Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

The federal government moved to close Somerset Place on Friday, a troubled Chicago nursing home accused of abuse and neglect of residents, according to the Breaking News Center.

The government moved to terminate funding for the nursing home in Uptown, contending in court filings that violence, abuse and mistreatment put "the health and safety of ... residents in immediate jeopardy."

Authorities report it has been four years since a a federal termination order has been issued for a Chicago nursing home. Four Illinois nursing homes have been de-certified because of problems since 2005 -- those homes have been sold or closed.

The action follows a report by the Chicago Tribune, which identified 66 of the 300 residents as convicted felons with mental illness. The century-old former hotel was home to a chaotic environment of poorly-supervised residents who bit and punched each other, turned over tables and tested positive for drugs, according to federal inspection reports.

Former staff members told investigators that the Chicago nursing home was understaffed and its caseworkers were poorly trained. Somerset officials filed an emergency civil lawsuit in an attempt to stop the government action but were denied by a federal judge on Friday.

The home will receive Medicaid funding for another 30 days and may stay open while it tries to re-enter the Medicaid system or sell to a new owner.

One of the owners, who has a stake in a dozen Illinois nursing homes, declined to comment to the press. The nursing home is one of the largest in the state and reported a profit last year of almost $2.3 million.

Chicago police investigated 15 alleged assault and batteries inside the home between April 2008 and July 2009, as well as five reported cases of criminal sexual assault and five cases of narcotics possession.

One resident, who had been prostituting herself and using crack cocaine while living there, was later found murdered, according to The Tribune.

Continue reading "Government moves to close Chicago nursing home amid neglect and abuse allegations" »

Three employees of a LaSalle County, Illinois nursing home have resigned or been fired after an investigation determined the home failed to protect residents.

The home faced two fines stemming from the sexual molestation of several female patents by a resident at the home, according to a report from the Associated Press.

While officials would not say who resigned and who was fired, they confirmed the departure of the home's administrator, director of nursing and director of social services.

The Associated Press reported that the home was fined $20,000 by the state and faces another $20,000 fine from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The Times in Ottawa, Illinois reported that the Illinois Department of Public Health found the home at fault earlier this year for not protecting at least 10 women from molestation by a male resident of the home.

The home's interim administrator also pointed out that the nursing home's nutritional consultant works for the firm that provides the home's food, a possible conflict of interest.

Putting a loved one in a nursing home is one of the most difficult tasks many of us will face. Despite every effort to ensure that your loved one is cared for in a safe and secure environment, Illinois nursing home neglect and abuse is an all-too-common occurrence.

The state offers a number of resources to those faced with the difficult decision to place a loved one in a nursing home. Click here for information on how to file an Illinois nursing home complaint and for tips on how to select an Illinois nursing home.

If you suspect neglect or abuse is occurring in an Illinois nursing home, talking to an Illinois nursing home neglect and abuse lawyer can help provide added protection for both a loved one and other residents of the home.

Background checks meant to protect Illinois nursing home residents from dangerous felons moving into a home often miss violent crimes, downplay the risk they pose to aging seniors and leave nursing home residents vulnerable to abuse, according to an investigative report by the Chicago Tribune.

The Chicago nursing home neglect and abuse lawyers at Abels & Annes continue to monitor the issue of unqualified employees or residents -- including convicted felons -- being hired by or housed in Illinois nursing homes and elder care facilities.

The average cost of nursing home care in this country hovers around $6,000 per month. Half of the nation's 18 million nursing home beds are operated by large chains and two-thirds of all nursing homes are for-profit companies.

The Tribune investigation found some residents who had a history of violent crime went on to commit assaults or other serious crimes inside the homes where they lived.

Illinois became the first state to require background checks for all residents as part of a 2006 law meant to address the growing number of mentally ill felons entering the state's nursing facilities. The checks are used to screen high-risk individuals who require close monitoring or private living quarters.

But the Tribune's review of 45 recent cases found many instances of incomplete assessments that left out crucial details, including criminal convictions. The report also found long delays in completing the checks -- sometimes resulting in felons living among residents for more than a year.

