Illinois Nursing Homes May Soon Need Liability Insurance

Illinois nursing homes may soon be required to carry liability insurance for injuries sustained by their residents. House Bill 5213 addresses the increasing trend of nursing homes who are failing to purchase liability insurance for the claims made by individuals injured in their nursing homes. House Bill 5213 provides that no person may establish, operate, maintain, offer or advertise a long-term care facility unless they provide the Department of Public Health with proof of liability insurance in an amount not less than One Million Dollars. We are hopeful that this Bill will become the law in the State of Illinois.

Fortunately, our firm has first hand experience with nursing homes who have refused to purchase liability insurance to protect their residents. For example, we currently represent a nice lady who was injured in a nursing home as a result of the nursing home=s failure to properly transfer the resident. The resident sustained a significant fracture requiring surgery and causing permanent injuries.

Our firm was hired to investigate the matter and duly requested the medical records from this nursing home. The nursing home flat out refused to provide us with the medical records of our client thereby forcing us to file suit in Cook County, Illinois.
When we did obtain the records of our client, from the nursing home, there were massive gaps in nursing home records. For nearly three months, not a single note was entered by the nurses caring for our client. It was not until two days after the injury, for which our firm was hired, that the nursing home again began to have the nurses take notes in the chart. This is a gross deviation from necessary chart keeping by the nursing home staff, in our opinion.

Shortly after filing the lawsuit, we were contacted by attorneys for this nursing home who told us that the nursing home has no insurance whatsoever, to cover the horrific injuries and damages sustained by our client. The smug comment made to us was if you want the keys to the nursing home, you can have them. It is behavior like this that House Bill 5213 is being put forth to correct.

At the Law Offices of Craig L. Manchik & Associates, P.C., we represent those who have been injured as a result of others negligence or wrongdoing. If you, or someone you know, has been injured or requires the assistance of an attorney, please contact our office to determine if a cause of action exists.

Our law practice centers around catastrophic personal injuries and wrongful death cases. The majority of our cases consist of actions for nursing home injuries, medical malpractice actions, motor vehicle accidents, work place injuries and all other personal injury matters. The majority of our cases have been referred to us by other attorneys because of our years of experience and past success.