Keating Law Wins $743,500.00 Settlement for Nursing Home Resident

In 2016 a Chicago woman was admitted into a Chicago nursing home after she had to undergo emergency brain surgery to remove a tumor. Soon after she was admitted to the nursing home she experienced pain in her left leg and told the nursing staff at the nursing home about it. For two weeks the staff at the nursing home heard her complaints but did not notify her doctor about the problems with her leg. Finally, her doctor was called and an exam of her leg was ordered that found that she had severe vascular issues that led to the leg contracting gangrene. Due to this, surgeons had to perform an above-the-knee amputation of her left leg to stop the spread of the gangrene.

Keating Law filed a lawsuit on behalf of the nursing home resident and after five years of litigation recently secured a $743,500.00 settlement for the nursing home resident. The team at Keating Law Offices claimed that the delayed response to complaints of pain and a failure to notify our client’s physician led her losing any chance of saving the leg due to the two week delay. 

The Nursing Home's Defense

The case was vigorously defended by the nursing home who hired multiple experts to testify against the plaintiff and try to argue that the plaintiff was already too sick to ever recover. The nursing home attorneys and hired doctors said that the situation was very sad, but that the leg was already too injured from the pre-existing vascular disease to do anything about it. The nursing home claimed that the problems with her leg were inevitable given her medical history. 

Keating Law Offices did not give up in the face of such a strong defense.  Instead, part of the success of this recovery for our client was Keating Law Office’s application of the web of rules and regulation that nursing homes in Illinois must follow. Under the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act, for instance, nursing homes are prohibited by law from neglecting their residents. “Neglect” means a facility’s failure to provide adequate medical care, psychiatric rehabilitation, personal care, or assistance with activities of daily living necessary to avoid physical harm and mental anguish of a resident.

Nursing Home Laws

Other laws, like the Illinois Administrative Code, are also important. Under the Code, nursing homes are required to provide necessary care and services to maintain the highest practicable physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being of a resident. In doing so, the nursing home must conduct comprehensive assessments of the resident, develop an appropriate plan of care, and follow that plan.

Even federal regulations impact nursing homes when that nursing home accepts federal benefits like Medicare. The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA), also known as the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, is a prime example. OBRA requires nursing homes to provide comprehensive assessments of a particular resident’s needs and to notify a resident’s physician of significant changes in medical conditions.

Nursing Home Negligence Settlement

In obtaining Keating Law’s recent settlement of $743,500.00, attorneys Tom Reuland and Mike Keating used these and other laws to hold the nursing home accountable for ignoring our client’s symptoms and not notifying her physician in time to help her. We will continue to advocate for our clients who have been abused or neglected by nursing homes throughout Illinois. We will also continue to advocate and support laws and regulation that help keep nursing homes accountable and safe for their residents

Family of Nursing Home Resident Who Suffered Fractured Leg Receives Financial Settlement

The Chicago Nursing Home Attorneys at Keating Law Offices have successfully obtained a settlement on behalf of a former resident of a west suburban nursing home. The resident suffered a severe fracture in his femur while at the nursing home. The family of the resident suspected it was from a fall, but representatives of the nursing home denied that any incident ever occurred and even went so far as to claim the family may have been responsible for the fall. Our nursing home attorneys were able to uncover evidence in a lawsuit against the nursing home that conclusively showed that the injuries occurred on their watch. 

The incident took place at a nursing home in the western suburbs of Illinois in August 2011. The claim alleged that the elderly resident was injured as a result of the nursing home’s failure to provide him with proper care. The lawsuit alleged that the leg injury actually occurred when nursing home staff members dropped him while transferring him onto a lift. As a result, the resident was hospitalized on two different occasions to treat the fracture as well as significant swelling in his left knee and leg.

It was also discovered that after the resident suffered this excruciating injury, the nursing home staff members then failed to provide him with his prescription pain medicine. This failure obviously led to unnecessary pain and suffering for the resident.

Under the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act (210 ILCS 45/1-101 (2011)) all nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are required to treat their residents with the same level of care that a reasonably careful nursing home or facility would have used in the same situation. When the nursing home fails to treat their residents with a reasonable amount of care, as the nursing home in this case was alleged to have done, it may be liable as was the situation here.

Additionally, when the nursing home staff fails to provide proper care to its residents which ultimately results in injuries sustained, the nursing home might be in violation of the applicable provisions of the Code of Federal Regulations and the Illinois Administrative Code. According to Section 3-601 of the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act, “the owner and licensee are liable to a resident for any intentional or negligent act or omission of their agents or employees which injures a resident.” 210 ILCS 45/3-601. The provision makes the nursing home liable for all negligent acts or omissions committed by its staff members because a reasonably well-qualified nursing staff member should be able to transfer its residents without causing injuries.

Under Section 1-117 of the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act, “neglect” means a facility’s failure to provide, or willful withholding of, adequate medical care, mental health treatment, psychiatric rehabilitation, personal care, or assistance with activities of daily living that is necessary to avoid physical harm, mental anguish, or mental illness of a resident. 210 ILCS 45/1-117. As alleged here, the nursing home staff members’ failure to provide a resident with pain medication falls within the definition of “neglect” because it can result in physical harm and mental anguish for said resident.

Ultimately, the nursing home negligence and abuse attorney at Keating Law Offices were able to present overwhelming evidence that the injury occurred at the nursing home and that the resident's pain and suffering was increased by the failures to administer the pain medication. Ultimately, justice was obtained for this victim of nursing home negligence and abuse.

Keating Law Offices has successfully obtained settlements on behalf of victims of nursing home abuse. Due to the terms of the settlement agreement between the resident and the nursing home, the identity of the parties and further details are confidential. If you or a loved one have suffered from a fractured leg or have had your medication improperly withheld in an Illinois nursing home, contact an experienced Chicago nursing home neglect attorney to evaluate your case. 

KLO Settles Case on Behalf of Estate of Nursing Home Resident

Keating Law Offices has successfully resolved a lawsuit filed on behalf of a Chicago family whose mother died of sepsis. The lawsuit alleged that the sepsis was contracted in the nursing home. The resident was admitted to a South Side nursing home for treatment of cellulitis in her left leg. The plan on admission was for the resident to receive care for approximately two weeks and then be released from the facility. At the time the resident was a 50-year old lady who worked in the health care field and by all accounts was relatively active.

The nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys at Keating Law Offices were able to demonstrate that the resident most likely did not receive the nursing care she required from the nursing home and her condition rapidly declined. By the time the resident was discharged from the facility six weeks after her admission the cellulitis had worsened and pressure ulcers had developed in other areas of her body as her condition declined. Most significantly, she contracted multiple resistant organisms which led to the sepsis that caused her death.

Keating Law Offices, P.C., representing the estate of the nursing home resident, alleged that the nursing staff at the nursing home had the primary responsibilities of basic wound care, monitoring the resident's condition, and communicating with her physicians. It was further alleged that it was the violation of the duty to meet these responsibilities that led to the resident's original leg wounds worsening and for her to develop additional pressure ulcers.

The parties reached a financial settlement at a mediation prior to the matter being set for trial. At the beginning of litigation the attorneys for the nursing home were insistent that the nursing home did absolutely nothing wrong and the death of the resident was just an unfortunate outcome. In the course of litigation it became clear that the case was much more complicated and the nursing home may have played a large part in the death of the resident.

If you have any questions regarding this post or an issue involving Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect, please contact Illinois Nursing Home Attorney Mike Keating at 312-208-7702 or MKeating@KeatingLegal.com. All initial consultations are confidential and free.