News Updates

In April 2017, a jury awarded a plaintiff $100,000 in a case involving allegations of negligence against GlenCrest Healthcare & Rehabilitation Centre. The case was wound care case; Plaintiff alleged the defendant negligently failed to prevent development and progression of skin breakdown in a 75 year old female resident, resulting in a Stage IV decubitus […]

   On July 18, 2017, a Cook County jury awarded a $4,111,477 verdict against Clare Oaks Assisi Healthcare Center. The case arose out of the death of Dolores Trendel, an 85 year-old woman, who was transferred to Clare Oaks in February of 2011 for physical therapy after suffering a fractured hip from a fall at […]

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has taken two significant steps away from its prior proposed ban on mandatory arbitration agreements in the long term care setting, abandoning its appeal of a decision blocking implementation of a prior rule banning mandatory arbitration agreements, and issuing a new proposed rule rescinding its prior ban […]

On May 15, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States held in Kindred Nursing Centers, L.P. v. Clark, No. 16-32, that state courts are pre-empted by the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) from singling out arbitration agreements for disfavored treatment. At issue in the underlying case were powers of attorney held by respondents, the wife […]

A controversial State bill has been proposed which, if passed, would amend the Nursing Home Care Act to require identifying information from individuals who make complaints against nursing homes. Under the proposed amendment, the identifying information would be kept confidential by the Illinois Department of Public Health but State investigators could gain access to this […]

A bill was recently proposed that would amend the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act (“NHCA” or the “Act”) to clarify the definition of “Resident’s representative.” Currently, a “Resident’s representative” is (1) someone other than the owner of the facility that is not related to the resident, or (2) an employee or agent of the facility […]

Second District Illinois Appellate Court rules that nursing home investigation reports are not privileged pursuant to the Quality Assessment and Assurance Protection Act. In Lindsey v. Butterfield Health Care II, Inc., the plaintiff appealed the judgment of the circuit court of DuPage County, requiring production of investigation reports the defendant Butterfield Health Care II, Inc. […]

On November 7, 2016, Judge Michael Mills, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, granted a request by the American Health Care Association to bar the CMS from implementing a rule that bans arbitration agreements in skilled-nursing facilities. The CMS rule, scheduled to become effective on November 28, 2016, […]

Our firm previously sent a news update regarding the rule issued by CMS on September 28, 2016, banning pre-dispute arbitration agreements in nursing homes. Since then, the American Health Care Association filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of this rule. According to the lawsuit, pursuant to the Federal Arbitration Act, Congress is the only entity […]

In Kakos v. Butler, 2016 IL 120377, the Illinois Supreme Court unanimously held that Public Act 98-1132 (eff. June 1, 2015), which limited the size of a civil jury to 6 person and increased juror pay, infringed on the right to trial by jury. Article I, § 13 of the Bill of Rights to the […]