Elder Law

Illinois Nursing Home Violation: California Gardens Nursing and Rehab Center

By Levin & Perconti

The California Gardens Nursing and Rehab Center, a care facility on the southwest side of Chicago, recently received a Type ?A? Violation from the Illinois Department of Public Health and fined $5,000. The violation resulted from mismanaged situations at the facility which involve nursing home neglect.

Contrary to proper procedure, a resident at the facility was allowed to obtain cigarettes and smoke unsupervised in his own bedroom on several occasions. Previously, the resident had burned his chest while smoking on his room while lying down. On subsequent interviews with the resident by investigators, it became clear that the problem had still not been resolved. The resident continued to obtain cigarettes and lighting capabilities.

This particular resident had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder, seizure disorder, cerebral vascular accident-prone, and diabetes. Those vulnerabilities plus the resident?s history of inappropriate smoking, mean that nursing home administrators and staff need to provide extra oversight of the resident to ensure that future violations no longer occur. The smoking presented a hazard to all residents in the facility.

Many residents live in nursing homes specifically because the homes are supposed to provide quick, expert medical care and proper oversight. But all too often, nursing homes fail to provide the oversight that residents count on. Failure to provide proper oversight of residents is just one of many forms of nursing home negligence.

Our Chicago nursing home lawyers at Levin & Perconti have experience fighting for victims of negligent nursing home care. In one case, we successfully negotiated a $1.5 million settlement for a nursing home resident, whose smoking was improperly monitored, leading to severe burns and ultimately death.

The Illinois Department of Health produces quarterly reports on nursing home violators. To access the IDPH report on this violation, please click the link.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on July 18, 2010 (boomark / email).