Wednesday, April 28, 2010

IL Attorney General Leads Raid of Presidential Pavilion Nursing Home

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan led a raid of the Presidential Pavilion Nursing Home on Chicago' South Side on Tuesday. Presidential Pavilion is one of Illinois' largest nursing home. The nursing home sits at the intersection of Western and 80th where the raid was conducted by local police agencies and investigators. It is the 10th nursing home to be raided in this ongoing sweep to reduce the risk of wanted felons living in nursing homes. The concern is that these felons are a risk to the staff and other residents of these nursing homes.

14 separate warrants were issued as to wanted felons at Presidential Pavilion. There were reportedly 20 residents with a total of 950 arrests and 399 convictions. This raid was reported by the Chicago Tribune which has done excellent work shining light on the problems plaguing nursing homes in Illinois. Dave Jackson of the Tribune has previously interviewed Attorney Mike Keating regarding these issues surrounding Illinois nursing homes.

The Illinois Nursing Home Care Act provides that if a resident is injured while in the care of a nursing home, that nursing home may be responsible for the resident's injuries. This may be true even if another resident injures the victim. It is quite often the case that a nursing home is aware of the dangerous background of a resident and allows them to be unsupervised and injure other residents who become victims.

If you have any questions regarding this post or regarding the law surrounding Illinois nursing homes, please contact Attorney Mike Keating at 312-208-7702 or MKeating@KeatingLegal.com.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

What is nursing home abuse and neglect?

The questions that residents of nursing homes or their families most often have are "what exactly is nursing home abuse and nursing home neglect?" and "Does this apply to my situation?" The answers to these questions start with the definitions in the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act.
  • The Act defines neglect as "a failure in a facility to provide adequate medical or personal care or maintenance, which failure results in physical or mental injury to a resident or in the deterioration of a resident's physical or mental condition."
  • The Act further defines abuse as "any physical or mental injury or sexual assault inflicted on a resident other than by accidental means in a facility."
Both neglect and abuse under the law involve some kind of injury or victimization under the Act. The distinction between the two deals with intent. An easy summary of the distinction is that neglect happens when someone doesn't do something they should have done and abuse happens when someone does something they should not have done.

Neglect can be unintentional. It can happen, for example, when an overburdened and understaffed nursing department fails to utilize proper wound care techniques. This can result in bedsores and infections. Abuse, however, is an intentional act. Accidents are not abuse. Abuse occurs when a resident suffers a physical or mental injury or is victimized in a sexual assualt while a resident at a facility. The most common forms of abuse are "rough handling" such as slapping, pushing, pinching, and pulling by nursing home staff.

Whether it is an instance of abuse or neglect, it is important for the resident and their families to know that they have rights under the Illinois Nursing Home Care act to pursue a civil lawsuit against the persons and places responsible for the injury or victimization. If you think that you or a loved one has been a victim of nursing home negligence or abuse, please contact Attorney Mike Keating at 312-208-7702 or MKeating @KeatingLegal.com.