An 87-year-old woman with Alzheimer’s disease who was living at the Grove at the Lake Living and Rehabilitation Center in Zion, Illinois was hospitalized in August with a black eye and a severely fractured jaw.
The woman is a new resident of the Grove on the Lake nursing home. She moved into the facility just three months ago.
The nursing home contact the daughter of the victim and told her that she had been hospitalized because of an abscess in her mouth. Surgeons told the daughter that the injuries could not have been caused by any kind of tooth injury.
The victim needed a metal plate surgically implanted into her jaw. The nursing home refused to comment to the Lake County News Sun.
Obviously, a proper investigation will need to be carried out to determine the cause of the injuries. There are really only two possible explanations.
The first is that the injury was caused by a person striking the victim. As a Chicago nursing home lawyer, I‘ve seen many cases where nursing home residents have been injured by other nursing home residents or members of the nursing home staff.
When people think of nursing home facilities, the image that comes to mind is a hospital setting filled with frail elderly residents. The reality is that nursing homes are frequently being used to house young, mentally ill people. Many of these residents are young and unpredictable. The idea that this woman was hit with a fist is not impossible.
The second type of injury that may of occurred is a nursing home fall. Far more common than a deliberate blow, nursing home falls are often far more deadly. The first few months of nursing home care are often the most dangerous as staff members are unfamiliar with the new resident’s personality.
Regardless of the cause, nursing homes have the obligation to protect all residents in their care. If you have a loved one who has been severely injured in an Illinois nursing home, contact our Chicago nursing home lawyers for a free and confidential case evaluation. At my law offices we never charge a fee unless we earn a recovery for you.