North Aurora Nursing Home Sued Over Fall
When a family decides to place a parent or other loved one in a nursing home, they expect a certain level of care. Residents of nursing homes require a significant amount of assistance doing everyday tasks such as eating and bathing. Furthermore, most nursing home residents have serious health issues which make them unable to care for themselves. Nursing home staff have a responsibility to keep individuals in their care safe and comfortable to the best of their ability. When staff are negligent and do not provide the expected level of care to their patients, they can be held liable.
Elderly Woman Dies After Fall
A $50,000 lawsuit filed recently in the Kane County Circuit Court claims that a North Aurora nursing home failed to properly monitor an elderly woman and that this negligence led to her death. The 86-year-old woman passed away in February of 2016. A year prior to her death, she was admitted to the North Aurora nursing home. The wrongful death lawsuit claims that the elderly woman was a high risk for falls, and that the nursing home staff should have taken certain precautions to prevent this.
The plaintiffs claim that the nursing home had a responsibility to evaluate the woman’s risk of falling and then provide adequate supervision and assistance in order to prevent her from hurting herself. Unfortunately, within the same month as her arrival, the woman did fall and suffered serious injuries. In addition to needing ten stitches, the 86 year-old suffered cervical, nasal and orbital fractures. The suit claims that this fall led to the woman’s physical and mental decline and, eventually, her death. The complaint also alleges that the Illinois nursing home failed to appropriately train staff and follow its own policies and procedures for supervising residents.
According to records from the Illinois Department of Public Health, this is not the first time the nursing home has been in hot water over their lack of resident supervision. A month before the elderly woman’s death, the nursing home was cited and fined $25,000 by Illinois safety officials for failing to supervise residents at high risk for falls.
Illinois Nursing Home Injury Lawyers
Nursing home residents have certain rights afforded to them by the Nursing Home Care Act. Among others, the residents have the right to be free from neglect. When a staff shortage causes high-risk nursing home residents to be left unattended, they can easily become injured. If you or a loved one has been injured or killed due to nursing home negligence, you should know that you may be entitled to financial compensation. For answers to all your nursing home abuse and neglect questions or schedule a free consultation of your case, contact a Chicago nursing home neglect lawyer today by calling 312-535-4625.
Sources:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/news/ct-abn-asbury-wrongful-death-st-0215-20180215-story.html
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs5.asp?ActID=1225&ChapterID=21