Articles Posted in Nursing Home Errors

Maria Elena Fernandez, 71, fell and fractured her ankle. She was taken to a nearby hospital where she was met by orthopedist Dr. Charles Jordan who ordered Heparin, a blood thinner, to treat Fernandez’s risk of deep vein thrombosis. The doctor also ordered a compression boot to handle the fractured ankle.

Three days after that hospital admission, Dr. Jordan sent Fernandez to St. Anne’s Nursing Care & Residence with orders that she receive anticoagulants.

Despite this doctor order, Fernandez did not receive the anticoagulant medicine at St. Anne’s Nursing Care.
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According to the report of this case, the Illinois Appellate Court has reversed the dismissal of a medical malpractice case. The case had been dismissed by the trial judge on the ground that the plaintiff did not meet the requirement of filing the 90-day certificate of merit, which is required by Section 2-622 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure.

A doctor’s affidavit, which was filed late, should not have been enough to reject a medical malpractice lawsuit, the appeals panel ruled.

According to the Illinois Appellate Court opinion, the Cook County Circuit Court judge abused his discretion when he dismissed Earnest and Mildred Lee’s lawsuit against Rush Oak Park Hospital and Dr. Juan Cobo. The circuit court judge dismissed the case because they did not file their Health Professional’s Report within the 90-day window.
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Ethel Bolton had been a resident of Glenshire Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Richton Park, Ill. She was there from 2001 until 2006. During the years 2004 through 2006, she was cared for by internist Dr. Lance Wallace.

On July 7, 2005, Bolton had an abnormal albumin level of 3.2, which is a sign of malnutrition.

Beginning on Sept. 30, 2005, Bolton also had skin breakdowns and bedsores, which worsened over the next four months. On Jan. 29, 2006, Bolton’s daughter, Margaret, noticed at the nursing home that her mother was naked in a backroom in a general state of neglect showing signs of malnutrition, dehydration, emaciation and multiple areas of skin breakdown and bedsores.

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Sue Carter brought Joyce Gott to the Odin Nursing Home in 2005. Carter signed an arbitration agreement as Gott’s “legal representative.” Gott also signed an arbitration agreement with Odin after she was admitted to the nursing home facility.

Carter’s lawsuit filed against Odin claimed that the nursing home’s negligence caused Gott to die from gastrointestinal bleeding, anemia and respiratory failure.

Count I of Carter’s complaint was brought for Gott’s personal-injury claim preserved by the Illinois Survival Act. Count II of the complaint was for Gott’s heirs under the Illinois Wrongful Death Act.