Chicago Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

A four-year old boy died yesterday morning after being found in the pool of the Omni 41 Health Center in the northwestern city of Schererville, Indiana on Tuesday. The child was attending a supervised camp called "Spring Break Escape."

Camp officials are presently reviewing the incident and the camp's policies.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends the following tips to help prevent drowning:
* Never leave your children alone in or near the pool, even for a moment. An adult who knows CPR should actively supervise children at all times.
* Practice touch supervision with children younger than 5 years. This means that the adult is within an arm's length of the child at all times.
* You must put up a fence to separate your house from the pool. Most young children who drown in pools wander out of the house and fall into the pool. Install a fence at least 4 feet high around all 4 sides of the pool. This fence will completely separate the pool from the house and play area of the yard. Use gates that self-close and self-latch, with latches higher than your children's reach.
* Keep rescue equipment (such as a shepherd's hook or life preserver) and a telephone by the pool.
* Do not use air-filled "swimming aids" as a substitute for approved life vests.
* Remove all toys from the pool after use so children aren't tempted to reach for them.
* After the children are done swimming, secure the pool so they can't get back into it.
* A power safety cover that meets the standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) may add to the protection of your children but should not be used in place of the fence between your house and the pool. Even fencing around your pool and using a power safety cover will not prevent all drownings.

Remember, teaching your child how to swim DOES NOT mean your child is safe in water.

A former part-time employee of the Illinois Center for Rehabilitation and Education, a state-run home for the disabled, was charged with raping a 22-year old woman with the mental capacity of a young child. The assult occurred in 2006, but police only learned of it recently while investigating another alleged rape committed by the same suspect at the same facility.

According to Marielle Sainvilus of the Illinois Department of Human Services, the incident was never reported to police because the victim and her guardian didn't want to press charges. It is not clear if the home was legally required to report the rape to police, but Cara Smith, deputy chief of staff for Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, believes the officials should have done so out of "common sense." I agree with Ms. Smith. By not reporting this heinous crime to police, the Illinois Center for Rehabilitation and Education failed the victim and all of its residents.

The Illinois Center for Rehabilitation and Education failed all of us when it failed to report this monster to the proper authorities. All residents were victimized when the home decided to not take action against a man who clearly has no regard for human life and human dignity. Families should be able to trust the people with whom they place their loved ones. And such facilities should be held accountable when their employees fail to care for their residents as they should.

An 89-year old woman afflicted with Alzheimer's disease died after wandering outside her nursing home in one degree weather early one morning in Februrary. Prosecutors in DuPage County have now charged a 23 year-old nursing home employee with criminal neglect of a long-term-care facility resident, criminal neglect of an elderly person and obstruction of justice. If convicted, she faces up to seven years in prison.

DuPage prosecutors have alleged that the nursing home employee watched three straight episodes of "Dog the Bounty Hunter" and "shrugged off" an alarm that the resident had gone outdoors. Prosecutors also claim that she was expected to make bed checks every two hours but she failed to do so. Prosecutors allege that the employee later lied about performing a 3 a.m. bed check.

The 89 year old woman's frozen body was found in the facility's courtyard after being outside for as many as five hours.

The nursing home involved, The Arbor of Itasca, has only one star out of a possible five according to a federal rating system.

Over 1.6 million Americans live in one of nearly 17,000 nursing homes in the country. This number is expected to reach 6.6 million elderly people by the year 2050. Reports of nursing home neglect and abuse are rampant, but the 1987 Nursing Home Reform Act guarantees certain rights and freedoms to nursing home patients.

Some signs of nursing home neglect include the following:
* Physical neglect: disregard for the necessities of daily living
* Medical neglect: lack of care for existing medical problems
* Failure to prevent dehydration, malnutrition, and bed sores
* Failure to assist in personal hygiene, or in the provision of food, clothing, or shelter
* Unsanitary and unclean conditions
* Infections
* Failure to protect from health and safety hazards
* Poor access to medical services

Continue reading "NURSING HOME DEATH LEADS TO CHARGES AGAINST WORKER" »

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is on the rise among children. MRSA used to be primarily contracted in a hospital setting; however, now its prevalence is on the rise in community-based settings. Nationwide Trends in Pediatric Staphylococcus aureus Head and Neck Infections, a study published in the Archives of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, shows that from January 2001 to December 2006 there was a 16.3 percent increase in the percentage of resistance for all pediatric head and neck S. aureus infections.

Good hygiene helps reduce the spread of infection. Suggestions include:

• Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

• Cuts and scrapes should be cleaned and covered with a bandage until they heal.

• Avoid contact with other people's wounds.

• Avoid sharing personal items such as towels or, for older teens and adults, razors

Research shows that the number of cases is increasing at alarming rates. Part of the problem is an increased resistance to the antibiotics used to treat MRSA. Doctors are also recognizing and testing for MRSA more often.

The infection usually starts with red bumps resembling pimples. The site can become swollen.

A Carpentersville woman has been accused of fatally injuring a 16-month old at Minee Subee in the Park, a Libertyville day care center. This tragic story is the worst nightmare for every parent who sends their child to day care. Parents place their trust in the facility and its employees to care for their children while they are at work. This senseless death is an absolute tragedy.

Police say Melissa Calusinski got so angry last Wednesday, January 14, 2009, that she threw the 16-month-old to the floor, fatally injuring him. She was charged over the weekend with two counts of first-degree murder. Police said Calusinski threw the boy to the floor when she grew frustrated that he was being noisy. His skull fractured, Benjamin grabbed his blanket and crawled to his "comfort zone," a bouncer seat, where he collapsed and later died, police said.

The National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome explains that SBS/AHT (shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma) is a term used to describe the constellation of signs and symptoms resulting from violent shaking or shaking and impacting of the head of an infant or small child. Perpetrators who inflict shaken baby syndrome and abusive head trauma often injure the infant or child out of frustration or anger. This most often occurs when the baby won't stop crying. Other triggering events include toilet training difficulties and feeding problems.

In most circumstances, a day care center will be held responsible for the acts of its employees, including the teachers and other caregivers. Day care centers may also be held liable for negligently hiring a worker or by failing to properly investigate the individuals they hire.

If you are suspicious that a person who is caring for a child, who lives with a child, or who works with or around children has caused injury or harm or put a child at risk of physical injury, please call the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services at 1-800-25-ABUSE (in Illinois) or contact your state's children and family services department.

Continue reading "INFANT DIES AT DAY CARE CENTER" »