nursing home negligence

Nursing Home Staff Should Be Doing This More Often

Published on: December 4, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

7 Hand Hygiene Truths to Keep Your Loved One’s Nursing Home Accountable

Hand hygiene for infection prevention is an essential part of the U.S. response to the preventing further spread of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities. Nursing home staff should especially adhere to the standard and transmission-based precautions when caring for their patients. Here is a closer look at seven truths provided by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to explain how properly cleaned hands of health care workers can protect our most vulnerable populations.

Alcohol-based hand sanitizer is more effective and less drying than using soap and water. Compared to soap and water, alcohol-based hand sanitizers are better at reducing bacterial counts on hands and are effective against multidrug-resistant organisms (e.g., MRSA). Additionally, alcohol-based hand sanitizers cause less skin irritation than frequent use of soap and water.

Residents Suffer From Neglect Amidst COVID-19 Battles

Published on: December 3, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Associated Press: “Residents are suffering and dying from neglect.”

The nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys at Levin and Perconti support a statement provided by The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care in response to a November 19, 2020, Associated Press report, Not just COVID: Nursing home neglect deaths surge in shadows. The article only confirmed what advocates for residents of long-term care facilities, care workers, and families have known for months: residents are suffering and dying from neglect.

According to the AP:

Nationally Recognized Nursing Home Abuse Law Firm

Published on: November 9, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Levin & Perconti 2020: Recovering 74+ Million for Clients

Last year, the attorneys at Levin & Perconti obtained more than $74 million in total settlements for their clients, placing the firm among the top 5 in the state, as ranked by Jury Verdict Reporter in its 2020 Settlement Report.

“We are deeply proud to be recognized for our success in securing top-dollar settlements for our clients,” said Levin & Perconti partner Steven Levin. “This is how we hold accountable those who cause injury and suffering to others.”

How You Can Help Illinois’ Nursing Home Residents

Published on: November 5, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Please Continue to Advocate for Nursing Home Residents

During these difficult times, it remains vital for patients and their families to understand that nursing home residents still have the right to proper care. And providers should always be held accountable when that care goes badly wrong.

The “Safe to Work Act” was recently introduced in the U.S. Senate. The Act is designed to provide an escape route for nursing homes if negligent care and harmful abuse harms or kills nursing home residents. This immunity would extend for five years and apply to all harm to nursing home residents.

Nursing Home Faces COVID-19 Criminal Charges

Published on: October 22, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Massachusetts Nursing Home Leaders Are First to Face Criminal Charges Related to Coronavirus Deaths

Holyoke Soldiers’ Home in Massachusetts is home to 76 patients who died due to coronavirus outbreak that began in March and led to 160 residents and staff members found to be positive for COVID-19. According to Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, two leaders of the veterans’ home have now been criminally charged for those related deaths. Healey said the nursing home officials are believed to be the first in the country to face criminal charges in connection with the pandemic.

According to McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, “A grand jury indicted former Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Superintendent Bennett Walsh, 50, and former Medical Director Dr. David Clinton, 71, based on their decision to merge two dementia care units, combining COVID-19 positive residents with others who were asymptomatic.”

How Illinois Nursing Homes Can Prevent Flu Outbreaks

Published on: October 19, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

COVID-19 Care Failures Should Prepare Illinois Nursing Homes for Influenza Outbreaks

In the last flu season, an estimated 35.5 million people were sick with the illness, 16.5 million people required a health care provider for their treatment, and there were 490,600 influenza hospitalizations and 34,200 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Due to the coronavirus pandemic and an estimated 213,000 related deaths and counting, medical communities agree that this year’s influenza burden may magnify one of the deadliest illnesses in the United States, with the elderly residing in nursing homes affected most severely.

Shockingly, U.S. nursing homes have the lowest flu shot rates among health settings, leaving many residents of nursing homes already at a significant risk of becoming infected with COVID-19, now left to battle influenza. And as we have witnessed with the rapid spread of COVID-19, many nursing homes and long-term care facilities are not necessarily prepared to prevent an infectious disease outbreak among residents and staff. The pandemic has brought renewed attention to nursing home quality issues related to infectious diseases, such as:

October Is Long-Term Care Residents’ Rights Month

Published on: October 15, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

October Reminds Us That “Connection Matters” for Illinois Nursing Homes Residents

Every day, Illinois families bring their loved ones to nursing homes all around the state, some feeling certain and others uncertain that they will receive the high-quality care and comfort needed and their rights protected. Unfortunately, willful neglect, preventable accidents and illnesses, and abuse occur even in the most highly-rated facilities. October is a time to remind families and residents of the many rights designed to protect them from these situations.

Residents’ Rights Month is an annual event held in October by the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care (Consumer Voice) to celebrate and focus on awareness of dignity, respect, and long-term care residents’ value. This year’s theme is “Connection Matters.” The theme emphasizes connections – to family, friends, and the community – as essential components of good health and residents’ quality of life.

Inspections of Illinois’ Worst Nursing Homes Show Abuse & Neglect

Published on: September 30, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Nursing Homes Cited for Mistreatment Are Flagged with Special Icon on Government Website

In 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service’s (CMS) Five-Star Quality Rating System via The Nursing Home Compare website added a new tool to help better identify elder-care facilities with extreme and troublesome care failures. When visiting the site, the most troubled homes, many with only a one-star rating, also display a red circle with a white hand inside. The stop-sign-like icon can be used as a way to warn families of long-term care facilities currently in non-compliance and those with a documented struggle to meet Federal and state quality care measures.

These facilities meet the following criteria:

Partners At Illinois Law Firm Recognized As Leaders

Published on: September 23, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Levin & Perconti Partners Chosen as Influential Leaders in Legal Profession

Levin & Perconti partners Margaret Battersby Black and Mike Bonamarte have been separately acknowledged for their work as leading attorneys in Illinois. Battersby Black has been nominated for her rising influence as a woman in the legal field and named to Crains Notable Women list for 2020. And, Bonamarte has been asked to join the Illinois State Bar Association’s steering committee on racial inequity.

In 2020, also Battersby Black and Bonamarte joined Levin & Perconti partners Steven Levin, John Perconti, and Susan Novosad for achieving the notable 2020 Illinois Super Lawyer title. The attorneys were recognized for individual and team work representing clients in medical malpractice and personal injury cases, including nursing home abuse and neglect. Bonamarte and Battersby Black were previously honored by the Super Lawyers Rising Stars program for early-career lawyers, multiple times.

How To Choose A Parent’s Nursing Home In 2020

Published on: September 2, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Transitioning A Loved One Into a Nursing Home During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Nursing homes and assisted living centers should offer a safe place for your loved one, whether he or she is your parent, a family member, or a friend who needs guided rehabilitation or to make a senior care facility their future residency. It is normal for you to have questions and be concerned as a quarter of all nursing home residents will experience abuse during their residency and the coronavirus pandemic has brutally targeted the elderly nursing home population.

As you begin your research, schedule a virtual tour of a facility, or speak with an administrator, review these questions to guide your learning about the home’s staffing, environment, and infectious disease outbreaks.