Justia Lawyer Rating for Robert D. Kreisman

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Muriel Eastwick was in her 90s and suffered from dementia. She lived at Statesman Health and Rehabilitation Services, a skilled nursing facility owned by Extendicare and other entities.

During the years that she lived at this facility, she suffered from malnutrition, dehydration, chronic urinary tract infections, broken teeth, skin problems and bruising, an infected hip wound, an abscess on her buttock, and a Stage III pressure sore on her left heel.

Eastwick eventually died from these health issues. She was survived by her two adult children.  Her daughter, on behalf of her mother’s estate, sued Extendicare Inc., alleging negligent hiring and staffing, choosing not to provide adequate hygiene and nutrition, and deciding not to prevent and treat the pressure sore that Eastwick had developed.

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A nursing home resident, Verna Kelley, suffered from dementia and other medical issues including incontinence. She required special care and was living at Edgewood Convalescent Home. While a nurse’s aide was taking care of her and while the nursing aide placed a pad underneath Kelley, the aide went around to the other side of the bed, where the bed rails were left opened. The aide grabbed the pad, which had become stuck, and this caused Kelley to roll out of bed.

Kelley suffered a broken right femur and underwent surgery.  She then suffered a stroke, which led to her death just two weeks later. She was survived by her six adult children.

The Kelley family sued the nursing home, alleging negligent hiring of the aide, who, the Kelley family claimed, had been fired from a previous job for performing an unsafe Hoyer lift.

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The Illinois Appellate Court reversed an order that dismissed the complaint of Itadil Zayed that was filed against Clark Manor Convalescent Center by the independent administrator of the estate of Said Mohammad Zayed.

Said Zayed was a resident of Clark Manor and was disabled due to dementia. He fell out of his bed and fractured his hip in March 2014, allegedly as a result of the nursing home’s negligence. Zayed died in September 2015 and the lawsuit was filed in July 2017.

Responding to Clark Manor’s motion to dismiss the complaint as too late under the two-year statute of limitations on a negligence claim, Itadil Zayed relied on Illinois Code of Civil Procedure Section 13-211, which says someone who is legally disabled, as was Zayed, when he is injured, is allowed two years to sue, running from the date the disability is removed and Section 13-209(a)(1).

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Joe Gutierrez was admitted to Mira Vista Court Nursing Home. At the time of his admission, he required help with daily living activities, and the facility allegedly represented to his daughter that it could meet his needs.

During Gutierrez’s stay at the Mira Vista Court Nursing Home, he suffered multiple falls, including a traumatic fall that necessitated transfer to a hospital where he was diagnosed as having broken three facial bones. This led to facial swelling, and it necessitated intubation and mechanical ventilation.

Gutierrez’s daughter, on his behalf, sued the nursing home’s owners and managers alleging improper staffing and supervision and choosing not to provide medical and nursing care in an appropriate and needed fashion.

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The Estate of Lucille Rigoli sued the owners and operators of a nursing home for negligently causing her wrongful death and suffering before her death. She died on May 10, 2016. The court appointed Michael Rigoli to serve as independent executor of her estate.

On March 13, 2018, Rigoli, as executor, filed a complaint against ManorCare of Oak Lawn (West) and Heartland Employment Services, alleging that they chose not to provide adequate medical care to Lucille Rigoli and thus their decisions led to her fall and the fracture of her hip on March 15, 2016. The lawsuit included separate counts against each defendant for wrongful death and for the pain she suffered before her death under the Probate Act of 1975 (755 ILCS 5/27-6, commonly known as the Survival Act).

The Survival Act of Illinois is found in the Probate Act. Section 27-6 (Actions which survive) states that  in addition to the actions which survive by the common law, the following also survive: …actions to recover damages for an injury to the person(except slander and libel), actions to recover damages for an injury to real or personal property.

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Kathleen Menard, 97, was a resident in an assisted living facility. While she was in an outside courtyard at her assisted living facility on an extremely hot day, she fell off her motorized scooter and landed behind some trees.

She was found unconscious about four hours later and transferred to a hospital for treatment of heat-related illness, including a third-degree sunburn. Menard died within two months. She was survived by her adult son and daughter.

Menard’s children, on behalf of her estate, sued the assisted living facility and its owner alleging that it chose not to ensure her safety by, among other things, checking on her while she was outside, installing security cameras in the courtyard and trimming the trees in the courtyard to ensure staff members had a full view of residents who were outside of the facility.

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Doe, 62, suffered from developmental delays and schizophrenia and lived at Roe Residential Care Facility. While Doe was there, he suffered a vicious beating from his roommate, resulting in a fractured left femur, four broken bones, a broken left clavicle and a collapsed lung. There were other injuries as well.

Doe remained in the hospital’s intensive care unit for two weeks after this occurrence. He was later transferred to a skilled nursing facility for two months.

Doe sued the residential care facility alleging that it knew or should have known that Doe’s roommate was not an appropriate candidate for admission due to the roommate’s tendencies toward violence. Doe further claimed that the defendant residential care facility, Roe Facility, chose not to follow the applicable regulations for its admission and retention of the roommate.

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Opal Moore, 92, suffered from dementia with agitation. After a hospital stay, she was admitted to the memory care unit at Superior Care Home for rehabilitation.

When she was admitted, her family instructed various nursing home personnel and its owner that she had aggressive behaviors, such as spitting and cursing. A care plan was established, which included a psychological consultation.

However, the consultation was not done and her aggressive behaviors increased. Several months after her admission, she spat on another resident in the dining room. A nurse then contacted her attorney-in-fact and requested that the family provide sitters.

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Rae Hemingway was admitted to the Crestview Center Nursing Home. At the time of the admission, Hemingway’s risk factors were falling, which were documented; they included her history of falls, contractures, decreased circulatory function, and use of assisted ambulatory devices. She was considered a fall risk. By order she was not permitted to walk or remain unattended as a resident of this nursing home because of her fall risks.

Nonetheless, Hemingway was allowed to walk from the facility’s lobby down a hallway. She fell and struck her head and face resulting in a traumatic subarachnoid hematoma and multiple fractures to her face and arms.

Hemingway died several weeks later from complications of her injuries. She was survived by her adult son and daughter.

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Jane Holloway was an employee of Oakridge Convalescent Home on Feb. 7, 2011. She filed a charge of discrimination in violation of the Illinois Human Rights Act (775 ILCS 5/1-101 et seq.) against Oakridge Nursing & Rehab Center LLC (“Oakridge Center”) who was the employer and the managing company of Oakridge Convalescent Home.

Oakridge Center received notice of the charge in the spring of 2011 and transferred substantially all of its assets for no consideration to Oakridge Healthcare Center, LLC (“Oakridge Healthcare”). Oakridge Healthcare became the new manager of Oakridge Convalescent Home. Holloway subsequently obtained an administrative judgment of $30,880.  When Oakridge Center chose not to satisfy the judgment, the State of Illinois filed a complaint against Oakridge Healthcare, as the successor of Oakridge Center to enforce compliance with Holloway’s judgment.

Oakridge Healthcare filed a motion for summary judgment; the circuit court granted it. The State of Illinois appealed and argued that it presented sufficient evidence to create material issue of fact that Oakridge Center transferred its assets for the fraudulent purpose of escaping Holloway’s judgment.

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