As reported by the Chicago Sun Times, and other media, the widow has filed a lawsuit alleging that a nursing home was negligent in protecting her husband, A.C., 80, from an assault that resulted in his death.
The suit is filed against the Oak Park Healthcare Center on behalf of A.C.’s widow, B.C.
The suit claims that the nursing home staff failed to supervise two men, both with histories of violent outbursts, when they started to fight.
A 16-page report was released by the Illinois Department of Public Health, IDPH, after the suit was filed.
The report revealed that on February 12 a 66 year-old Oak Park resident attacked 80 year-old resident A.C. The younger man had a violent criminal record and felony background.
On February 14 A.C. died as a result of the serious brain injury he sustained in the beating.
The report outlines testimony from the on-duty nursing staff – revealing that none of the staff had witnessed the fight although many nurses reported that once they heard yelling they immediately went to investigate.
From the nursing station, one nurse said she saw A.C. “wandering the nursing unit” and the younger man standing between the rooms of two patients. When she heard the younger man “raise his voice” and then heard a loud noise, she just made it around a corner in the hallway when “she observed blood on the floor, and ‘lots of blood’ coming from (A.C.s) head.”
The report stated that staff was unaware of both patient’s proclivity toward violence. However, the administration, according to the report, was aware that both men wandered the halls and made verbal outbursts on more than one occasion. One certified nurse’s aide backed up this information by stating, “That is why we have a (certified nurses assistant) seated in the hallway to monitor.”
The IDPH report, in acknowledging that the administration knew of the problem, and that the staff did not, wrote that there was no communication or treatment plan.
The report added, “(The nurse) said there was no supervision or monitoring in place for (A.C. or his assailant) and the nurse said she was “unaware of any unusual behaviors displayed by (the assailant).”
The report concluded, “(The assailant’s) current plan of treatment has no plan to monitor/supervise (his) behavior of wandering into other resident’s rooms, no plan to monitor/supervise (his) inappropriate behavior with other residents, and no plan to monitor/supervise (his) history of aggression toward other residents.”
Allegedly Oak Park Healthcare is working to correct the deficiencies listed by the IDPH.
The attorney for the family, John Perconti, said, “In this case, both (A.C.) and his assailant were left unsupervised, allowing this tragic altercation to occur. We believe that (A.C.’s) death could have been prevented if he and his fellow resident were monitored by staff…”
The suit stated the nursing home violated both federal and state nursing home regulations – in their failure to protect their patient, A.C., from abuse and neglect.
The loss of a loved one, due to neglect or abuse, is grounds for a wrongful death lawsuit. Click here to contact a personal injury lawyer for help.