Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

A Fresno, CA nursing home has been fined eighty thousand dollars for the death of a patient around four months ago, according to the LA Times. The deceased, a 54 year old schizophrenic patient choked on his food. The hospital allegedly knew that the man had trouble swallowing, and his food was always supposed to be served chopped or sliced. On the date in question, the nursing home served him meatballs that had not been cut up and he choked to death.

The death took place at the Raintree Convalescent Hospital. The nurse and the cook both admitted they should have chopped up the food, and that they simply forgot to do it that day. They were both fired by the home after the accident.

After being served the meal, the victim reportedly came out of his room unable to speak, and the nurse attempted the Heimlich maneuver. Paramedics were able to suction the meatball out, however he was pronounced dead a short time later at an area hospital.

An investigation by the California Department of Public Health found that the home knew of the patient's problem. State authorities then fined the nursing home $80,000.

The nursing home has been given a one star rating out of a possible five on the new federal rating system run by Medicare and Medicaid services.

If you think your loved one has been abused or neglected in an Illinois nursing home, contact Abels & Annes for a free consultation.

A Norman, Oklahoma nursing home had its certification terminated, which consequently forced it to shut down, according to NewsOK. This happened when it lost Medicare and Medicaid funding due to its failure to meet minimal state health regulations. On November 7, 2008, state health inspectors released a report citing Whispering Pines Nursing Center for failing to investigate resident allegations of abuse, and also endangering residents by failing to provide sexual protection to a sexually active HIV positive resident.

Of the nursing home's 128 residents, not all were able to find permanent replacement homes, but all were relocated to temporary homes until a permanent nursing home is found. Twenty-five of the residents were not placed in permanent homes yet because of mental health concerns.

The licensed operator of Whispering Pines lost medicare and medicaid funding to another nursing home in the past few months. In that case more than 30 residents of the Northwest Nursing Center in Oklahoma City were transferred to other homes, however Northwest is still open for business.

If you believe that a member of your family has been abused or neglected, call Abels & Annes to consult with a Chicago nursing home lawyer now at (312) 924-7575.

In Guthrie Center, Iowa, a nursing home has been fined $7,000 by an administrative judge, according to DesMoinesRegister.com. The fine was reportedly due to ignoring complaints by elderly residents regarding sexual abuse.

Employees of the New Home Care Center informed managers and supervisors of the complaints, and said reports were allegedly not investigated. There were 8 reported acts of sex abuse, all involving different elderly persons.

In one very alarming report, the abusing employee had blocked the door with a chair, and another employee forced their way into the room and viewed a mentally disabled resident partially undressed and bleeding from her vaginal area. The nursing home employee has not yet been criminally charged.

In 2006, state inspectors cited the nursing home for their failure to investigate this case, and Medicare and Medicaid Services later fined the home $7,000. The home had the hustpa to appeal the fine. A judge recently upheld the penalty.

In 2008, the nursing facility was fined again for insufficient supervision of residents. New Homestead Care Center is a nonprofit corporation run by a volunteer board of directors.

The alleged conduct of the nursing home in this case is reckless. The fact that the facility's own employees were reporting the sexual abuse allegations, and the supervisors and managers ignored the issue, is offensive. It is a good guess that the residents of this home will retain a nursing home abuse lawyer. In addition to a claim for abuse, the attorney will also likely explore punitive damages against the home for its willful and wanton conduct of ignoring the reports.

If your loved one has been abused and/or neglected in a Chicago area nursing home, or any nursing facility in the State of Illinois, call Abels & Annes for a free consultation.

A Chicago Nursing Home Attorney has filed a lawsuit against a Lake Zurich nursing home in Cook County Circuit Court for allegedly neglecting one of its residents, according to the Lake County News-Sun. On December 29, 2006, the resident was admitted to Lexington Health Care Center of Lake Zurich nursing home under the precaution that she was at-risk for falls. The lawsuit alleges that over the course of a seven month span in 2007, the patient fell a total of five times, despite the nursing home’s knowledge of the patient's risk of falling.

As a result of one accident in August 2007, the patient complained to nursing home staff for several days about hip pain. The nursing home eventually took her to the hospital for x-rays. Hospital physicians diagnosed her with multiple left hip fractures and pneumonia. The plaintiff had to have surgery to repair the fractures. It is alleged that the resident will experience a significant loss of mobility in the future.

The National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform defines elder neglect, in part, as failing to care for a resident in a way that avoids injury. Neglect does not have to be intentional, and a nursing home employee who is not properly trained is likely not to give adequate care. Included in their definition of neglect is failing to provide help with walking when needed and not paying attention to complaints for help (both of these allegations are being made in the Cook County lawsuit).

If you believe a loved one in your family has been neglected by an Illinois nursing home, contact Abels and Annes to discuss legal options.

Law enforcement officers in Jersey City, New Jersey are investigating alleged sex abuse at a nursing home, according to NJ.com. They are looking into whether a 30 year old female resident with cerebral palsy was abused. The staff at Newport Nursing and Rehabilitation became aware of a potential problem when the patient, who needs a wheelchair to move, was found in a different room at the facility. The woman then told the staff that she had been inappropriately touched.

The alleged abuse took place at the Newport Nursing and Rehabilitation Center last Friday in the early evening. Reportedly, the police are investigating a person who visits another resident on an ongoing basis.

The National Center for Elder Abuse defines sexual abuse as sexual contact of any kind that is not consensual, or sexual contact with a person that is not capable of giving consent. They list signs of sexual abuse as bruising in the breast or genital area, the contraction of sexually transmitted diseases, bleeding in the genital area, clothing that is either torn, bloody or stained, or if the elder states he or she was abused.

If you believe your loved one has been a victim of nursing home abuse or neglect in the Chicago area, contact Abels & Annes now for a consultation free of charge.

In Lake Isabella, California, three current and former Kern Valley Hospital District's nursing home employees have been charged with abuse for administering drugs to elderly residents against their will, possibly costing some residents their lives, according to Bakersfieldnow.com. The three defendants include the home's past director of nursing, past pharmacist, and current staff physician.

The criminal complaint alleges that they forcibly administered psychotropic drugs to over 20 nursing home residents at the Kern Valley Hospital District’s nursing home. A lengthy investigation found that starting in 2006, to make nursing home residents who suffered from Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia more calm and easier to manage, the former director of nursing began demanding nursing home staff to administer large doses of psychotropic drugs to them.

The attorney general's complaint also alleges that three nursing home residents may have past away as a result of the medical complications from the forced psychotropic drugs. The director allegedly targeted patients that argued or were otherwise disruptive and difficult to care for.

The family of a 91 year old resident who died has retained a nursing home abuse lawyer and has filed a lawsuit against the Kern home. The family did not find out about the abuse until a year later when a member of the family received a tip from a nurse at the home that they should look into abuse of their loved one.

According to a National Center for Elder Abuse 2005 fact sheet, it is estimated that between one and two million people above the age of 65 have been abused by someone who provides care for them. It is also estimated that between two and ten percent of the elderly population have been abused, while at the same time only one in fourteen cases of abuse are reported to authorities.

Attorneys from our firm represent nursing home residents and families who have suffered from nursing home abuse and neglect cases in Illinois. If someone you love has been hurt by abuse or neglect at a nursing home in Illinois, please contact Abels & Annes for a free consultation.