Articles Posted in Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect

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We like to take note of outstanding verdicts and settlements from around the country on our blog.  Today an Arizona jury awarded $11 million to the widow of a 36 year old victim of a traumatic brain injury that occured at an assisted living facility.

While a resident at the facility his caregivers force fed him plastic bags, catsup packets, paper towels and candy wrappers which caused an obstruction of his GI tract.  These foreign body obstructions directly caused the patients death.

Every patient at every facility deserves to be cared for in a humane and dignified way. 

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SayingSorryTLW_Mar28_p7.jpgOften times when we meet with new clients in our Chicago office they tell us that they are most upset about the fact that no one has ever said they are sorry after a tragic event occurs.  Lawyers and insurance companies have for years advised their doctor clients to deny and defend.  The rationale behind this behavior is an attempt to foil these patients from filing claims or costly lawsuits.  This behavior is contrary to what most of us learn at an early age, taking responsibility for ones actions and showing empathy is better than running away from the truth.

Malcolm Gladstone in his book Blink acknowledged this behavior and cited an interesting study that showed that when a doctor apologized for a mistake his patients were less likely to pursue legal action.  Gladstone makes a very important point. People just dont sue doctors that they like.  He cites work by medical researcher Wendy Levinson who recorded hundreds of conversations between a group of physicians and their patients. Roughly half of the doctors had never been sued. The other half had been sued at least twice, and Levinson found that just on the basis of those conversations, she could find clear differences between the two groups. The surgeons who had never been sued spent more than three minutes longer with each patient than those who had been sued did (18.3 minutes versus 15 minutes). They were more likely to make “orienting” comments, such as “First I’ll examine you, and then we will talk the problem over” or “I will leave time for your questions”–which help patients get a sense of what the visit is supposed to accomplish and when they ought to ask questions. They were more likely to engage in active listening, saying such things as “Go on, tell me more about that,” and they were far more likely to laugh and be funny during the visit. Interestingly, there was no difference in the amount or quality of information they gave their patients; they didn’t provide more details about medication or the patient’s condition. The difference was entirely in how they talked to their patients.

Thirty-five states have passed laws making expressions of apology within the first month-or-so after an incident occurs inadmissable in a civil lawsuit for malpractice.  With apology legislation mistakes have now become teaching opportunities as opposed to adversarial situations.  This allows patients to understand the situation, find answers and assure that justice is served.

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The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that workers at the Itasca nursing home that allowed Sarah Wentworth to wander outside and die in the freezing cold weather could face criminal charges.

According to Dan Rozek, Sun-Times Staff Reporter, a grand jury has been convened in DuPage County to consider charging certain members of the staff of the nursing home with criminal neglect in connection with the death of the eighty-nine year old woman.

The family has already filed a wrongful death civil lawsuit alleging that the nursing home and its staff were negligent in their supervision of the elderly Ms. Wentworth.

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A court has ordered the inspection of an Itasca nursing home where a resident wandered out into the cold and died in January, according to ABC News7 Chicago.

The inspection comes on the heels of a wrongful death lawsuit the family of 89-year-old Sarah Wentworth filed alleging neglect and abuse of the part of the nursing home where the woman had been a resident.

While prosecutors continue their investigation into the Itasca nursing home, the woman’s family conducted its own investigation into how the 89-year-old ended up freezing to death when she was supposed to be in a safe and protected environment.

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In 2005 the Illinois legislature enacted the Medical Malpractice Reform Act.  The law is nothing new to the State of Illinois. Twice before this type of law was enacted and subsequently struck down as a violation of the state constitution. The Supreme Court has twice decided in favor of patients and against the insurance companies seeking to protect their own profits.

The current case before the Illinois Supreme Court is really a case about a little girl who placed her life in the hands of physicians that she and her family trusted.  This little girl has a name and it is Abigaile LeBron.

Abigaile is a three-year-old whose life has been catastrophically altered by the severe and disabling brain injury that she suffered as a result of medical malpractice. Due to this negligence Abigaile will never live a normal life, will have to forever be feed through a feeding tube and will require constant care and attention from round the clock caregivers.

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What is a lien?

A physician is allowed to put a lien against any future settlement that comes out of that lawsuit. Or, a physician might be able to enter into a contract with a patient allowing the doctor to put a lien on whoever is responsible for his payment after the case is settled or decided. The lien, which can be sent to the defendant, the defendant’s attorney and the plaintiff’s attorney, would include the amount of reasonable charges for services rendered. The lien ensures that the physician’s name is on the settlement check, or that a check is cut once a settlement is made. A physician’s lien is a collection remedy employed by doctors to collect outstanding bills.

How is a lien created?

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