IL General Assembly Looks at Nursing Home Safety
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February 28, 2008
Springfield, IL – The state's nursing homes are getting a safety checkup. The Illinois General Assembly is considering legislation (HB 5213) that would require nursing care centers to carry a minimum amount of liability insurance, sufficient to cover cases of abuse or neglect.
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association President Bruce Kohen says many folks don't realize that nearly 20 percent of nursing homes in the state cut costs by going without liabiity coverage.
"I think most people in Illinois would be shocked to learn that many nursing homes don't have a minimum level of protection -- care centers in whom we entrust our loved ones to be cared for, and they don't have insurance."
Kohen says he has documented cases in which some nursing center owners use shell corporations to evade legal responsibility rather than purchasing liabiliy insurance. Then, when they are sued, he explains, they shut down the operation and open another center elsewhere.
Kohen says if the state requires car owners to carry liability coverage, it should be simple to create a standard for care facilities to meet as well. Some nursing home owners argue that liability coverage would be prohibitively expensive for small operations.