Illinois nursing homes and liability insurance

I recently saw an editorial in a Mississippi newspaper about the current battle in the legislature there to require nursing homes to carry a minimum of $500,000 in liability insurance for nursing home abuse and neglect cases.   As you might expect, the nursing home industry is fighting that legislation tooth and nail.

The reason for the $500,000 figure in the legislation?  There is a $500,000 cap on noneconomic damages in Mississippi, and many nursing home residents have do not have significant medical expenses (because so few survive the poor care they receive) and almost none have any loss of earnings claims.  In light of this, the figure seems to be a pretty reasonable one -- one that requires them to be able to make good on any damage award that the courts hold them accountable for.

I guess that accountability is a little too much to ask for when it gets in the way of making money.

That story got me to thinking about one thing that surprises -- no, shocks -- many people about nursing homes in Illinois: they are not required to carry any liability insurance at all.

Over the course of my career, I have handled several cases against nursing homes that carried no insurance or carried inadequate insurance.  Insurance policies sometimes have adjustable limits that are reduced by defense costs.  Identifying the nursing home's insurance situation is one thing that we do early in the case and to some extent, it shapes our prosecuting strategy as well as the recommendations we make to the client.