Pekin Nursing Home Resident Dies in Fire

The Associated Press is reporting that 68-year-old Barbara Harris of Pekin died Wednesday at a Springfield hospital as a result of injuries she suffered in a fire at the UAW Senior Citizens Center. Harris was badly burned in the blaze. According to the reports, fire officials say Harris fell asleep while smoking in a chair in her room at the UAW Senior Citizens Center. Ms. Harris was using an oxygen tank at the time of the incident, and the oxygen accelerated the flames.

Similar cases have occurred in the past. The news reports due to address how long the fire was present prior to being discovered and does not address any of the circumstances as to how or why Ms. Harris was smoking in her room at the nursing home. In many nursing homes smoking is not permitted on the premises. It is unknown if the UAW Senior Citizens Center permitted smoking.

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.

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.

Illinois Legislators Pass Bills to Fight Infections in Nursing Homes

Illinois' state capital of Springfield is always busy this time of the year as the spring legislative sessions comes to a close. If a legislator's bill has a chance of becoming a law it is often "now or never." Fortunately, Illinois legislators have passed to bills that are a part of efforts to make nursing homes and other long-term care facilities accountable for infections. 

House Bill 1096 amends the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act. The bill provides that a skilled nursing facility must designate an employee as an "Infection Prevention and Control Professional" to develop and implement policies governing control of infections and communicable diseases. The bill also provides that the Infection Prevention and Control Professional's qualifications shall be documented and made available for inspection by the Department of Public Health to ensure that an appropriate person is, in fact, doing this job in the nursing home. If this bill is signed by Gov. Quinn it would become effective on January 1, 2012.

House Bill 1658 amends the Vital Records Act to require the doctor completing the medical certification of cause of death for a death certificate must note the presence of the cause of common infections found in nursing homes on the death certificate. These bacteria include methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), clostridium difficile, or vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) if it is a contributing factor to or the cause of death. The bill also provides that additional multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs) may be added to the list by the Illinois Department of Public Health. 

Currently, many doctors often put the primary cause of death on the death certificate. A common example of this is when a doctor lists sepsis as the cause of death but does not list the cause of the sepsis. Sepsis occurs when bacteria enters the body and spreads into the bloodstream. Infections from bacteria typically start out on the skin of a nursing home resident before entering the bloodstream through an open wound on the skin. Sepsis requires immediate treatment with progressive antibiotic treatment in a hospital setting. House Bill 1658 would make sure that the secondary or contributing cause, in the case of sepsis the bacteria or "bug" that caused the sepsis, is also put on the death certificate. This way the cause of sepsis could be tracked. 

The nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys at Keating Law Offices have experience handling cases stemming from infections contracted in a nursing home or other long-term care setting. 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.

27-Year Old Quadripalegic Would Rather Die Than Spend His Remaining Days in a Nursing Home

The Chicago Tribune has reported on a very sad story involving 27-year old Dan Crews of Antioch, who has publicly stated he would rather have his life end than spend his remaining days in a nursing home. Mr. Crews has been paralyzed since the age of 3 when he was involved in a motor vehicle collision and the child safety seat in which he was secured allegedly did not protect him adequately. His family obtained a financial settlement from the corporation responsible for this accident. That settlement has since allowed Mr. Crews to receive nursing care and to live in his own home with family.

However, Mr. Crews has surpassed all expectations for the length of his life and the settlement funds have dwindled to the point where he risks losing his home and not being able to pay for necessary nursing care. Mr. Crews potentially faces having to move to a nursing home. It speaks volumes about the unfortunate instances of abuse and neglect that occurs in many Illinois nursing homes that Mr. Crews would rather have his life end than spend the rest of his life in a nursing home. Mr. Crews obviously fears that he would be another "statistic" and be subjected to nursing home abuse and neglect.

