Alzheimer’s Man Beaten To Death In Nursing Home In Oak Park, IL

Nursing home abuse and neglect lawyer Barry G. Doyle shares his legal opinion on a man beaten to death at Oak Park Health Care nursing home in Oak Park, IL.

Nursing Home Negligence in Chicago: What an Attorney Can Do

An experienced Chicago nursing home abuse attorney can help your family seek compensation for your damages and prevent future abuse. Call 312-263-1080.

Arrest made in New Jersy Nursing Home Case

Use of a "granny cam" leads to arrest in Nursing Home Abuse Case

Illinois and Federal Nursing Home Regulations

There are different types of nursing home regulations that must be followed in order to prevent neglect and injuries. A Chicago nursing home neglect attorney at the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C. can help you document and investigate your nursing home neglect claim in Illinois. Contact us today for a free case evaluation – 312-263-1080.

Nursing Home Neglect & Nursing Home Regulations

If your loved one has been a victim of neglect because of a nursing home staff’s failure to follow nursing home regulations, you may need to file an Illinois nursing home neglect claim. A Chicago nursing home neglect attorney at the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C. can help you document and investigate your claim – 312-263-1080.

Failing to Follow a Care Plan | Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

There are important things to be taken into account that may determine there was a failure to follow a care plan and it led to nursing home neglect. A Chicago nursing home abuse lawyer at the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C. can help you document and investigate your Illinois nursing home abuse claim. Contact us today for a free case evaluation – 312-263-1080.

Consequences of a Failure to Follow Your Loved One’s Care Plan

If there is a failure to follow a care plan it could result in nursing home neglect. A Chicago nursing home abuse lawyer at the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C. can help you document and investigate your Illinois nursing home abuse claim. Contact us today for a free case evaluation – 312-263-1080.

Types of Nursing Home Abuse or Neglect that Result in Wrongful Death

There are some common types of nursing home abuse or neglect that can result in the wrongful death of your loved one. A nursing home abuse attorney in Chicago at the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C. can help you document and investigate your Illinois wrongful death claim. Call today for a free case evaluation – 312-263-1080.

Proving Nursing Home Abuse in a Wrongful Death Claim

Proving nursing home abuse in a wrongful death claim requires the help of a nursing home abuse attorney. A nursing home abuse attorney in Chicago at the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C. can help with your Illinois wrongful death claim. Contact us today for a free evaluation – 312-263-1080.

Bed Sore Complications

There are a number of complications that can arise from bed sores, which can be a sign of nursing home neglect. An Illinois nursing home abuse attorney at the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C. can help you document and investigate your Illinois nursing home abuse claim. Contact us today for a free case evaluation – 312-263-1080.

Signs of Nursing Home Neglect: Bed Sores

Bed sores are a sign of nursing home neglect and can lead to serious injuries. A Chicago nursing home abuse attorney at the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C. can help you document and investigate your Illinois nursing home abuse claim. Contact us today for a free case evaluation – 312-263-1080.

Alzheimer’s Patients at Risk of Being Abused

Nursing home abuse is a real issue and Alzheimer’s patients are at greater risk of being abused. A Chicago nursing home abuse lawyer at the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C. can help you document and investigate your nursing home abuse claim. Contact us today for a free case evaluation – 312-263-1080

Facts and Statistics on Nursing Home Abuse

Here are some startling facts and statistics on nursing home abuse. A Chicago nursing home abuse lawyer at the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C. can help you document and investigate your nursing home abuse claim. Contact us today for a free case evaluation – 312-263-1080

What Is My Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Claim Worth?

There is no set formula to estimate the value of a nursing home abuse claim. If your loved one has been abused in a nursing home, a Chicago personal injury attorney from the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C. can help you file your Illinois nursing home abuse claim. Contact us today for a free case evaluation – 312-263-1080.

How Long Will My Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuit Take?

A nursing home abuse lawsuit in Illinois can be a long and exhausting battle. If your loved one has been abused in a nursing home, a Chicago nursing home abuse attorney from the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C. can help you file your personal injury claim. Contact us today for a free case evaluation – 312-263-1080.

