Seattle Injury Blog
An alarming report in the Chicago Tribune talks about an increase in reports of violent attacks by felons living in nursing homes. Many nursing home facilities are apparently not complying with a four-year-old disclosure law that requires them to notify state and public health officials when they admit offenders. As a result, some offenders in that state have been living in facilities undeclared for as long as a year.
There have been several recent incidents involving felons abusing or seriously injuring other nursing home residents. Most recently a 22-year-old mentally ill felon pleaded guilty to brutally raping a 69-year-old woman who lived in the same nursing home. In that case, the felon’s background screening had been improperly handled by the nursing home because they used the wrong birth date. In Illinois, nursing homes are required to conduct criminal background checks on all new residents and immediately notify state health authorities when someone with a serious felony conviction is admitted.
However, some homes still fail to conduct these important background checks or make serious errors on the checks, or simply fail to report these felons to officials. Some of these offenders, as a result, went on to commit assaults and serious crimes inside the homes. As a result of the nursing home’s negligence and their failure to take these background checks seriously, they exposed their own residents to danger.
If you were the victim of such nursing home negligence, please remember that you have legal rights. If your loved one died as a result of nursing home negligence or abuse, you may be able to file a wrongful death claim against the nursing home. Please call the experienced Seattle personal injury lawyers with The Bernard Law Group at 1-800-418-8282 or e-mail us at info@bernardlawgroup.com to schedule your FREE, comprehensive and confidential consultation. We can also send you our FREE informational brochure, which has useful information to help you understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.
Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/chi-nursing-home-felonsdec21,0,3678332.story