New Illinois Court Decision Holds That No Punitive Damages Can Be Awarded In Survival Actions Involving Nursing Home Negligence
Some of the substantial verdicts we have recently discussed at the Nursing Homes Abuse Blog here and here involve jury verdicts with punitive damage components. While some of these verdicts may seem excessive, most of the time the damages are awarded because the facilities conduct was so extreme that it deserves to be punished. In most jurisdictions, the punitive damages can only be pursued after a judge has approved the punitive damage portion of the lawsuit. Unlike compensatory damages, that compensate an injured party, punitive damages are intended to punish the wrongdoing facility. While punitive damages may be awarded against one...
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New Court Decision Allows Nursing Home Negligence Action To Proceed Against Facility Administrator
Childs v. Pinnacle Health Care, LLC is a wrongful death and nursing home negligence case that was filed against Pinnacle Health Care, the nursing home corporation, and Carolyn English, its director of nursing. Pinnacle Health Care, LLC is a nursing home located in Waukegan, IL. The trial court dismissed with prejudice the three counts against the director of nursing because the allegations were limited to her role as the director of nursing and were premised on the Nursing Home Care Act (210 ILCS 45), which provides that only licensees and owners of nursing homes can be held liable under the Nursing...
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Investigation Concludes: Most Nursing Home Administrators Are Never Disciplined For Poor Care
Information compiled by the Illinois Nursing Home Task Force revealed that out of 407 complaints directed to administrators from 2005 through 2009, only three of the complaints resulted in discliplinary action. Obviously, the overwhelming majority of complaints directed towards nursing home adminsitrators-- the effective heads of the operation--- went without any action. In Illinois and other states, nursing home administrators may be disciplined by state and federal authorities for a variety of legal infractions such as professional incompetence and violating Illinois' Nursing Home Care Act, which protect patients from emotional and physical harm. According to Toby Edelman, an attorney with...
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The Illinois Nursing Home Act & Resident Rights
Illinois nursing home residents are protected under The Nursing Home Care Act (210 ILCS 45). The Act covers nursing home residents regardless of whether the facility is operated for profit or not. Under the Act, a ‘nursing home’ must fit into the category of a ‘long-term care facility’ in order for the law to apply. A ‘long-term care facility’ is defined as a ‘private home, institution, building, residence, or any other place, whether operated for profit or not, or a country home for the infirm and chronically ill…which provides through ownership or management, personal care, sheltered care or nursing for...
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