Chicago Trial Attorney Blog : Chicago Trial Lawyer & Attorney : Philip J. Berenz Law Firm : Business Litigation, Personal Injury

As many of our discussions have tackled, issues of insurance are very essential to protecting the rights of injury victims, and while insurance companies seldom willingly pay all of what they should, Illinois' mandatory insurance laws at least make sure there's a system in place to make sure that injury victims have a possibility of compensation.

That's why it comes as such a disheartening surprise that the Illinois General Assembly shot down, for the second time in four years, a proposed bill that would have required nursing homes to carry liability insurance. Amongst other things, the bill would have:

•required nursing homes to carry at least $1 million of coverage per year;

•allowed the Illinois Department of Public Health to revoke nursing home license for owners without the necessary coverage;

•forced disclosure of each nursing home’s policy to the public;

•forced a nursing home licensee to pay three times the actual damages, or $500, whichever is greater, and costs of attorney’s fees to a resident whose rights have been violated.

While it's true that the vast majority of nursing homes still voluntarily maintain liability insurance -- which makes sense, as to go uninsured would likely take only one or two big lawsuits to put them out of business -- the real pressing issue, as the article mentions, is that many nursing homes use this lack of regulations to drastically underinsure themselves, thus limiting the amounts that victims and their families generally receive, if not outright dissuading them to file suit in the first place.

Such practices are par for the course in this area, unfortunately, and provide nursing homes one more way to try to save money at their patients' expense.

You can contact us here 24/7/365 (and we really mean that as we will answer our phone) if you have any questions and to learn how we may be able to help you or your loved one who has been a victim of nursing home abuse or neglect - in particular, you will find that we listen, take your phone calls and e-mails (and even text messages!). We would be honored to help you with your matters - large or small.

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The US Supreme Court announced its long-anticipated verdict on healthcare reform and nursing home advocates are using the spotlight as a chance to renew their demands upon Illinois lawmakers to reform the state's Medicaid reimbursement procedures.

Relying heavily on statistics that suggest the state is underfunding Medicaid reimbursements by an estimated $4.7 billion, or approximately $24.34 per patient per day, these advocates are attempting to seize the moment to, essentially, echo most of the same points that they made in regards to Governor Quinn's budget debate.

Naturally, nursing homes must rely largely on government aid programs such as Medicaid to fund patient care, and with national healthcare measures looming large in both the courts and the news; it seems only natural to bring focus on their cause.

However, it's important to keep in mind that it's not just about the funds that nursing homes receive, but what they do with them -- look no further than many of these same advocates' recent efforts to persuade Illinois legislators to cut back on measures from the state's landmark 2010 Nursing Home Care Act.

At the end of the day, nursing home funding is a serious issue that merits long consideration, but there are two sides to every coin and it isn't just about the money, but how nursing homes plan on using it. This too is a serious issue that merits the same amount of attention.

You can contact us here 24/7/365 (and we really mean that as we will answer our phone) if you have any questions and to learn how we may be able to help you or your loved one who has been a victim of nursing home abuse or neglect - in particular, you will find that we listen, take your phone calls and e-mails (and even text messages!). We would be honored to help you with your matters - large or small.

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A story out of Seattle details the tragic death of an 87 year-old Alzheimer's patient -- who also happened to be a retired nursing educator -- after a number of untreated pressure ulcers, some of which had "burrowed to the bone," led to her death.

Much of this article focused on the reported shortcomings of a unique system that Washington state employees as a state-funded, low-cost alternative to nursing homes (this, too, is an interesting read and cautionary tale for Illinois residents concerned about how the state plans to fix its Medicaid funding shortfall), but the details of how this matter "slipped through the cracks" is enough to give pause to everyone concerned with this issue.

In addition to the fact that, disturbingly, this resident's pressure sores went untreated for an alleged 22 days and were allowed to "burrow[] to the bone," the following paragraph says it all:

"Investigators had cited Houghton Lakeview 33 times for inadequate care and substandard conditions. Two caregivers were convicted felons, barred from such work. Two others had forged nursing credentials. The public was never warned — nor were the residents in the home."

