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By law, every nursing facility in the United States, including Illinois, are required to report every injury of unknown origin. Filing a report with the state agency is important to protect the health and well-being of the injured party and all other residents in the facility. Unfortunately, the elder abuse attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers have represented many clients who are victims of nursing home abuse and mistreatment.
However, simply reporting a case of nursing home abuse can be challenging to prove. This is because there are behavioral and physical indicators that could be time sensitive. Because of that, nursing home regulations require that every individual that suspects abuse, neglect or mistreatment file a report with appropriate state agencies immediately. If it can be proven that abuse or mistreatment has occurred, the law provides a series of steps to ensure the offender is no longer able to cause additional injury to the resident or harm to other residents in the facility.
Symphony at MidwaySymphony at Midway is a for-profit 239 Bed center that participates in Medicaid and Medicare. The facility serves residents of Chicago and Cook County. It is located at:
4437 South Cicero
Chicago, Illinois 60632
(773) 884-0484
Symphony at Midway’s rehabilitation services include:
- Cardiac disease
- Orthopedic surgery and joint replacements
- Pulmonary disease
- Neurological disease
- Nutrition problems and immune deficiencies
- Stroke
- Wound Care
Every year, the federal government through its website portal Medicare.gov continuously updates its publicly available information on safety concerns, health violations, opened investigations and filed complaints. Currently, Symphony at Midway maintains an overall two out of five available star ratings compared other facilities throughout the United States. This includes four out of five stars for quality measures and one out of five stars for health concerns.
Our Chicago nursing home neglect attorneys have found numerous safety concerns and health violations concerning Symphony at Midway. Two of these concerns involve:
- Failure to Report and Investigate Any Report or Allegation of Abuse, Neglect or Mistreatment of Residents
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 02/16/2016, a notation was made by a state surveyor during an annual licensure and certification survey involving the facility's failure to "follow their policy related to reporting of injuries of unknown origin to the State Agency (Illinois Department of Public Health)” and also their failure “to maintain related records.” The deficient practice by the nursing staff at Symphony at Midway applied to three residents at the facility “reviewed for abuse.”
In the facility’s 12/26/2015 Fall Occurrence Report it was noted that upon responding to a sounding alarm during an unwitnessed event, the nursing staff found the “resident kneeling on the floor mat on bilateral knees beside the bed.” The resident suffered an injury to the right brow. The facility’s Medical Doctor had the resident transferred to the local hospital. The nurse consultant on duty said that because “it was not a serious injury; no report was sent.”
In a separate occurrence noted in the 05/08/2015 Fall Occurrence Record, it was noted that a different resident “went on an independent pass as ordered. Upon returning, the resident [was noted to have] injuries during care.” An inquiry was made of the medical transport company concerning the incident, however, the driver denied “the incident happened and stated he did not notice any abnormalities to the resident.” Apparently, there were no witnesses to the incident.
The state investigator noted that Illinois Department of Public Health was never notified and the facility Administrator was unable to find the paperwork to suggest that documents have been sent as required by law.
- Failure to Develop, Implement and Enforce Policies to Prevent Mistreatment, Abuse or Neglect of Residents
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated 02/16/2016, a state investigator noted the facility’s failure “to ensure the staff is aware of the facility’s policies related to abuse prevention. This failure applies to [one resident at the facility] reviewed for abuse.” The deficient practice involves a 02/03/2016 10:30 AM interview with a Licensed Practical Nurse at the facility who stated, “the facility is not investigating on her reported allegation of abuse, I will report [it] to the physician.”
As a part of the interview, the Licensed Practical Nurse stated, “If I see an injury of unknown origin, I will do an incident report; notify the physician, family and unit manager.” However, the state investigator noted that when asked, the Licensed Practical Nurse “was not able to state the facility’s reporting protocol related to abuse allegation or an injury of unknown origin” that also involves filing a report with appropriate state agencies (the Illinois Department of Public Health), as required by law.
if you, or your loved one, have suffered any type of harm, abuse, mistreatment or neglect while residing at an Illinois nursing facility, including Symphony at Midway, Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers can provide legal help now. Our team of dedicated Cook County elder abuse attorneys can provide various legal options on how to seek the financial compensation you deserve for your damages, losses, and injuries.
We encourage you to make contact with our Chicago nursing home abuse law offices today by calling (888) 424-5757 to schedule a no obligation, free full case review. These types of personal injury in nursing home neglect cases are handled on contingency, so no upfront fees are required.
http://www.symphonyatmidway.com/
