Illinois Appellate Court Affirms Summary Judgment Against Certain Defendants in Nursing Home Care Act Case

Lillie Michelet was admitted to the Countryside Care Centre Nursing Home on April 21, 2014. She was discharged on June 21, 2014 with bed sores on various parts of her body. The bed sores allegedly caused sepsis, which was a cause of her death on June 29, 2014.

Michelet’s son, William Harris, as special administrator of her estate, brought a lawsuit against the various nursing home entities, including Countryside Care Centre Inc. and Countryside Care LLC (collectively, Countryside defendants), claiming negligence and violations of the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act (210 ILCS 45/1-101 et seq.).

The trial judge granted summary judgment to the Countryside defendants because they sold Countryside Care Centre to Symphony Countryside LLC on Dec. 31, 2011 and thus had no ownership, operational interest, or financial interest of the facility during the time Michelet was a resident.

From that trial court order, Harris appealed, arguing that after acquiring the nursing home, Symphony represented itself to the public as “Countryside Care Centre” with the knowledge and acquiescence of the Countryside defendants, thus creating an issue of fact as to whether the Countryside defendants could be held vicariously liable for Symphony’s negligence under a theory of apparent agency. Pursuant to the Illinois Supreme Court’s recent decision in Yarbrough v. Northwestern Memorial Hospital, 2017 IL 121367, the Illinois Appellate Court disagreed with Harris and affirmed the trial court’s summary judgment order in favor the Countryside defendants.

Harris v. Symphony Countryside, LLC, 2019 IL App (1st) 180160 (March 19, 2019).

Kreisman Law Offices has been handling nursing home negligence lawsuits, nursing home abuse cases, nursing home bed sore injury lawsuits and medical negligence cases for individuals, families and loved ones who have been harmed, injured or died as a result of the carelessness or negligence of a medical provider for more than 40 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Winfield, Westchester, Hinsdale, Des Plaines, Glencoe, Chicago (Wicker Park, Rogers Park, Albany Park, Jefferson Park, Jackson Park, South Shore, Hegewisch, East Side), Mundelein, Grayslake, Gurnee, Long Grove, Naperville and Libertyville, Ill.

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