Our Illinois nursing homes and long-term care facilities are governed by specific state laws and regulations in order to hold employees and managers accountable for providing the best care for patients and residents. Although these laws and regulations exist in order to prevent patients from receiving anything less than the standard of care at our Illinois facilities, nursing home negligencecontinues to be a problem in our state and throughout the entire country.
Nursing home negligence takes many forms. A patient could suffer broken bones after a fall if a facility is not maintained properly. Another resident could become a victim of sexual abuse. And a patient could die if nursing staff neglects warning signs indicating that a patient is not responding well to treatment or medications.
Last month, a lawsuit citing negligence was filed against a long-term care facility in Alton, Illinois. The lawsuit claims that a patient at Alton Memorial Hospital, which was doing business as Eunice Smith Home at the time, died after the facility’s staff failed to properly diagnose and assess the patient’s conditions after he began showing signs that his health was rapidly deteriorating. After 13 days from first being admitted to the long-term care facility, the patient died.
On Aug. 17, 2010, the patient was admitted to the Illinois nursing home. Shortly after being admitted to the facility, the patient began to quickly lose weight. It was also discovered that he had suffered from ulcers and dehydration, but his family was never informed about the concerning health problems. Thirteen days later, the man was hospitalized.
According to the lawsuit, the man suffered serious injuries from not being properly cared for while he was living at the facility. He later died at a local hospital after suffering complications from the alleged injuries that were sustained at the long-term care facility.
The lawsuit states that the facility and its staff had caused the man to suffer injuries that eventually led to his death because his deteriorating health was not properly addressed. By failing to provide adequate care for the man and neglecting to inform his family about his worsened health conditions, the lawsuit also states that the facility and its staff had violated several laws including the Illinois Nursing Care Act, the Illinois Wrongful Death Act and the Illinois Survival Statute.
As a result of the loss of their loved one, the man’s family is now seeking $200,000 in damages.
Source: The Madison St. Clair Record, “Eunice Smith Home sued over resident’s death,” Andrea Dearden, Nov. 3, 2011