Nursing home abuse and neglect is inexcusable whether the resident be young or old. It is inexcusable if the resident can take care of most of their activities of daily living (ADLs) or if they need assistance with all of the activities of daily living. It is inexcusable if the resident can ambulate on their own or if they need assistance with ambulation.

The Illinois Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect Attorneys at Keating Law Offices, P.C. are committed to representing victims and their families. It is the firm's strong belief that active prosecution of nursing home abuse and neglect case, both criminally and civilly, is part of the solution to ending the tragic frequency with which abuse and neglect occur in Illinois nursing homes.

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.

More Residents Die at Alden Village North

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that five more death from allegedly substandard care have occurred at Alden Village North. This facility is already slated to be closed by State of Illinois' Department of Public Health. The article quotes Deborah Kennedy, of the watchdog group Equip for Equality as saying, "What we're seeing (at Alden Village North) is a culture within a nursing home that tolerated lackadaisical, substandard care for years."

An investigation by Equip for Equality found that in many instances poor care directly led to the untimely death of a resident and in other instances the poor care led to an earlier death than may have otherwise occurred. In any event, this lack of basic care as detailed by Equip for Equality is morally and legally wrong.

The Illinois Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect attorneys at Keating Law Offices, P.C. have handled numerous cases against various Alden facilities. The Illinois Nursing Home Care Act allows an adult resident of a nursing home or their family to pursue a civil lawsuit against a nursing home for any negligence by the facility or its staff that results in an injury or death. Under the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act, the nursing home is liable for damages from the injury or death.

The report details the death of one girl who was found to have a treatable infection. Despite the diagnosis of the infection, the girl was first not given appropriate antibiotics and then once the proper antibiotics were prescribed, there was an additional delay in the administering of the antibiotics. The girl later died as a consequence of the infection. This is an unfortunate example of a failure of the nursing staff and the girl's physician to work together as a team and to give the girl the appropriate medication she needed. According to the report, it was the failure of the nursing staff and her doctor that led to the girl's death.

In December of 2010, officials at Alden Village North claimed that they were making significant improvements to the facility. At that time 13 children had died at the facility. Keating Law Offices wrote on this matter on www.ILNursingHomeAttorney.com in a post that can be found by clicking here.

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.

Nursing Home Resident Wanders from NH and is Killed by Car

The Chicago Tribune is reporting on a story of an 80-year old man who was killed by a motor vehicle after he wandered from the nursing home where he is a resident. 

Nursing Homes have a responsibility to assess all of their residents for their risk of wandering or for being a "flight risk." The assessment should be done by the nursing home staff on a continuing basis and to provide interventions to keep the resident from wandering or fleeing. Many residents wander or flee because they suffer from dementia or other conditions that lead to confusion. Common interventions to stop flight risks are alarms, extra supervision, and secured doors into and out of the facility.

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.

Illinois Nursing Homes Often Pay Small Percentage of Illinois Fines

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Alden network of nursing homes and other facilities often pay a small percentage of fines levied by the State of Illinois for violations of the state regulations for nursing homes. The Tribune investigation found that of a sample of nursing homes that care for disabled children only 21% of fines levied by the State were ultimately paid by the nursing homes.

It is important to note when the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act was enacted the Illinois legislature put into place strong protections for nursing home residents. Section 601 of the Act provides that a nursing home resident, or the family or guardian of the resident, may proceed with a civil lawsuit against a nursing home for any intentional or negligent act or omission by the staff at a nursing home. Section 602 of the Act provides that a negligent nursing home is responsible for any actual damages AND the attorney's fees in any case where the nursing home is found liable.

The significance of these sections of the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act is that a nursing home residents or their family/guardian are not limited to the disciplinary actions of the State of Illinois. The other option is to pursue a civil claim, which is most commonly referred to as a lawsuit. Due to these provisions in the Act, the lawsuit can be brought by retained an Illinois Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorney. With the representation of the attorney, the nursing home can be pursued and the nursing home could be responsible for any damages they caused and the attorney's fees if the nursing home is found liable by a judge or jury.