Various Types of Nursing Home Abuse

Sometimes nursing homes fail to meet the standards that are required of them. If you or a loved one has been abused in a nursing home, a Chicago personal injury attorney from the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C. can help you file your personal injury claim. Contact us today for a free case evaluation – 312-263-1080.

My Loved One Is In A Nursing Home. How Do I Know If They Are Being Abused?

If your loved one is in a nursing home, then there may be signs or indications that they are suffering from abuse. If you or a loved one has been abused in a nursing home, a Chicago personal injury attorney from the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C. can help you file your personal injury claim. Contact us today for a free case evaluation – 312-263-1080.

Manor Court in Clinton cited by IDPH

Manor Court nursing home in Clinton was cited by the Illinois Department of Public Health for several patient care deficiencies.

Interview in Chicago Senior News

I was interviewed in an article which appeared in April, 2010 issue of the Chicago Senior News on the topic of resident-on-resident assaults and nursing home safety.

Wandering nursing home resident killed by train

A 71 year old resident of a Missouri nursing home was killed last week when she left the facility and wandered onto a nearby set of railroad tracks where she was killed by a train.

One of the main causes of people admitting family members to nursing homes is that with the onset of dementia, they leave the home and put themselves at risk by wandering into unsafe areas.  When the family comes to recognize that this is a problem which they cannot monitor on the 24/7 basis called for, this is what prompts the decision to admit their parent to a nursing home.

On admission, the nursing home is required to perform an assessment on the resident's condition and where the resident is determined to be at risk for "elopement" -- the technical term for wandering, then a care plan must be put into place to address the risk of elopement.  The usual course of action is to place a sensor on their clothing or person which sets off an alarm when they leave the facility and/or placing them on a secure floor where they are not free to leave.  Simply tying them or restraining them is not an acceptable alternative because this has its own risks.

Wandering or elopement in a nursing home is a serious safety risk to the health and well-being of a nursing home resident.  There have been instance where nursing home residents have wandered into traffic, have fallen into bodies of water and drowned, been the victim of violent crimes, or have frozen to death during winter months.  Nursing homes know that wandering is a real danger and must develop and implement a care plan to prevent wandering.

This wrongful death will no doubt be investigated by state authorities, and I would be willing to bet that at least one of these things will turn up:  that the resident was not wearing a sensor; that the alarms were either shut off or malfunctioning; or that the alarms did sound but no one responded because they were short-handed.

Somerset Place closes, many residents transferring to other facilities

Last week, following the loss of state funding, Somerset Place in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood closed its doors.  The nursing home had been the subject of a number of Chicago Tribune articles which detailed the many problems the troubled nursing home had providing quality care to its residents, including many resident-on-resident assaults and other nursing home care deficiencies.

The nursing home served exclusively the mentally ill, and some of the residents are being transferred from the nursing home to group homes and other structured environments.  However, many of the other residents are being transferred to other area nursing homes.

The bulk transfer of many residents from a troubled nursing home does not bode well for the facilities accepting transfers from Somerset Place.  There are a number of reasons for this:

1.  The residents will be arriving all at the same time.  That means that the resources of the accepting facilities will be stretched beyond capacity as they try to assess the new arrivals and integrate them into the new facility.

2.  The residents coming from Somerset are coming from a facility where unacceptable behavior toward one another and the staff was fairly routine.  It will certainly take time for these residents to unlearn those behaviors and how to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner toward staff and residents in their new homes.

3.  The staff at the new nursing home will not know each of the residents they are now assuming care for.  There is a certain amount of institutional memory that helps with nursing home care which allows nurses to know when someone is not at the usual baseline condition.  All of that memory is lost with the closing of the facility.

4.  When residents are transferred to a new facility, they are at increased risk of accidents due to disorientation and confusion and simply not being familiar with the new nursing home. 

Somerset Place was a nursing home that badly needed to be closed.  It was a perfect example of what is wrong with much of how nursing home care is provided in Illinois today.  However, suddenly closing the doors and sending residents en masse elsewhere is not the smart or safe way to transfer the Somerset residents.

