Cook County Wrongful Death Law Blog

Many families in the Cook County area have had to make the agonizing decision to place their loved one in a nursing home. Although most people do not want to put a family member in a nursing home, they are necessary facilities for those who are unable to take care of themselves. As a large population continues to age, more people will need skilled nursing care. But, while most facilities understand the importance of patient safety, some facilities have caused serious nursing home abuse injuries.

A woman who was a resident of the Oak Brook Care center is suing the long-term facility for neglect. She was a resident of the facility in 2017 where she alleges that negligence caused her physical condition to deteriorate. She had a surgical incision on her leg that opened, causing a sore to deteriorate along which required multiple removals of damaged tissue. The victim also reported she had additional physical and mental deterioration, poor quality of life and pain and suffering because of the negligence.

Although most children in Illinois are healthy, occasionally, parents need to take their children to the hospital for an illness. Luckily, medical providers in Chicago are some of the best and usually provide excellent care. Unfortunately, this is not the case for every family and medical malpractice, such as a missed diagnosis, occurs far too often.

A local family is suing the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital, along with a physician and the Pediatric Faculty Foundation. The patient alleges that she saw the physician in 2006 and was diagnosed with kidney failure. She was under this physician's care until 2012. In 2012, she was diagnosed with urinary reflux, and in 2014, she needed a kidney transplant. She and her parents allege that the doctor and hospital failed to recommend or perform any reasonable diagnostic tests, or refer her to a specialist while she was under the physician and hospital care from 2006-2012. Because of their negligence, the plaintiffs allege that the patient's medical condition worsened.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that approximately 1 in 10 patients are suffering from bedsores at any given time. They estimate that of those, approximately 13 percent are men and 11 percent are women who currently reside in nursing homes. While treatable in the early stages, nursing home neglect can allow the problem to reach life-threatening and even fatal, stages.

Bedsores are caused by continuous pressure on any certain spot. They are categorized in stages from one to four. In stage one, the skin is not broken but the skin will appear red or darker. It may also be tender or painful to the touch, and can feel warmer than the skin around it. In stage two, the skin begins to show damage. The sore will be red or yellow in color, and can look like a blister. If caught in either of these stages, bedsores are the easiest to treat and cure.

One 47-year-old male worker is dead, and four other workers have been injured, in a Chicago parking garage fire. On Saturday, December 29th, black smoke could be seen billowing from the top of the 10-story garage located in the River North district. At the time, a total of five people employed by a roofing contractor were in an elevator penthouse area performing winter preparations. The cause of the fire is still unknown. According to Chicago fire Battalion Chief Cynthia Herring, the four workers who survived were all transported to area hospitals in serious or critical condition.

The death of a worker in the course of employment is a serious matter. A family often finds themselves grieving the tragic loss of a loved one, while also dealing with the uncertainty of what caused it. While investigations of this nature are generally carried out at an expedited pace, they still take time. A cause of death must be determined before a family may receive life insurance proceeds in order to properly lay a lost loved one to rest, as well as address ongoing expenses. It is a stressful situation in which no family should be forced to navigate alone.