Elder Law

Illinois Resident Files Lawsuit Against Negligent Nursing Home

By Levin & Perconti

My Journal Courier reported on a nursing home lawsuit filed by James Niles following the premature 2007 death of his 66 year old mother, Neida Niles. The suit was first filed in Cook County, but the Jacksonville, Illinois based defendants had the case moved downstate to Morgan County.

Neida was a resident of the Prairie Village HealthCare Center in Jacksonville. Mrs. Niles fell while receiving routing dialysis treatment in April 2007. The nursing home is cited for failing to assess her fall risk and taking precautionary steps to limit the risk of a fall. In addition the suit alleges that the negligent nursing home failed to properly treat and limit the progression of pressure ulcers caused by the fall as well as failure to stop a skin infection the developed on her lower extremities.

The suit further argues that the nursing home staff failed to provide the necessary daily skin treatments or properly treat her wounds, ultimately leading to Mrs. Niles death two months after her initial fall. The plaintiff believes that Prairie Village provided inadequate staffing levels and untrained staff which led to the negligent medical care and unnecessary death.

Several other defendants have been named in the lawsuit which was filed as a violation of three Illinois statutes, including the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act.

According to the nursing home quality reports filed at Medicare.gov, the Prairie Village HealthCare Center received the lowest possible rating (much below average) in nursing home staffing and quality indicators. For example, while the average Illinois nursing home resident receives an average of 42 minutes of registered nurse care each day, residents at Prairie Village average only 14 minutes of such care. Also, while an average of 11% of long-term residents in Illinois nursing homes ultimately suffer less mobility while at the health care facility; nearly 27% of Prairie Village long-term residents have less mobility following an extended stay at the facility.

Our Chicago nursing home lawyers at Levin & Perconti have fought similar battles against Illinois nursing homes that repeatedly provide inadequate medical care to residents. The negligence occurs in various forms often resulting, as in this case, from inadequate and untrained nursing home care workers. If you know of any victims of similar abuse, please contact a nursing home attorney immediately to help assess the situation.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on July 15, 2010 (boomark / email).