Problem of sex offenders in nursing homes not unique to Illinois

In light of the many recent newspaper articles about the widespread resident-on-resident assaults in nursing homes in Illinois, I was interested to see that there was a similar kind of story being reported about a nursing home in Pennsylvania.  There a wheelchair-bound convicted sex offender residing in a nursing home was found putting his hands under the clothing of a mentally disabled resident. 

The quote in the article which I found telling came from Wes Bledsoe, the president of A Perfect Cause, a nursing home advocacy group:

 

“Most of the cases we’ve seen, it’s about the money,” said Bledsoe. “To have another person in another bed for a year can be a significant financial advantage to them.”

In short, nursing homes are accepting residents into the facility who pose a safety hazard to their fellow residents because they will fill a bed, sometime for long periods of time, often on public dollars.  In short, the nursing home operators are choosing profits over people.  It also looks like Illinois nursing homes are not the only ones making that choice.

Meidcation error results in nursing home resident's death

A Minnesota nursing home has been cited by the State after a resident died following a medication error in  the nursing home.  Two other residents had to be hospitalized due to medication errors that occurred between May 27, 2009 and June 12, 2009.  Overall, the inspection showed that the nursing home had an overall medication error rate of 18%.

Medication errors are a major cause of injury to nursing home residents.  This is especially true since many take several medications, increasing the chances of an adverse drug interaction due to a medication error.

Nurses are responsible for dispensing medications at the nursing and are required to make 5 checks before giving medication: 1) Right patient, 2) Right medication, 3) Right dose, 4) Right time, and 5) Right method.

These checks are in place specifically to prevent medication errors.  When the error rate is 18% (nearly 1 in 5!), there are clearly systemic issues at this facility either in terms of procedures or training.  However, an error rate that high is totally unacceptable and is likely to result in death or harm to other nursing home residents.

Nursing home resident suffers facial fractures in fall

A former resident of a California nursing home has filed nursing home abuse and neglect suit against the facility for injuries she sustained in a nursing home fall.   She had been living at home with the assistance of her grandson, but when he had to travel out of town for medical testing for himself, she was admitted to a nursing home for a short-term stay.

At the time of the admission, the grandson was careful to let the nursing home know that his grandmother was a fall risk and that she needed extensive assistance with walking and getting up and down from a seated position.  A care plan was put into place for a two-person assist when getting onto and off the toilet.

Unfortunately, one CNA tried to assist her from the toilet by herself and lost control of the resident, causing her to fall forward and hit her face on the floor where she sustained multiple facial fractures.  She had to be hospitalized and is now a long-term resident of another nursing home.

Nursing home fall suits are often very different from traditional slip and fall suits.  In a normal slip and fall suit, there must be an object or substance that causes the fall or a defect in the property that causes the fall.  There are some nursing home fall suits that focus on the resident tripping or slipping on a  substance or object, but many nursing home fall suits are not prosecuted on this theory.

The key issue in most nursing home fall suits is the development and implementation of a fall prevention care plan.  When a resident is admitted to a nursing home, the staff must assess the extent to which the resident is a fall risk and develop a care plan for preventing falls in the nursing home.  The staff then must implement the care plan.  They also must assess the effectiveness of the fall prevention care plan and if it is not effective, revise it.

As an experienced Chicago nursing home lawyer, there are four basic areas I consider in every nursing home fall suit we prosecute:

• Failure to properly assess the fall risk;
• Failure to develop an adequate fall prevention care plan;
• Failure to implement the care plan; and
• Failure to assess and revise the care plan.

In this particular case, the focus of the case will be on the implementation of the fall prevention care plan.  The care plan called for two people to assist her from the toilet, but only one person did so.  This was a violation of the care plan, and led to the resident's fall and fractures.

Nursing home suit filed over amputation

Follow-up care to a nursing home injury is crucial to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of nursing home residents. Failing to care for a nursing home resident after a fall or other injury can be the basis of an Illinois nursing home abuse and neglect suit, as happened in this Cook County suit against a nursing home.