted to Pekin Living and Rehab Center with a history of diabetes and breathing issues, but no records indicate that he was psychotic. After being given the drug the man’s pulse fell to 48. Six hours later he fell and struck his head on a fan. He died two days later of breeding in the brain. Tazewell County’s coroner ruled the death a homicide. The Illinois Department of Public Health fined the facility $55,000 and the nursing home fired the person who injected the dug. To read more about the wrongful death, please click the link.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Compromised Care: Tribune Investigation, Incidents, Wrongful Death

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October 13, 2009

Cook County Jury Awards $1 Million Verdict in Nursing Home Negligence Case

A $1 million jury verdict was entered in a nursing home negligence case against Lee Manor Nursing Home in Des Plaines, Illinois. The case involved the death of a nursing home resident who exited a window of the nursing home and died soon after from fall-related injuries. The wife and son of the decedent were represented by nursing home neglect attorneys Bryan Waldman and Patricia Gifford of Levin & Perconti.

The victim entered Lee Manor on July 23, 2003. Years before his admission to the nursing home, he was diagnosed as suffering from chronic paranoid schizophrenia and is severely blind. The victim required ongoing supervision and monitoring by nursing home staff. He was placed on a secured floor where the doors were alarmed and the elevators were keyed. However, the nursing home allowed the windows to open 8 and 1/8th inches, providing the victim an avenue to exit. On April 21, 2004, less than one year after he entered, the man fell from a window in his room on the fifth floor of the nursing home and died as a result of his injuries. The jury found nursing home negligence when the nursing home failed to prevent the victim from falling out of the window.

The Chicago nursing home abuse lawyers of Levin & Perconti are committed to protecting and vindicating the rights of nursing home negligence victims. Please contact the firm at (312) 332-2872 or click here to consult an Illinois lawyer.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Cook County Nursing Home, Levin & Perconti in the News, Nursing Home Attorneys, Nursing Home Negligence, Verdicts and Settlements, Wrongful Death

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October 9, 2009

Nursing Home is fined $90,000

A nursing home has received the most severe penalty under state law after an investigation concluded that inadequate care led to the death of a resident. The department of health said that the nursing home received a “AA” citation and a $90,000 fine from the state. He stated that the facility failed to implement a plan of care to prevent a resident’s injury. One nursing home patient wrongfully died after complications from a fall. Falls are a very common form of nursing home negligence. To read more about the nursing home sanctions, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Abuse, Wrongful Death

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September 15, 2009

Woman dies in Nursing Home as a result of an Infected Bedsore

A family has filed a nursing home negligence lawsuit after their mother died of an infected bedsore wound. The 73-year-old woman went to the nursing home hoping that it would be a temporary place of healing for her fractured arm. When she tried to leave the nursing home, she was denied an exit because she had a fatal wound. However, she had developed a bedsore due to nursing home negligence. Two years later she was still in the nursing home with court documents citing a dreadful bedsore wound. The woman’s daughter has now filed a nursing home negligence lawsuit claiming that the nursing home care staff was too busy to manage their mother’s basic needs. The bedsore had developed over her spinal cord and had darkened due to an infection. The doctors at the nursing home attempted to clean the pressure wound, while the victim writhed and yelled in excruciating pain. She then died shortly after. To read more about the bedsore, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Abuse, Pressure Ulcers, Wrongful Death

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September 10, 2009

Family Sues Nursing Home after Fatal Bedsore Leads to Wrongful Death

A 73-year-old woman entered a nursing home in 2005 after she fell and injured her arm, believing it would be a quick month stint for therapy. However, two years later, after repeated denied requests to go home, the woman died due to a horrific infected bedsore. Her daughter has filed a nursing home negligence lawsuit stating that none of the staff would check on her mother. On one visit, a family member went to change the victim’s gown and noticed a bedsore, already in an advanced stage, on their mother’s tail bone. The pressure ulcer was infected within days. The victim’s family states that you could put your whole hand down in their mother’s back and you could see the bones and spinal cord. Pressure ulcers are lesions caused by unrelieved pressure on the skin. They are largely preventable by making sure a patient is regularly moved or turned every two hours. However, they are fatal once they become infected. If you or a loved one has experienced bed sores as a result of nursing home abuse, please contact an Illinois lawyer. To read more about the wrongful death, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, National Nursing Home News, Pressure Ulcers, Wrongful Death