Illinois Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorney Mike Keating handles nursing home abuse and neglect cases on a contingency fee basis in accordance with the Illinois Rules of Professional Responsibility. This way the nursing home resident or their representatives are not forced to pay any attorney's fees or expenses in advance.
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.

Viral Outbreak in Michigan Nursing Home Illustrates Risks

Reports of a viral outbreak in a Michigan nursing home illustrates the risk of wide-spread outbreak of viral disease in nursing homes. The risk of wide-spread outbreaks in nursing homes is high for two primary reasons: 1) the density of residents in a relatively small area; and 2) the diminished immune systems of many elderly or disabled residents. These two facts combine to create a "perfect storm" in nursing homes where wide-spread outbreaks of diseases are possible.

Illinois nursing homes have a responsibility to provide the highest level of care possible to its residents. This includes providing proper sanitary conditions and utilizing modern sanitation techniques. The risk of many viral diseases can be reduced with simple practices such as the nursing staff washing their hands after handling each residents and using common hand sanitizers. Unfortunately, many staff members in nursing homes do not bother to use these simple techniques and this leads to the spread of disease. A failure such as this is a very simple example of nursing home negligence.

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.

Study Finds That High Percentage of Nursing Home Residents Carry MRSA Superbug

The University of Chicago Press Journal has reported that a recent study of 10 nursing homes found that a staggering 31% of residents tested were carrying Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, more commonly known as the MRSA superbug. 31% is a higher rate than the rate found in hospitals and intensive care units.

Most interestingly, the study found that of the 10 nursing home studied, that the rates of MRSA varied widely by nursing home. The highest level was 52% and the low was 7%. This wide range lends itself to the idea that some nursing homes are much more capable at keeping the rates of MRSA low than others.

MRSA is a very dangerous and deadly superbug that is resistant to antibiotics. MRSA is most commonly spread by skin-to-skin contact and is highly spreadable in nursing home settings. Nursing homes have a duty to utilize modern sterilization techniques and best practices in reducing the risk of infection. Elderly residents are particularly susceptible to MRSA infections and, due to their age, often have weakened immune systems that can not combat the deadly infection.

These MRSA infections often lead to MRSA-sepsis. As discussed in this earlier post on www.ILNursingHomeAttorney.com, Sepsis is a very serious medical condition in which a person's bloodstream is overwhelmed with an infection. If sepsis is not diagnosed quickly, the affected person can experience organ failure and die. Sepsis can only be treated if it is diagnosed quickly and appropriately. 

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.

The above-referenced study is cited as follows:
Courtney Reynolds, Victor Quan, Diane Kim, Ellena Peterson, Julie Dunn, Matthew Whealon, Leah Terpstra, Hildy Meyers, Michele Cheung, Bruce Lee, and Susan S. Huang, "Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Carriage in 10 Nursing Homes in Orange County, California." Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology 32:1.

IL Attorney General Continues "Operation Guardian" Sweeps of Nursing Homes

The Office of the Illinois Attorney General has continued its "Operation Guardian" sweeps of nursing homes. According to recent reports, "Operation Guardian" most recently conducted compliance checks at Wood Glen Nursing and Rehab Center in West Chicago and at Westmont Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. "Operation Guardian" is a multi-unit taskforce assembled to protect nursing home residents.

Many agencies take part in "Operation Guardian" including:

• The Illinois Department on Aging’s Long Term Care Ombudsman Program which evaluates nursing homes to make sure that residents’ rights are not being violated. 
• The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) conducts a compliance review of any identified nursing homes and evaluates any reported incidents within the last six months, and
• The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation interviews nursing home administrators and performs a license check of all professionals (R.N.s, L.P.N.s, etc.) employed at the nursing facility.

In the recent sweep at Wood Glen Nursing and Rehab Center, investigators found one resident who had been reported as missing and arrested one employee and one resident based on outstanding warrants. At the Westmont Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, investigators arrested one employee based on an outstanding warrant. Nursing homes have a responsibility to check the background of their employees and their residents to ensure that potentially violent or dangerous individuals are not living or working in their facility. 