And of the more than 3,000 convicted felons living in Illinois nursing homes this summer, less than 30, or 1 percent, were classified as high-risk, which requires homes to place them in single rooms near nurses' stations.

Two-thirds -- a total of 2,077 felons -- were classified as "low risk," meaning the nursing homes are permitted to treat them no different than residents without criminal records.

With the aging Baby-Boomers set to further crowd a system that is a routine target for state and federal budget cuts, more and more Illinois residents will be forced to rely upon the state's nursing homes for care. The federal government estimates that half of those over 65 will spend time in a nursing home.

Continue reading "Convicted felons in Illinois nursing home facilities lead to abuse of residents" »

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" »

In Chicago, Illinois an 84 year old nursing home resident died Monday night after falling from a nursing home window, according to the Southtown Star. The deadly accident happened at Alden Wentworth Rehabilitation and Health Care Center, located at 201 W. 69th Street on the South Side. The resident, Benny Saxon, fell from a 4th floor window around 6:30 p.m. He reportedly suffered from dementia and was recently having problems.

The nursing home resident was taken to St. Bernard Hospital and pronounced dead less than an hour later. Wentworth detectives from the Chicago Police Department are investigating the death.

At some point, it is a good bet that a Chicago Nursing Home Lawyer is going to take a look at the case. The question is going to be how a patient with dementia and other problems had access to an open fourth floor window, and further if there was negligence on the part of the nursing home facility for not protecting the resident from the danger.

Click here to read the entire story.

In Chicago, Illinois a south suburban nursing home has been sued in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Law Division, for nursing home neglect, according to CBS News. A nursing home resident with dementia was allegedly found lying on train tracks and suffering from exposure after walking away from a field trip to an area high school in December of 2007. The lawsuit alleges the resident was left with visible injuries and was out in the cold for eight hours.

The lawsuit alleges that the Orland Park nursing home did not properly watch her on the trip, failed to assess the risk of her wandering away, failed to have adequate staff present on the field trip, and did not react adequately once they discovered she was missing. The suit seeks damages in excess of $50,000.

Click here to read the entire story.

A lawsuit has been filed in Parkersburg, West Virginia alleging that inadequate care at a nursing home resulted in the death of one of it's residents, according to the West Virginia Record. The suit was filed by a Wood County woman on behalf of the estate of her mother.

On April 15, 2009 the suit was filed in Wood Circuit Court against Ohio Valley Nursing Home, Inc. The lawsuit alleges the deceased resident sustained injuries from substandard care, neglect and abuse at the nursing home, including infections, weight loss and pain. The complaint also alleges delays by the nursing home staff in reporting infections to physicians, resulting in delays in medical treatment. The delays allegedly caused or contributed to the resident's death.

The plaintiff is looking to recover medical expenses, funeral costs, and for the mental pain and suffering of losing her loved one. She is also looking to recover court costs and attorneys fees. The nursing home's administrator has been named as a co-defendant in the lawsuit.

If you believe a loved one in your family has been the victim of nursing home neglect or abuse in the Chicago area, contact an Illinois Nursing Home Lawyer at Abels & Annes for a free consultation.

In the Chicago area south suburb of Burnham, Illinois, it is being reported by the Chicago Sun-Times that a nursing home resident who died almost two weeks ago was murdered. The victim who resided at a nursing facility at 14500 S. Manistee Avenue past away from multiple injuries sustained in an attack.

He later died on April 1, 2009 at South Shore Hospital. Local authorities have ruled the death a homicide. Illinois State Police are now involved in the investigation.

The death was ruled a homicide after an autopsy was performed by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. The victim also suffered from hypertension and diabetes.

It has not been reported yet how the attack took place. However, the fact that the attack took place at all is a strong evidence of nursing home neglect and/or abuse. It is very likely that the family of the victim will soon retain a Chicago Nursing Home Lawyer to review the case.

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 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.

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.

