Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

Family members of nursing home neglect and abuse victims are seeking solace from one another through online social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter , YouTube and MySpace.

The Illinois nursing home neglect and abuse lawyers at Abels & Annes continue to monitor the impact of social networking sites on personal injury and wrongful death cases, both in the Chicago area and across the country.

While these virtual support groups no doubt provide emotional support for victims' families, there is also a cautionary note: Information posted on sites like Facebook and MySpace is increasingly finding its way into a courtroom. If you are involved in a case, it is generally not a good idea to discuss it online. A good rule of thumb is to never post anything online that you would be uncomfortable answering for in a courtroom.

That said, such virtual support groups are providing meaningful relief for families dealing with the neglect or abuse of a loved one who was entrusted to a professional nursing home or elder care facility.

The Minnesota Albert Lea Tribune published a story this weekend about social networking's impact on a horrific nursing home abuse case in which several teenage girls are accused of sexually abusing and humiliating Alzheimer's patients in the Good Samaritan Society nursing home.

The families of the alleged abuse victims have formed under a group called Families Against Nursing Home Abuse, opening pages on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. They also have videos on YouTube. One writes a blog.

At these sites, people can read reactions to elder abuse and get to know the alleged victims of abuse in words and photos.

Jan Reshetar, co-founder of the group, said she and the others decided to branch out to these Internet sources to enact changes on the local, state and national level.

“We’re trying to get the community involved,” Reshetar told the newspaper. “We’re trying to get the attention of our local people.”

Then, hopefully, once people get involved, they will call their state and national representatives and senators and voice their concerns.

At her blog, Reshatar wrote: “It’s been over one year since we first got the phone call that Mom ‘may or may not, be a victim of what may or may not be abuse.’ It’s been over 12 months … over 365 days … over 8,760 hours … over 525,600 minutes … over a lifetime ago.”

The Facebook page can be found at Facebook.com

The Twitter, MySpace and YouTube pages can be found by doing a search. In most cases people have to be a member of the Web site to access them.

Continue reading " Illinois nursing home neglect and abuse lawyers monitor social networking's impact on elder-abuse cases " »

A Bensenville nurse's assistant will face far less time in prison after prosecutor's dropped half the felony charges against her because of a legal technicality.

The 24-year-old woman is accused of improper care at an Itasca nursing home that led to a resident dying after wandering outside in the cold. She faces five years in prison -- instead of the original 14-- if convicted of the remaining elderly neglect and obstructing justice charges, according to an article in Daily Herald.

The Chicago nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers at Abels & Annes monitor such cases to better assist clients who seek to recover damages for nursing home neglect or abuse. The proper supervision of nursing home residents is critical to their well-being and one of the primary reasons loved-ones seek professional care for an aging parent or grandparent.

In this case, the accused nursing assistant has remained in jail since March 4. She is accused of failing to check on an 89-year-old resident after an alarm alerted staff that an outside door had opened at The Arbor nursing home in Itasca.

Four of the eight charges against her were dropped on Tuesday because of a legal technicality involving the legal wording of the state law regarding nursing homes.

Police say she turned off the alarm and went back to watching episodes of "Dog the Bounty Hunter," according to the newspaper's account. She also is accused of lying to police about finding the resident in her bed during a 3 a.m. well-being check.

The elderly resident, formerly of Chicago's West Side, was wearing an electronic ankle bracelet because she suffered from dementia and was prone to wandering. Staff found per body in an outside courtyard in near-freezing temperatures.

Her daughters have filed a wrongful death suit.

The paper reported the nursing home fought moves by opposing attorneys to photograph and document the nurses's station, television area, the resident's room and the hallway leading outside.

An estimated 18 million nursing home beds are operated in this country -- half by large chain corporations and two-thirds by for-profit companies. The government estimates almost half of those over 60 in 1990 will spend time in a nursing home.

If you are faced with placing a loved one in a nursing home, the State of Illinois offers a number of resources.

Click here for advice on finding an Illinois nursing home through the Illinois Department of Public Health.

And click here for reports of Illinois nursing homes with recent violations.

Continue reading " Woman accused of death in Chicago-area nursing home neglect case to face fewer charges " »

A Chicago nursing home faces a lawsuit filed by a Harvard women who claims the home did not do enough to prevent her mother from dying from a fall. Jennifer Bowden of Harvard is suing Sacred Heart Home in Chicago, according to an article in the Northwest Herald. Bowden’s mother, Kathleen Koch, fell in a stairwell at the home and died eight months later at 61 years old. She suffered a broken back, head injuries and paralysis as a result of the fall.

The case alleges the staff at the home should have better supervised Koch, who had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Yet her room was not near a nurses station and she was allowed into the stairwell unsupervised, according to the newspaper's account of the lawsuit.

Sacred Heart Home declined comment on the matter.

The aging Baby Bommers and a tight economy, which has led to state and federal cuts in subsidized elder care, are just two of the factors that will continue to put the burden of monitoring the care of a loved one on the shoulders of his or her family.