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.

Alden Village North Makes Changes After Deaths of Residents

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the owners/operators of Alden Village North are claiming that they have made significant challenges to their often criticized facility. Alden Village North has been the subject of this intense criticism because of reports that thirteen children and young adults have died at the facility since 2000. These thirteen deaths resulted in state citations from the Illinois Department of Public Health for neglect or for failure on the part of the facility to properly and thoroughly investigate the death. Seven of the thirteen deaths occurred after the Alden corporation took over the facility. In addition to the thirteen deaths that resulted in state citations, at least eleven other residents of Alden Village North have died.

What is also notable about these instances is that the residents of Alden Village North are often disabled children, not senior citizens as is the case at most nursing homes. Regardless of age, a nursing home is liable in any instance where a resident is harmed as a result of abuse or neglect. Because of their age of disability, the condition of many nursing home residents changes frequently. Many times a nursing home neglects its residents by not timely evaluating their residents and making sure that the necessary changes are made to the Nursing Care Plan.  It is the responsibility of the nursing home to make these changes to the Nursing Care Plan so that the changes in condition are addressed. A failure to make these changes can lead to an allegation that the nursing home did not meet the nursing standard of care.

The Alden corporation has been the subject of numerous nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuits in Illinois that allege that various Alden nursing homes did not meet the nursing standard of care in their treatment of their residents. Illinois Nursing Home Attorney Mike Keating is currently handling several cases against Alden nursing homes that are based on allegations of nursing home neglect. 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.

The Threat of Sepsis and a Missed Diagnosis

The Los Angeles Times has printed a news story about a study into the lasting impact of sepsis in elderly individuals. The study was originally published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Sepsis is a very serious medical condition in which a person's bloodstream is overwhelmed with an infection. If sepsis is not diagnosed quickly, the affected person can experience organ failure and die. Sepsis can only be treated if it is diagnosed quickly and appropriately. 

The researchers compared a large sample of elderly patients who suffered from sepsis against an even larger sample of elderly patients who were hospitalized and did not have sepsis. The researchers found that those elderly patients who suffered from sepsis and survived were much more likely to develop problems with thinking and memory. Those patients who suffered from sepsis were also more likely to develop a physical limitation with their activities of daily living like walking, dressing, or bathing.

The nursing staff in a nursing home is responsible for monitoring the patient to check for any "significant changes" in a resident's condition. Symptoms of sepsis are often confused with symptoms of the flu or just general lethargy. It is the nursing staff's responsibility, however, to contact the resident's physician if it appears the resident is ill. Often what happens is a resident has contracted sepsis and the nursing staff does not act quickly. This delay denies the sick resident the opportunity to get immediate medical treatment. As mentioned above, sepsis needs to be treated immediately. If sepsis isn't treated immediately the illness leads to severe and lasting injury or death.

Another way in which sepsis is at the heart of litigation is from infected bedsores. Often what happens is the nursing staff does not monitor residents who are at risk for developing bedsores. The bedsores develop and then are a "target" for deadly bacteria. The deadly bacteria enters the body through the bedsore and the bacteria leads to sepsis. This dangerous chain of events can be stopped if proper measures are taken so that bedsores do not develop.

Attorney Mike Keating has handled several cases involving residents who unnecessarily contracted sepsis while a resident at a nursing home. 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.

Case Settled on Behalf of Family of Woman Assaulted by Other Resident

Illinois Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorney Mike Keating has settled a civil case brought under the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act against a Central Illinois Nursing Home for failing to properly supervise its residents. The case stemmed from an August 2008 incident when an elderly female resident was pushed to the ground by a male resident. The male resident had a documented history of aggression towards other people in the nursing home. As a result of this incident the female sustained a fractured hip and died only six weeks after this incident.

