For many Illinois residents, caring for older loved ones who have health problems that require around-the-clock care can become too much of a burden. For this reason, many senior citizens are relocated into assisted living facilities and nursing homes every day. Unfortunately, families do not always know whether the facilities are reputable and can offer the promised care without endangering their loved ones. One recent nursing home death in a downstate facility may be about to bring the issue some much-needed public attention.
An alleged case of nursing home abuse occurred at a Belleville nursing home following the discovery that an 85-year-old woman died at the bottom of a flight of stairs at Midwest Rehabilitation Respiratory in early March. She was reportedly still strapped into her wheelchair. Relatives of the victim claim they saw bruises, cuts, black eyes and other evidence of physical abuse. Illinois and local authorities are investigating the death. The woman’s family is awaiting completion of the investigation, but is planning to sue the nursing home and get it shut down.
The owner apparently operates 12 more nursing homes in Illinois, 10 of them with one-star ratings. The Belleville location serves suburban communities southeast of St. Louis. Several of the owner’s facilities have seen wrongful death lawsuits against the company owner.
Even though Illinois has strict nursing home laws, abuse is not uncommon. Attorneys who handle cases involving nursing home deaths understand that the senior care business can be lucrative and that some owners are driven more by greed rather than by a mission to provide quality services.
Source: BND.com, “Owner of Belleville nursing home where resident was found dead operates 10 facilities with one-star rating,” Beth Hundsdorfer and George Pawlaczyk, March 21, 2015
