A 66-year-old nursing home resident produced a folding knife and slashed the throat of a nurse who was attempting to administer his eyedrops in a Baltimore area nursing home last year.
The man was convicted of assault, given a suspended sentence, and released to a new nursing home.
It sounds outrageous, and in some ways it is, but this is the kind of case that proves placing blame should never be done in haste. Beyond the headline “Man who cut nurse’s throat released to new nursing home” in the Capital Gazette is a much more complicated story.
The man in question was a three year resident of the facility with a past medical history of mental illness but no prior criminal history. Part of his mental illness includes delirium and paranoia. He was reportedly suffering from both when the attack occurred.
There is a part of the story that has gone unexamined. Somehow, a mentally ill man with a history of delusions was able to acquire a folding knife (not a kitchen knife) and hide it on his person for an unknown time. Even though the attack resulted in a wound of only one inch, it could have been much worse.
I’m also interested to know whether or not the nurse was treating mentally ill nursing home residents by herself.
Nursing homes are obligated to provide a safe environment to their residents as well as their employees. If a single nurse is dispensing medications (like eyedrops) that put her in a very vulnerable position, there ought to be additional staff present. This injury wasn’t serious, but it could have been fatal.
That would have resulted in a deceased staff member and a mentally ill, delusional resident guilty of murder.
If you have a loved one who has been injured or assaulted by a resident in an Illinois nursing home, contact our Chicago nursing home lawyers for a free and confidential evaluation of your case.
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