In Central Illinois, the Care Center of Abingdon nursing home has received the lowest possible score by the Center for Medicaid Services in a new five star rating system, according to Galesburg.com. The home only received one star out of five. As an Illinois nursing home lawyer, I believe that a low rating like this is an indication to look out for neglect and abuse.

The rating program evaluates almost 16,000 facilities across the country. The new system rates nursing homes in three areas; health inspections, quality measures, and staffing levels.

In the health inspections category, the Abingdon nursing home was awarded 3 out of 5 stars. However, the home received only one star in the quality measures and staffing levels areas. This resulted in an overall rating of just one star.

The report found several problems with the Illinois nursing home. First, the home allegedly either failed to hire workers with no history of abusing patients or failed to investigate reported nursing home abuse. The report states the nursing home also failed to properly administer medication to residents, failed to adequately hydrate residents with fluids, and failed to properly prevent and/or treat bed sores.

Licensed nurses in Illinois on average spend one hour and twelve minutes with each nursing home resident. The nationwide average is one hour and eighteen minutes. At the Care Center of Abington, the average nurse time with patients was only 47 minutes during a 2 week period just before the state inspection.

The CEO of the nursing home states that they have addressed the issues raised in the report. Abington is run by a non-for-profit corporation and they have 82 certified beds.

While the problems at the home have reportedly been corrected, it would be wise for family members of residents at the home to keep a close watch on their loved ones, visit regularly, and look for signs of nursing home abuse and neglect.

If you believe a family member has been abused or neglected by a nursing home in Illinois, please contact Abels & Annes at (312) 924-7575 for a free consultation.

An 89 year old woman has died at an Itasca nursing home after she walked into the courtyard and froze, according to CBS News in Chicago. The family is outraged and demanding answers from the facility where it happened.

The victim's daughters say she suffered from dementia and that she had a fear of being alone and in the cold. It is also being reported that the Itasca Police Department is trying to figure out how the victim who was wearing an ankle monitor and who uses a walker was able to walk through 2 doors with alarms and go into a courtyard in the middle of the night unnoticed.

The Illinois Department of Public Health website indicates at least 14 complaints were filed against the nursing home last year. The family of the victim has hired a Chicago Area Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer to pursue a civil claim against the nursing home.

If you have a loved one that you believe has been abused or neglected by a nursing home in Illinois, contact Abels & Annes for a no cost consultation.

A resident of a Canton, Ill. nursing home was recently found living in a grain storage bin, more than a month after she went missing. The 44-year-old woman, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and cancer, was last seen at her nursing home Sept. 16. She was found in early December after she came to a home near the grain bin, seeking shelter from the cold. Authorities told the Peoria Journal Star that the woman was sleeping on plastic and carpeting and eating crabapples to survive. After she was discovered, she was treated for dehydration.

From the facts presented in the article, it seems to me that this woman and her family may have an Illinois nursing home neglect lawsuit, depending on the extent of her injuries. The article mentions that the woman had run off once before and been found three weeks later, living in the woods, so she has at least some history of escape attempts. As a Chicago nursing home abuse attorney, I know this is not uncommon for patients with a mental illness. We do not know the circumstances, of course, but in general, allowing patients with these tendencies to wander into dangerous situations is a form of nursing home neglect.

Many people put their loved ones in a home in the first place to avoid just this kind of incident. Even the most dedicated relative can’t provide 24-hour supervision for an irrational, unpredictable patient. The additional resources provided by a nursing home or assisted care facility are supposed to reduce these sorts of serious risks. When they fail, patients and their families don’t have to just put up with it. Our Chicago nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers handle cases where a patient is injured due to a nursing home's negligence. To learn more, you can contact us online.

A woman has sued her nursing home in East St. Louis, the Madison County Record reported in December. The lawsuit alleges that the woman, who entered the home in 2000, developed pressure sores on her body because of neglect at the home. She also alleges that staff failed to treat the sores or give her medication. She is suing the parent company for the home for negligence as well as violations of the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act, which gives many legal rights to residents of nursing homes.

