Justia Lawyer Rating for Robert D. Kreisman

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Nicholas Zilocchi was admitted to the Garden Spring Center Nursing Home after undergoing a leg amputation. At the time of his admission, it was recorded that he had skin tears and wounds, and he was anxious and agitated about these injuries.

Over the next few days, Zilocchi was diagnosed as having additional bed sores including one on his right heel that could not be staged. He was later admitted to a hospital for treatment of septic shock, respiratory failure and necrotic skin wounds that included his right heel. Despite the treatment that he received at this hospital, he died.

Zilocchi’s adult daughter, on behalf of the estate, sued the nursing home’s owners alleging that they chose not to treat his existing pressure ulcers and skin wounds and prevent new bed sores from developing. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants had decided not to provide basic hygiene and health care to while he was a resident at this nursing home.

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A state court has found that the plaintiff’s claim that a home health caregiver and agency may be liable for the caregiver’s negligence in supervising a patient but it did not amount to a medical negligence case.

Tammy Upchurch was an employee of Right at Home; she was assigned to provide at-home caregiving services to Ida Stratz. During Upchurch’s shift, she fell asleep. While Upchurch was sleeping, Stratz wandered outside her residence. Several hours later, she was found lying face-down in the snow, unconscious.

Stratz was taken to a nearby hospital where she died. Stratz’s estate sued Upchurch and Right at Home, alleging liability for Stratz’s death.

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Doe, age 12, was removed from her mother’s home. The Devereux Foundation placed Doe in a home of the child’s estranged father, who had a verified history of sexually abusing a minor. During the next year-and-a-half, Doe’s father allegedly raped Doe.

Doe, through a representative, filed suit against The Devereux Foundation, alleging negligent placement in an unsafe environment, choosing not to complete a home study and reunification report, and deciding not to remove her from the home after information came to light regarding her father’s history and after a review revealed that mistakes have been made during the course of her placement.

The lawsuit also named Eckerd Youth Alternatives Inc., which performed the background screening on Doe’s father and had subcontracted Doe’s placement to The Devereux Foundation, alleging that Eckerd failed to ensure that Devereux had adequately performed its responsibilities.

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The Illinois Appellate Court for the 1st District reversed and remanded a decision from a Cook County dismissal order.

Barbara Mickiewicz suffered from dementia and was a resident of the Glenbridge Nursing & Rehabilitation Centre Ltd. in northwest suburban Niles from April 2013 until Feb. 17, 2016.

Although she was never adjudicated disabled, she was considered legally disabled because of her dementia. Mickiewicz suffered several falls while at the nursing home, including the final one on Jan. 27, 2016. After that fall, she was transferred to a hospital emergency room. About 4 months later, she died of complications related to her injury.

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Superior Care Homes resident Regina Tallent was 84 years old and suffered from Parkinson’s Disease, macular degeneration, hand contractures and cognitive deficits.

Her condition required one-to-one care and a mechanical soft diet to prevent choking. Over the course of one month, she experienced two choking incidents while eating a strawberry and a cherry tomato.

The second incident caused Tallent to turn blue and lose consciousness. While she was choking, a Heimlich maneuver was applied.

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Ann Jones, 63, was admitted to Fairlane Senior Care & Rehab Center for rehabilitation after she suffered a stroke. A care plan was established. The plan included Jones’s medical background as an insulin-dependent Type 2 diabetic who was prone to blood sugar fluctuations.

For approximately two months, she received no blood sugar checks or sliding scale insulin adjustments. Worse yet, for several months, Jones rarely received a nighttime snack, which is essential for diabetics.

A doctor revised Jones’s orders and noted that she had uncontrolled diabetes. Despite this late recognition and treatment, the nursing home’s nursing staff chose not to check Jones’s blood sugar for a number of months.

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Pura Figueroa, 93, suffered from Parkinson’s disease and dementia and lived at the Muskego Nursing Home. While she was in the nursing home’s activity room with approximately eleven other residents, she fell, suffering a subdural hematoma and a facial laceration.

Figueroa died a few days later.  She was survived by her adult daughter.

Figueroa’s daughter, on behalf of her estate, sued the nursing home alleging that it chose not to properly monitor her mother, failed to adequately train employees, and failed to provide adequate staff.

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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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