You can contact us here 24/7/365 (and we really mean that as we will answer our phone) if you have any questions and to learn how we may be able to help you or your loved one who has been a victim of nursing home abuse or neglect - in particular, you will find that we listen, take your phone calls and e-mails (and even text messages!). We would be honored to help you with your matters - large or small.

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Many of our discussions can, understandably, have the tendency to leave many concerned with the wellbeing and safety of their loved ones in nursing homes a bit disheartened, to say the least. Even if you do notice a situation that disadvantages your loved one, what can you do about it proactively?

The standard advice is that if you see something, say something, but say something to who? The same facility that caused the harm to your loved one to begin with?

Is the Department of Public Health, whose authority is to investigate and take action against nursing homes, slowly being chipped away by bureaucratic red tape? Unfortunately, there are no easy answers to this question, but an article out of Kansas provides an interesting model that cash and resource-depleted states such as Illinois may want to consider.

The underlying idea -- to set up a hotline to report elder abuse is certainly a positive idea, albeit something of a short-term fix. What is interesting, however, is the attempts (although unsuccessful) to place the state's attorney general at the helm of investigating adult neglect complaints. While this would be something of a radical shift if attempted in Illinois, the key to focus on is that each time this measure was proposed in Kansas, the relevant agency offered to devote more financial resources to preventing elder abuse.

This sort of "outside the box" thinking could be potentially useful in Illinois, where advocates for nursing home residents feel, by and large, that they were frozen out of recent legislative measures to clarify aspects of the landmark 2010 Nursing Home Care Act. Sometimes, these sorts of drastic measures, even if they are only used for negotiation tactics, are the best ways to get results.

You can contact us here 24/7/365 (and we really mean that as we will answer our phone) if you have any questions and to learn how we may be able to help you or your loved one who has been a victim of nursing home abuse or neglect - in particular, you will find that we listen, take your phone calls and e-mails (and even text messages!). We would be honored to help you with your matters - large or small.

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On Friday, April 5, 2013, a terrible school bus accident carrying numerous school children flipped over and per the latest news reports, many children were injured and perhaps one adult is dead.

Apparently, school buses are not required to have seat belts and this is yet another situation where innocent children are exposed to the negligence of the drivers on the road or the very people to whom these children are entrusted.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ("NHTSA"):

"Today’s school buses are built with safety in mind. They are tougher, cleaner and more diligently maintained than ever before. School bus drivers are required to receive special security and medical training, and undergo regular drug and alcohol testing to provide a safe ride for your child. And school bus traffic laws are strictly enforced."

Find out what you don’t know about school bus ridership. Learn the facts and play it safe. Visit schoolbusfacts.com for more information.

Apparently only a handful of States or so require seat belts on buses and Illinois is not one of them. How many children could have been saved from injury today?

We would like to help advocate for a change in law as a result of this matter today.  You can contact us here 24/7/365 (and we really mean that as we will answer our phone) if you have any questions and to learn how we may be able to help you or your loved one who has been a victim of a school bus crash - in particular, you will find that we listen, take your phone calls and e-mails (and even text messages!). We would be honored to help you with your matters - large or small.

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As previously discussed, nursing home reform advocates are up in arms -- and rightly so -- over a proposed law that unanimously passed through the state's House of Representatives that would force already time-strapped Department of Health officials to conduct a thorough review of a nursing home facility's past reported violations before being permitted to issue them a citation in the event of a serious injury or the death of one of their residents.

Indeed, many advocates believe that this could spell the beginning of the end for the state's landmark 2010 nursing home reform legislation.

While these fears may ultimately be well-founded, it is important to have some perspective on the matter -- and one vote is still cause for hope regarding nursing home reform. There is still pending before the House of Representatives' Joint Committee on Administrative Rules a requirement that at least 20% of the workforce in the state's nursing homes be comprised of Registered Nurses (RN's).

This would be a significant step, as requiring facilities to staff a minimum number of registered nurses has the potential to greatly decrease the number of serious or fatal incidents occurring in these facilities, as it would increase the skill level of the facilities' workforce and provide teams better equipped to respond to emergency situations.