Pressure sores (also called bedsores or by their medical name, decubitus ulcers) may not sound too terrible, but they can actually be life-threatening. They often develop in patients who are bed-bound or wheelchair-bound, due to a combination of pressure, friction, humidity and sometimes medication. Malnutrition and underlying conditions like anemia can then make an existing bedsore worse. Pressure sores may look simply like a discoloration of the skin in the early stages (pinkness in light-skinned people; blue or purple patches in dark-skinned people), but as time goes on, they eventually come to resemble cuts or puncture wounds. Eventually, the body tissues under pressure are damaged and die, just like tissues with gangrene, and are likely to become infected.

Healthy people don’t generally develop pressure sores because they have the power to simply change position when they start feeling uncomfortable. That’s not the case for physically or mentally disabled people who need help to move. To prevent the sores, experts recommend that aides turn patients every two hours and help them maintain good hygiene and general health. This is especially important in nursing homes. According to an eMedicine article, 17% to 28% of patients in nursing homes have pressure sores, and two-thirds of the sores occur in patients over 70. Worse, even a patient who has healed from bedsores has a 90% chance of developing more.

Given the severe risk and relatively simple prevention of pressure sores, preventing them should be the top priority of any nursing home. Unfortunately, these basic tasks are often the first to go in cases of nursing home neglect. And many of the other features of nursing home neglect, such as malnutrition and poor hygiene, can make pressure sores even worse and invite infections, sometimes life-threatening infections. In a patient already weakened by illness or age, this can be a health care disaster leading to serious illness, a health decline or even death. If you believe someone you love has developed serious bedsores because of neglect at a nursing home, you can and should hold it legally responsible with an Illinois nursing home neglect lawsuit. To speak with one of our Chicago nursing home lawyers today, please contact us through our Web site or call (312) 399-8988.

During the new year, many families will be visiting their loved ones in a nursing home or another assisted care facility. That makes it a good time of year to revisit the signs of abuse and neglect that families can watch for during their visits. This can be difficult, especially when the patient has trouble communicating or has a diagnosis of a mental illness. Unfortunately, some of these symptoms are very similar to symptoms of dementia; indeed, signs of abuse may be passed off by staffers as the onset of dementia. You may need to take further steps to know whether your loved one is truly being abused. The following tips are compiled from sources including the Mayo Clinic and the Rotary Club:

Signs from the patient:
• Unexplained weight loss and dehydration
• Unexplained injuries, especially injuries that aren’t related to any existing medical condition
• Bed sores
• Denying obvious injuries or giving unlikely explanations for them
• Dementia-like or childlike behaviors, like rocking back and forth
• Confusion from a mentally competent person
• Torn or bloody clothes
• Dirty clothes and bedding
• An increase in symptoms once controlled by medication
• More medication left in the prescription than there should be, or new medications you don’t remember a doctor ordering
• Seeming fear at the idea of ending the visit
• Depression and withdrawn behavior
• Missing jewelry or other objects of value
• Sudden changes in financial situation

Signs from the nursing home’s staff:
• Reluctance to allow visitors
• Reluctance to leave visitors alone with the patient
• Speaking for a competent patient
• Explanations that don’t fit with what you know about the patient
• Seeming tension between staff and patients
• Overworked or under-trained staff
• Controlling or overly affectionate behavior by the staff
• Unexplained changes in bills
• Duplicate bills
• Too much concern about the patient’s finances
• Displaying more wealth than they seem likely to have

If you suspect abuse, exploitation or neglect at a nursing home, the best thing you can do is report it. The Illinois Department of Public Health is responsible for investigating complaints at nursing homes; it maintains a 24-hour Nursing Home Hotline at 1-800-252-4343. If you’re sure of neglect or abuse, you should also consider pulling your loved one out of the home as soon as you can arrange it. And if your loved one was financially exploited, seriously hurt or killed by abusive behavior, you also have the right to file an Illinois nursing home abuse lawsuit. To learn more about your family’s legal rights, please contact us at (312) 399-8988 or through our Web site.

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.