Elder Law

Nursing Home Neglect Forces Changes in Facility

By Levin & Perconti

Go San Angelo Standard-Times is reporting that an assisted living facility has been cited in relation to a nursing home neglect incident where a resident froze to death outside the building. The 89-year-old resident wrongfully died of hypothermia. The nursing home failed to adequately supervise the resident, jeopardizing her safety. The woman was found outside, dead on the sidewalk in the early morning. Her body was covered in ice and she had a light jacket.

According to a staff member, the resident was supposedly in her room at 4 a.m. She told authorities that she ?thought? she saw the resident in her bed. This particular resident had an assessment that stated she ?wanders frequently and indiscriminately.? Wandering and elopement are serious issues in nursing homes that must be addressed and monitored. The nursing home report showed that this particular patient had eloped from the facility at least five times. While the facility did have an alarm system, staff members stated that it was common knowledge that the pager system wasn?t working. To read more about this case of elopement, please click the link.

The Chicago nursing home lawyers at Levin & Perconti have seen wandering and elopement in the past. In C.B. v American Baptist Homes of the Midwest, they helped the victim reach a $950,000 nursing home negligence lawsuit. This also involved a patient who wandered from the home and froze to death. This pattern of nursing home negligence was again seen in the case of C.T., special administrator of the estate of D.F. v. Manorcare Health Services, Inc. et al. In this specific case the nursing home lawyers helped secure a $825,000 for the death of resident.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on May 12, 2010 (boomark / email).