Attorney Mike Keating alleged that the nursing home was responsible for two reasons: 1) for failing to remove the aggressive resident from the home prior to this incident and 2) for failing to supervise the female resident despite her known history of falls and dementia. 

First, the aggressive male resident should have been removed from the nursing home prior to August of 2008. Records indicate that he had a known history of aggression. Section 3-612 of the Nursing Home Care Act provides that when a nursing home determines that a resident is the perpetrator of abuse, the resident’s condition must be immediately evaluated to determine the most suitable therapy and placement for the abusive resident. In this case, instead of providing the abusive resident with the therapy and placement the male resident required, he was left in the facility where he unfortunately victimized the female resident in this case.

Second, the nursing home should have more carefully supervised the female resident. The Code of Federal Regulations, Illinois Nursing Home Care Act and Illinois Administrative Code set the requirements for the level of care, supervision and assistance nursing home residents are to receive. It was the nursing home's failure to meet these requirements and provide adequate supervision and alarms that directly led to the female resident being able to wander into the hallway of the nursing home unsupervised, be assaulted by another resident, and fracture her hip. 

This sequence of events compromised the resident’s condition and she went into a steady decline that resulted in her death in September of 2008. Due to the failures of the nursing home, it was liable under the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act. Section 3-601 of the Act holds the owners and licensee of a nursing home liable for any intentional or negligent act or omission of their agents or employees which injures the resident. 210 ILCS 45/3-601.

Due to the terms of the settlement agreement between the family of the resident and the nursing home, the identity of the parties and further details are confidential. 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.

Can You Get a New Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Lawyer?

I've received a number of inquiries lately from Chicago-area people who have personal injury cases with a different lawyer. These people no longer wish to work with their prior attorney for a variety of reasons. But they all have the same question in common: Can they get a new lawyer even though they have a contract with their current lawyer?

The answer is yes. Illinois law provides that a client may discharge his or her attorney at any time, for basically any reason. This law was made clear in the case Rhoades v. Norfolk & Western Ry. Co. (1979). Many people who have personal injury cases think they can't get a new lawyer to work on their case because they signed a contract with their old attorney. However, contingency-fee contracts cease to exist and the contingency term is no longer operative when a client terminates an attorney working under a contingency-fee contract. This law was made clear in a case called In re Estate of Callahan (1991).

Victims of personal injury cases and their families have a right to experienced, competent, and professional representation. To me this relationship of trust and respect is the most important part of the attorney-client relationship and the key to a successful approach to a case. Clients should feel comfortable with their attorney and trust that everything that could be done for them is being done. Clients also have a right to know what has happened, is happening, and is going to happen in their case. Cases shouldn't "sit" in an office - cases should move towards a resolution.

Just as you would with a doctor, you have the right to get a second opinion if you want one. 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.

Gurnee Senior Center Operating Without License

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that "Theresa's Home Care" in Gurnee has been operating with authority from Gurnee nor the proper licensing from the Illinois Department of Public Health. The State became aware of the situation when paramedics responded to a 911 emergency call and arrived at the home to find more than a dozen seniors living there. The owner of the home, Theresa Bicok is quoted as saying that the facility is a place for seniors who either can’t afford a larger assisted-living facility or who prefer a more intimate setting.

The Illinois Administrative Code provides the rules and regulations for Long-Term Care Facilities. Based on the information in the Chicago Tribune article, the owners and operators of this facility fail to not only recognize the need for proper licensure, but also that there are different rules and regulations for Senior Living Centers, Nursing Home, Assisted Care Facilities, etc. Different facilities are licensed to provide different "skill levels" of care. Obviously, the purpose of these facilities obtaining the proper licensure is so the IDPH can track and monitor these facilities. As an Illinois Nursing Home Attorney, I've seen first hand how the State has limited resources to track licensed facilities. Situations like this where the facility is operating "outside the system" make it almost impossible for the State to track. The fear, of course, is that the seniors are then at greater risk because there is no accountability.

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.