A Richton Park nursing home was recently found negligent in the death of an elderly resident. After a week spent presenting the case, the jury reached a verdict in favor of the plaintiff in just three hours. The award of $5.5 million ties with another nursing home neglect award in the county for the largest verdict.
The resident missed 13 days of necessary dialysis treatments, which caused toxic waste buildup in his body and led to his death. The 85-year-old man was admitted to the nursing home in late 2020, following a serious fall. According to court testimony, the man required dialysis three times per week but had not received treatment in 13 days.
Approximately 80,000 patients who require kidney dialysis reside in nursing homes. Kidney dialysis is a life-sustaining treatment for many elderly nursing home residents in Illinois. When the treatment is not administered properly – or at all – the consequences can be severe illness or death. Infections, blood pressure crashes, muscle spasms, difficulty breathing, confusion, pain between the ribs and hips, and easy bruising or bleeding are all symptoms of kidney failure.