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September 6, 2009

Woman Claims Nursing Home Neglect caused her Mother’s Death

A woman claims a nursing home bears responsibility for her mother’s death. The nursing home negligence lawsuit accuses the nursing home of improperly looking after her mother. It states that the nursing home repeatedly violated the law by failing to assure and provide sufficient nursing home care to her mother. The woman suffered from bedsores, dehydration and malnutrition. According to the nursing home abuse lawsuit, the defendant failed to implement proper infection control procedures and failed intervene with appropriate medication. Also, it alleges that the nursing home made material misrepresentations to the plaintiff to induce reliance. The plaintiff is claiming that the defendant has negatively impacted her mental state. She is seeking damages including pain and suffering, mental anguish, emotional distress, humiliation and losses of companionship and inheritance. To read more about the nursing home lawsuit, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Abuse, Pressure Ulcers, Wrongful Death

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September 1, 2009

Nurse’s Aide Pled Guilty in Elderly Woman’s Death

A former nursing assistant apologized for allowing 89-year-old Sarah Wentworth to freeze to death last winter after she wandered out of her Itasca, Illinois nursing home. The nursing assistant never checked a door alarm that sounded at two in the morning when the elderly woman left the Arbor of Itasca nursing home during zero degree temperatures. The woman offered an apology after pleading guilty to criminal neglect an obstruction of justice in the victim’s death, which an autopsy concluded was caused by hypothermia. The woman was given credit for the six months in jail that she served since her arrest and was placed on probation for 30 months. The nursing home negligence plea brought little comfort to the victim’s family, who said the penalty wasn’t severe enough given the agonizing death of their loved one. The victim had Alzheimer’s and a propensity for wandering. After she triggered the alarm the employee did not check the door as required, but simply turned off the alarm and continued watching “Dog: The Bounty Hunter.” An investigation showed that the employees at the nursing home tried to hide how the victim died by returning her to her room and changing her clothes, although no other workers were charged in her death. The woman’s family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the nursing home. To read more about the nursing home abuse, please click the link.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Nursing Home Abuse, Wandering, Wrongful Death

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August 29, 2009

Nursing Home Death Leads to $26 Million Lawsuit

After two resident deaths, it became apparent that one nursing home was not operating at an acceptable level. One resident was covered in severe bed sores and developed an infection due to those bed sores. Another resident fell to his death. After a 26 million dollar nursing home negligence lawsuit was filed, investigators began finding more faults with the nursing home. The nursing home allowed 14 falls in one year even after precautions were implemented. Also, staff was unable to determine the severity of falls, which led to the wrongful death of a resident. Staff members tried to assure the family that the member died peacefully, however when they viewed their loved one they saw a huge bump on his head and many stitches. The family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit because they felt that the home did not create a safe environment. To read more about the nursing home negligence, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Abuse, Pressure Ulcers, Wrongful Death

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August 28, 2009

Nursing Home Blamed in Death of Resident

An investigative report showed that a resident hit his head on the floor when he was being transferred from his wheelchair to his bed with a mechanical lift. The man’s death was due to the injuries from the fall. A report from the Health Department found evidence indicating nursing home neglect. The nursing assistants were not following proper procedures when it came to moving the resident. They both gave inconsistent statements regarding the nursing home negligence. They have both been fired from their positions. Ensuring that a patient will not fall when being moved is an essential element of working at a nursing home. To read more about the nursing home negligence, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Wrongful Death

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Nursing Home Slapped with Wrongful Death Suit

A nursing home is the subject of a wrongful-death lawsuit for the second time in less than a year. The wrongful death suit was filed after a man who had severe mental retardation was taken to the hospital because blood was found in his urine. The wrongful death lawsuit claims that the victim had fallen from his bed because a nurse failed to raise a guardrail, and he hit his head so hard that he had swelling the size of an orange. However, the fall was not reported to hospital staff. The lawsuit is just one of the incidents of trouble for the nursing home. At least 28 complaints of nursing home neglect were lodged in the past two years. To read more about the nursing home abuse, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Wrongful Death

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August 21, 2009

Death at Burnham Terrace Home may be the Result of Nursing Home Abuse

In April of 2009, Levin & Perconti discussed the death of a nursing home resident in the village of Burnham, located in the southern suburb of Chicago. This death may have been the resident of nursing home abuse. The victim died on April 1 from injuries he sustained during an altercation, which may have been at the home. A further autopsy revealed that the man died from multiple person injuries he sustained during the attack. To read about this nursing home abuse, please click the link.

