Elder Law

Nursing Home Aide Pleads Guilty in Patient?s Death

By Levin & Perconti

A 55-year-old former nursing home aide pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter in the death of an Alzheimer?s patient whom she fed steaming-hot cereal. The victim was being cared for by the hospice unit of a nursing home when the nurses? aide poured hot Cream of Wheat down his throat. The cereal so scalded the victim?s mouth and esophagus that he was unable to eat any longer. He was treated for second-degree burns at a hospital and wrongfully died two weeks later. The nursing home assistant then pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter which is a misdemeanor of the first degree that carries a maximum penalty of 2 ½ to five years in prison. The woman cried on the stand as she admitted responsibility for not checking the temperature of the cereal before feeding the victim. Her elderly abuse heightened when it was learned that the man could not speak. The court did take into account that the aide was not acting out of malice when the nursing home negligence occurred. The nursing home let a half-day go by before seeking medical attention for the nursing home abuse victim. The state Department of Public Welfare revoked its provisional license in the wake of this and two other incidents. The woman was fired from her job at the nursing home but continues to work as a private attendant for an elderly woman. This is an example of why all nursing homes must do substantial background checks when hiring an employee. To read more about the wrongful death, please click the link.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on August 10, 2009 (boomark / email).