Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

A Washington, D.C. emergency room doctor told a television news station there that he regularly treats residents of a particular nursing home for life-threatening effects of neglect. The doctor, who remained anonymous, told the capital’s ABC affiliate that he routinely sees patients from the Grant Park Care Center who are in danger of dying from preventable causes, including dehydration, malnutrition, kidney problems and pneumonia. The long-term care ombudsman for D.C., Jerry Kasunic, added unattended wounds to that list. The article reports that Kasunic’s staff has filed more than 100 complaints about the facility, but the city Department of Health has not been able to stop the problems.

This anonymous emergency room doctor told the news station that he frequently sees patients from Grant Park in critical condition. Unfortunately, for many older people, “critical condition” isn’t easily overcome. When patients already have serious health problems, malnutrition, dehydration or infection can exacerbate those problems, causing a decline in health that sometimes leads to death. By the time families discover the problem, they may not be able to do much to make a substantial difference in the victim’s health.

The article also mentions that the D.C. Department of Health has performed at least two inspections of the nursing home in 2008, both of which turned up substantial evidence of neglect. The department declined to comment for this story, so we do not know why it hasn’t taken action. However, regulatory agencies exist to spot and stop situations like this. If local or federal authorities cannot stop abuse or neglect at a nursing home, victims and families in Illinois can still seek justice through an Illinois nursing home abuse or neglect lawsuit.

A lawsuit can’t bring back a victim’s health, but it can help victims and their families secure the money they need for alternative care, medical bills and other costs of the mistreatment, as well as compensation for the victim’s pain and suffering. In cases where regulators refuse to take action, it can also perform the important duty of financially penalizing the wrongdoers and warning other families about their behavior. If you or someone you care about is a victim of nursing home abuse or neglect in Illinois and you’d like to know more about your options, please contact us through our Web site to learn more about your legal options.

Prosecutors in Minnesota filed nursing home abuse charges Dec. 1 against six teenagers who worked part-time at a nursing home in Albert Lea, Minn. The Associated Press reported that the teens, all girls, are charged with groping residents’ breasts and genitals; spitting in their mouths; and verbally taunting them, sometimes until they screamed. All of the victims had Alzheimer’s or dementia, according to the report. Two girls over the age of 18 are charged as adults with assault, abuse of a vulnerable adult, abuse of a vulnerable adult with sexual contact, disorderly conduct and failure to report abuse. Four others who are still juveniles are charged with failure to report abuse.

This is the sort of case that’s made to order for criminal charges. However, the prosecutor in the case has come under fire because he isn’t pursing jail time for the two older girls. In fact, he told the AP they would likely get suspended sentences and probation. Perhaps there are circumstances that make probation the right choice, but I hope these girls are held responsible for their actions in a meaningful way.

When prosecutors can’t or won’t pursue full criminal charges against perpetrators of nursing home abuse, families in Illinois and other states can also seek justice through the civil courts. You cannot send someone to jail with a Chicago nursing home abuse lawsuit, but you can still hold the perpetrators legally responsible for their actions. A financial judgment can be a strong message and a serious economic burden for a home that has unfairly profited from its abusive practices. It can also ease the family’s own financial burdens substantially, which can be very important if family members had to dip into savings, take a leave of absence from work or make other financial sacrifices to pull a loved one out of an abusive home.

Finally, it’s worth asking why teenagers were allowed to care for these patients without close supervision. Teenage girls working as nurses’ aides is nothing new, but working with mentally ill patients requires special patience and sometimes special skills. Skilled nurses and nurses’ aides are much more expensive to employ than teenagers -- for a reason. If cost-cutting is behind this story, the organization that runs the home may be liable, along with the perpetrators themselves (and anyone who looked the other way). If someone you love is a victim of nursing home abuse in Illinois and you’d like to know more about your legal options, please contact us at Abels & Annes today.

Money is tight everywhere these days, including in the budget of the State of Illinois. Unfortunately, this budget squeeze could have an effect on some of the most vulnerable people in our state: residents of nursing homes. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently ran an article on Illinois state budget cuts across the board, but one particular paragraph caught my eye:

In Illinois, State Comptroller Dan Hynes' office recently announced the state is roughly $4 billion behind in paying nursing homes, state contractors and others, with a roughly 12-week backlog, because cash flow into state coffers has slowed.

Earlier in the article, a representative of Lutheran Social Services of Illinois is quoted saying the state owes his organization -- alone -- nearly $9 million in reimbursements that have not been paid. Without that funding, organizations like nursing homes, hospitals and other human services will have to cut services.

Why does this matter to a Chicago nursing home abuse lawyer? Because the evidence suggests that funding is an important factor in the quality of care provided by a nursing home or other assisted living facility. Studies show that staffing levels, especially the number of registered nurses at the facility, have an effect on quality of care. And of course, a well-trained staff is relatively expensive. When there are more duties than there are staffers to perform them, tasks are more likely to be forgotten, delayed or intentionally ignored, and staff is more likely to turn over quickly.

All of this spells trouble for the residents of nursing homes. Even well-meaning staffers can forget things if they’re truly overwhelmed, leading to nursing home neglect. Staffers who are not so well-meaning can use the lack of oversight in a busy facility to steal from residents, over-medicate them, ignore their needs or worse -- all forms of nursing home abuse. The elderly, disabled and vulnerable in Illinois deserve better. Our Chicago nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys help victims of neglect, physical abuse, financial exploitation and other abuses at Illinois nursing homes. To speak with us about your own case, you can contact us through our Web site or call (312) 399-8988.

A man is suing the Illinois parent company of his former Iowa nursing home, claiming he was wrongfully discharged and abused by the home. After four months as a resident, the Quad-City Times says, an employee of Meadowlawn Health Care Center in Davenport, Iowa dumped the man in an unfurnished Illinois apartment with just $30 and four days’ worth of medication. Nine days later, he was admitted to the hospital with congestive heart failure. He also claims the home was understaffed, failed to give him his medication, didn’t respond to his complaints and harmed other residents.

This is the second lawsuit against Meadowlawn; the first was filed by the daughter of a deceased resident, who claims the facility neglected her mother. By failing to provide a proper diet or correctly treat the woman’s existing medical problems, the claim says, Meadowlawn contributed to a rapid decline in the woman’s health. She died just three weeks after she was moved to another facility. Meadowlawn itself was closed in September of 2007, after its Medicare funding and state license were revoked. It was fined multiple times in the last two years of its existence; its final fine was for moving residents out of the home with little notice to them or their relatives or choice about where they’d go.

If Meadowlawn was as bad as these two lawsuits claim, there could be more claims against its parent company. As a Chicago nursing home abuse attorney, I’ve learned that nursing home neglect is systemic. That is, if staffers are willing to ignore one patient’s need for food, water and proper medical care, the chances are good that they have ignored those needs for all of the patients, or at least all of those whose needs were difficult to meet.

To speak with the Illinois nursing home neglect lawyers at Abels & Annes, P.C. about your own case, please contact us at (312) 399-8988 or through our Web site.