Nationwide, there are 1.8 million nursing home beds in 17,000 facilities. Half are part of large chains and two-thirds are operated for profit, according the federal statistics. The government estimates that almost half (43 percent) of those over 65 in 1990 will spend time in a nursing home.

The Illinois nursing home neglect and abuse lawyers at Abels & Annes work to help loved ones determine whether the circumstances of a family members injuries or death in a nursing home rises to the level of neglect or abuse.

The Chicago nursing home neglect and abuse lawyers at Abels & Annes want you to know there are resources available when considering a nursing home:

Click here for advice on finding an Illinois nursing home through the Illinois Department of Public Health.

And click here for reports of Illinois nursing homes with recent violations.

Continue reading " Chicago nursing home faces neglect lawsuit stemming from death of a resident in stairway fall " »

The Chicago nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers at Abels & Annes continue to monitor changes in elder care at the state level that could impact the welfare of your loved ones in Illinois nursing homes.

The American Association of Retired Persons issued a statement last week decrying the impact of the new state budget on elder care and an Illinois newspaper slammed a court ruling against hiking fines against nursing homes for serious violations of care standards.

You heard that right. The state is making drastic cuts to elder care to balance its budget even as its court system ruled it cannot raise fines for abuse and neglect violations to generate income.

"By neglecting the needs of hundreds of thousands of Illinois residents, children, families and the elderly, this budget puts our state's worst foot forward," said Bob Gallo, state director for the AARP in Illinois. "At a time when people need state programs the most, like those that help people have access to healthcare and relief from high prescription drug costs, this budget pulls the rug out from underneath them."

Among the cuts opposed by the AARP:

-Community care programs slated to be cut in half, leaving 26,000 without the care they need to remain in their communities and subjecting them to more costly instituional care, such as nursing homes.

-Eliminating the Elder Abuse and Neglect Program -- meaning 11,000 cases won't be investigated.

-Closing all four Illinois veteran's homes.

- Cutting home services for the disabled.

Meanwhile, the Peoria Journal Star points to a ruling from a Sangamon County Judge earlier this year that limits the Illinois Department of Public Health's ability to issue fines to $10,000 per incident of abuse or neglect.

The paper notes fines were increased under former Gov. Blagojevich and were opposed in court by nursing homes that were fined for infections, beatings and health problems that led to the deaths of residents.

"We're told by those who represent residents' concerns at the 114 nursing homes in the Peoria region that the average price of a private-pay nursing home approaches $5,000 a month," the paper wrote in an editorial. ""If the maximum fine for any offense, no matter how extreme, is $10,000, then a mere one month's rent of one double-bed room covers it. That's a slap on the wrist that is unlikely to induce a substandard facility to get any better."

With the aging of Baby Boomers, the state and federal resources for elder care should be expanding. Instead they are shrinking -- which in and of itself can lead to substandard care, overcrowding, and neglect or abuse.

Thus, the responsibility for researching a potential home for a loved one increasingly falls on the public.

The Illinois Department of Health offers a number of resources:

Continue reading " Chicago nursing home neglect and abuse lawyers monitoring impact of state budget on elder care in Illinois " »

The family of a 69-year-old woman has filed a nursing home abuse lawsuit, alledging a Chicago nursing home failed to protect her from being sexually assaulted by a 21-year-old mentally ill resident.

The Chicago nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers at Abels & Annes want to remind those faced with placing a loved one under care of a facility to know there are resources available to you. Click here for advice on finding an Illinois nursing home through the Illinois Department of Public Health.

And click here for reports of Illinois nursing homes with recent violations.

An Associated Press analysis earlier this year found U.S. nursing homes have become a dumping grounds for young and middle-age people with mental illness. And Illinois ranked highest among the states in the number of mentally ill adults under age 65 living in nursing homes -- more than 12,000.

Elderly abuse and neglect will continue to be an issue as the Baby Boomer population ages. Of those over 65 in 1990, nearly half (43 percent) will spend time in these facilities, according to federal statistics.

In this case, the lawsuit accuses Maplewood Care's administrator of attempting to cover up a rape by calling it consensual sex, according to the Associated Press article.

An executive with the home's parent company, which operates seven other Chicago-area nursing facilities, declined comment according to the Associated Press. The civil lawsuit claims the woman's family was not told the nursing home had admitted young adult residents "with a history of violent and aggressive criminal behaviors."

The Agency for Health Care Administration reports the average cost of a nursing home in Chicago was $165 a day in 2000 and has steadily increased since then. Nationwide, there are 1.8 million nursing home beds in 17,000 facilities.

Nursing home operators have a duty to provide a safe, secure environment for their clients. But residents and those looking to place a loved one need to keep in mind that elder care is also big business. More than half the nation's nursing homes are part of a chain of facilities and two-thirds are operated for profit.

The rights and responsibilities of nursing homes and residents, as well as enforcement, violation and penalty and remedy information are outlined in the Nursing Home Care Act as passed by the Illinois General Assembly.

Continue reading " Family sues Chicago Nursing home for abuse in sexual assault case " »