Elder Law

Levin & Perconti Settle Nursing Home Case for $1 Million

By Levin & Perconti

One of Lake County, Illinois?s largest nursing home negligence lawsuits ended after the county agreed to a $1 million payment to the family of the woman. Lake County agreed to pay the settlement to the family of an Alzheimer?s patient who died at age 83 while she was a resident at the Winchester House in Libertyville. Levin & Perconti filed the lawsuit on behalf of the woman?s husband and daughters claiming that the county-operated nursing home failed to take proper measures to prevent the woman?s continuous falls. The woman was admitted to the Winchester House in January 2004 as her dementia had increased and she became unsteady in her walking. Attorney Steven Levin argued that despite her unsteadiness, the woman never had a fall assessment completed by the staff at the nursing home. He also stated that the nursing home took no significant action to prevent further falls after she tumbled six times in her first eight months at the home. Levin stated that the nursing home had six opportunities to assure future injuries would not occur. By September of 2004, nurses at implemented wheelchair and bed alarms, but the technology was not used properly and the woman fell two more times. These falls caused her to suffer brain injures and hip and elbow fractures. She died in early January 2005. According to Levin, the $1 million settlement is the largest nursing home settlement in Lake County history. To read the full story, click here.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on November 08, 2008 (boomark / email).