Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

On Wednesday, October 26, 2011, the Northwest Herald reported that a 22-year-old certified nurse's assistance is facing felony sex charges. The young man worked at the Crystal Pines Rehabilitation and Health Care Center in Crystal Lake, Illinois.

A 93-year-old patient of the Crystal Pines facility is alleging that the nurse's assistance penetrated her with his fingers at around 4:00 a.m. one morning. Immediately after the alleged incident occurred, the patient notified authorities and was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.

The facility's administrator stated that Crystal Pine's complies with the Illinois Department of Health's rule that requires a criminal background check of all nursing home staff and residents. He stated that he was not aware of anything in the suspect's background that would have made him ineligible to work there.

Continue reading "Alleged Sex Crime in Crystal Lake, Illinois Nursing Home" »

A jury in Charleston, West Virginia awarded $91.5 million dollars in damages against a Heartland nursing home. The plaintiff, an 87 year-old woman, died from complications caused by severe dehydration after she was admitted to the Heartland home for only 3 weeks.

Tom Douglas, the plaintiff's son, said her stay in the home was intended to be temporary and would last until another bed opened up at a local nursing home. The lawsuit claimed that the nursing home failed to feed and properly care for Mr. Douglas' mother, resulting her death only hours after leaving the Heartland home. Mr. Douglas stated that before his mother entered Heartland, she could walk and talk. 3 weeks later she was confined to a wheelchair.

Nursing home abuse and neglect cases are litigated around the U.S. on an increasingly frequent basis. Sadly, most of the cases arise from the death of a loved one who was a resident at a nursing home facility.

Continue reading "$91.5 Million Dollar Damage Award against Nursing Home Facility" »

More than a dozen sex offenders live in Kansas nursing homes, the Wichita Eagle reported Sunday. Officials said there is not system in place to alert the facilities that the sex offenders are moving in.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation report found that 19 of the 5,868 people in the sex offender registry listed nursing homes as their current residences. The sex offenders have been convicted of crimes that include indecent exposure and rape. Shockingly, 7 of the offenders lived in a single Wichita nursing home before being transferred to different facilities.

This news caused policy makers to consider implementing a system in which nursing homes will be made aware of any resident's status as a sex offender before they move into the facility. Another option is to build nursing homes specifically for aging sex offenders.

Continue reading "Sex Offenders Living in Kansas Nursing Homes; Illinois Legislation Combats the Threat" »

Marty Himebaugh, dubbed the 'Angel of Death', plead guilty on Thursday to criminal neglect of a long-term care facility resident. Himebaugh worked at a Woodstock, Illinois, facility that has since changed ownership.

Himebaugh is accussed of arbitrarily administering morphine and anti-anxiety medications to patients at the Woodstock home. Prosecutors say that her conduct recklessly endangered the patients' lives by giving unprescribed medications and excessive levels of morphine.

An investigation by the Illinois Department of Public Health found that she gave the residents drugs to ensure that the nurses' had a quiet shift.

On at least one occassion, Himebaugh gave a resident Avitan. Avitan is a medication used to combat anxiety and the side-effects include drowsiness and decreased balance. The resident fell on his head and suffered from a head injury as a result of being given the Avitan.

Continue reading "Illinois Nursing Home Nurse Pleads Guilty to Criminal Neglect" »

We have already addressed many of the rights of residents under the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act. The Act not only establishes the basic rights of nursing home residents but also sets forth responsibilities of nursing home facilities. Many of the below listed responsibilities may seem common place however, any violation of these responsibilities is a serious matter.

Responsibilities of Nursing Home:

- A nursing home must always have a resident advisory counsel. The counsel is to be made up entirely of residents. The counsel must meet at least once a month and is intended to be a forum where residents can obtain and disseminate information, solicit and adopt recommendations for facility programs or improvements, and identify and recommend orderly solutions to problems.

- Records of all residents must remain confidential. All health records and documentations must remain completely confidential and cannot be released without consent of the resident or his or her guardian.

- A nursing home is required to have a system of policies and procedures. The polices and procedures must be written and available to all residents to staff members. It must include the procedure for the investigation and resolution of resident complaints. It must be clear and unambiguous. A written copy of the policies and procedures must be made available to every resident and representative.

Continue reading "Illinois Nursing Home Care Act. Part 4: What are the Responsibilities of Nursing Homes?" »

An Oak Park Charity hospital closed its doors to long-term care patients at the end of Summer 2011. The closure is blamed on the massive budget deficit that is plaguing Cook County.

The hospital was home to patients who required high levels of treatment and care. One such individual, Michael Yanul, was forced to transfer to a local area nursing home after the hospital shut down. Mr. Yanul had muscular dystrophy and required a ventilator to breathe. Mr. Yanul feared he would not survive the transfer and sadly, his fears became true.

Just three weeks after transferring to a local nursing home, Mr. Yanul died of pneumonia and a blood infection after a number of issues with his care arose at the home. Tom Yunal, Michael Yunal's brother, has filed a complaint against the nursing home claiming that the home lacked the necessary equipment to care for his brother and that the staff was not trained on how to care for him.

Transfers of this type are extremely complex and communication between the sending and receiving facilities are essential. Even minor changes in types of equipment used can prove fatal.

Continue reading "Chicago Area Budget Cuts Leave Transfer Patients at Risk" »