Elder Law

Lawsuit Alleges Wrongful Discharge From Nursing Home

By Levin & Perconti

The Southeast Texas Record published a story this month on a nursing home lawsuit involving the death of a beloved family member. The suit alleges the victim?s doctor wrongfully ordered the discharge of the woman which ultimately led to her death. The nursing home and the transport service involved in the incident were also named in the lawsuit.

The nursing home victim was admitted to the Baywind Village in mid-September 2008 after suffering incapacitation following dementia and Parkinson?s disease. Yet, shockingly, records indicate that the resident was discharged only two weeks later and moved without her permission. The doctor named in the suit had ordered Baywind Village to use Enterprise Ambulance to transfer the woman to the alternative location, even though it was clear that her condition required constant supervision by a qualified specialist.

The victim was ultimately dropped off at the alternative facility in a different town. However, no one was around to help her at the new elder care home when she arrived. Shortly after being left there she began having medical problems, including aspirating vomit. When employees of the new facility finally arrived, they found her struggling to breathe on the floor. She was rushed to a local hospital, fell into a coma, and died a few days later.

Our course, the shortsighted thinking of the medical professionals charged to care for the vulnerable senior cannot be excused or explained. Our Chicago nursing home attorneys at Levin & Perconti are well aware of incidents like this that occur when nursing home residents are not viewed as important members of society but parts of a business enterprise to be shuttled around at the whim of administrators. These actions must never be tolerated. Please contact a nursing home lawyer if you know of similar practice at a nearby nursing home.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on October 22, 2010 (boomark / email).