It is important to note as well that this measure would be the first of its kind to put a minimum quota for direct care by RN's.

You can contact us here 24/7/365 (and we really mean that as we will answer our phone) if you have any questions and to learn how we may be able to help you or your loved one who has been a victim of nursing home abuse or neglect - in particular, you will find that we listen, take your phone calls and e-mails (and even text messages!). We would be honored to help you with your matters - large or small.

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Interesting, and troubling, news came out of Colorado as 21 residents and 7 staff members were reported ill with the norovirus at a suburban Denver nursing home.

Norovirus, though not considered being particularly harmful to humans, causes stomach and intestinal inflammation that can lead to dehydration and, ultimately, hospitalization in the elderly.

Although this matter has been reported to the Tri County Health Department, the facility will reportedly stay open while it conducts a cleaning procedure. This is a particularly worrisome story, regardless of how "serious" this outbreak may, or may not, be. The elderly are generally more susceptible to health issues such as these -- particularly those in nursing homes already in deteriorating health.

This is why it is important to look into the sanitation procedures that nursing home facilities have in place when considering a residence for your loved one, as poor procedures or failing to follow up on procedures in place can take a bad situation and make it worse.

You can contact us here 24/7/365 (and we really mean that as we will answer our phone) if you have any questions and to learn how we may be able to help you or your loved one who has been a victim of nursing home abuse or neglect - in particular, you will find that we listen, take your phone calls and e-mails (and even text messages!). We would be honored to help you with your matters - large or small.

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As the Chicago Sun Times previously reported an Oak Park nursing home faced a wrongful death lawsuit from the family of a dementia patient who was reportedly killed after a fight with another resident.

As the Illinois Department of Public Health report indicates, the nursing staff apparently failed to witness the incident, as the alleged aggressor walked into the victim's room and an altercation ensued, which, as the story reports, was only discovered after the staff heard loud noises and observed blood on the floor of the victim's room.

Perhaps the most troubling part of the story is that, although there was reportedly prior instances of "inappropriate behavior" by both residents, there was no supervision or monitoring plan in place for either in their plan of care.

This is particularly important, as attorneys dealing with nursing home accident cases very frequently find that the facility strayed from the resident's plan of care. The plan of care, as the name implies, sets forth the treatment and specifications that residents are to receive while in nursing home facilities. They are implemented on or around the resident's admission into these facilities and updated as circumstances warrant.

This is why, when your loved one is admitted into a nursing home, it is important to keep track of what their plan of care is. If you observe even the smallest deviation from this plan of care as time goes on, report it accordingly.

Often times, tragic events such as this are the culmination of a steadily progressing deviation from a resident's plan of care and, in any case, your loved one deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, and this includes a responsive staff that keeps to the plan of care that has been assigned.

You can contact us here 24/7/365 (and we really mean that as we will answer our phone) if you have any questions and to learn how we may be able to help you or your loved one who has been a victim of nursing home abuse or neglect - in particular, you will find that we listen, take your phone calls and e-mails (and even text messages!). We would be honored to help you with your matters - large or small.

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In an unfortunate story out of a Tennessee nursing home, three nursing assistants were charged with abuse and neglect of a depended adult, while two others were charged with failing to report abuse and neglect.

The charges stem from allegations that the nursing assistants sprayed residents with water from syringes -- sometimes while the residents were sleeping, and other times to "agitate" them -- and took compromising photographs of residents underneath their gowns.

Most troublingly, these acts appear to be done "just for kicks" because the individuals thought that it "would be comical."

Random acts of abuse such as these, done simply for the sake of abuse, should not go unnoticed, as our most vulnerable members of society that have entrusted their care to such facilities deserve much better.

You can contact us here 24/7/365 (and we really mean that as we will answer our phone) if you have any questions and to learn how we may be able to help you or your loved one who has been a victim of nursing home abuse or neglect - in particular, you will find that we listen, take your phone calls and e-mails (and even text messages!). We would be honored to help you with your matters - large or small.

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