Chicago residents expect nursing facilities to meet a standard of care that will keep their older loved ones safe and as healthy as possible, given their ages and medical conditions. These relatives also expect that any instances of Chicago nursing home neglect will be investigated by state authorities.
The death of a nursing home resident from medical issues, such as malnutrition and dehydration, that can be traced to neglect are clearly instances of nursing home abuse and are serious matters that can be addressed through criminal charges and civil lawsuits. A case in point is the recent lawsuit filed by the daughter of a woman downstate who died in January of 2013 while a Wood River nursing home resident. The daughter alleges that negligence on the part of the nursing home’s staff was responsible for her mother’s death. The lawsuit names VIP Manor, its nursing director and officiating physician and an Illinois medical group as defendants.
According to the daughter, when her mother was found in medical distress the resident physician ordered her to an emergency room for treatment. The staff, however, did not call for emergency responders for 30 minutes and then only requested a non-emergency transfer to an emergency room. When responders reached the woman, she was unresponsive.
The lawsuit alleges that delayed treatment led directly to the woman’s death. Other allegations include negligence in monitoring and medical assessment and failure to maintain an adequate number of competent practitioners. The plaintiff is seeking a judgment in excess of the minimum jurisdictional amount allowed in the Madison County Circuit Court.
Source: The Madison-St. Clair Record, “Wood River nursing home blamed for resident’s death,” May 5, 2014