The Chicago nursing home neglect lawyers at Levin & Perconti have represented victims of poor care at Burnham Terrace in the past. If you believe a loved one has suffered injury or death as a result of nursing home negligence at Burnham Terrance, contact our offices at 312-332-2872 for a free consultation with an experienced Chicago nursing home lawyer.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Bad nursing homes, Burnham Terrace, Nursing Home Abuse, Selecting a home, Wrongful Death

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August 10, 2009

Nursing Home Aide Pleads Guilty in Patient’s Death

A 55-year-old former nursing home aide pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter in the death of an Alzheimer’s patient whom she fed steaming-hot cereal. The victim was being cared for by the hospice unit of a nursing home when the nurses’ aide poured hot Cream of Wheat down his throat. The cereal so scalded the victim’s mouth and esophagus that he was unable to eat any longer. He was treated for second-degree burns at a hospital and wrongfully died two weeks later. The nursing home assistant then pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter which is a misdemeanor of the first degree that carries a maximum penalty of 2 ½ to five years in prison. The woman cried on the stand as she admitted responsibility for not checking the temperature of the cereal before feeding the victim. Her elderly abuse heightened when it was learned that the man could not speak. The court did take into account that the aide was not acting out of malice when the nursing home negligence occurred. The nursing home let a half-day go by before seeking medical attention for the nursing home abuse victim. The state Department of Public Welfare revoked its provisional license in the wake of this and two other incidents. The woman was fired from her job at the nursing home but continues to work as a private attendant for an elderly woman. This is an example of why all nursing homes must do substantial background checks when hiring an employee. To read more about the wrongful death, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Abuse, Verdicts and Settlements, Wrongful Death

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Daughter and Grandson Arrested in Will County Woman’s Death

The daughter and grandson of a 91-year-old woman have been arrested on elderly neglect charges as a result of the woman’s death. The police arrested the two after suspecting that the elderly woman had been dead for some time before the authorities were notified. The suspicious conditions surrounding the woman’s death led to an autopsy. The autopsy revealed that the cause of death was “inanition and dehydration due to elder neglect.” This means that the woman’s death was caused by lack of food and water. The coroner even went as far as ruling the victim’s death a homicide. The two were charged in Will County, Illinois with two counts of criminal neglect of an elderly person and financial exploitation of an elderly person. Investigations had reveled that the two had taken money from the woman’s accounts. Unfortunately, elderly abuse oftentimes comes at the hands of a family member. To read more about the Illinois elder neglect, please click the link.

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Posted In: Elder Caregivers, Financial abuse and exploitation, Incidents, Nursing Home Abuse, Wrongful Death

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July 31, 2009

Nursing Home Sued After Wrongful Death

A man died two days after tipping over in his wheelchair near a nurse’s station in a nursing home. Now the man’s estate is suing the nursing home, saying that his wrongful death was due to elderly negligence. The lawyer’s assert that the home did not provide the man with adequate supervision when they failed to provide visual checks and appropriate restraints. The nursing home did not have an anti-tipping precaution, which is common in nursing homes that prevent nursing home negligence. The state’s department of health has now downgraded the nursing home’s license. Taking precautions will greatly reduce the number of falls that occur at nursing homes. To read more about the wrongful death, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Abuse, Wrongful Death

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The purpose of this blog is to deliver news and information that is relevant to our areas of practice. The news and information reported on this blog represent the legal actions of attorneys throughout the United States. Our firm does not claim to represent plaintiffs in all of the lawsuits, settlements, and jury verdicts reported, only those noted as Levin & Perconti cases.

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