Nursing Home Sex Abuse Leads to Arrest

Nursing home abuse is one of the least reported crimes today. Often times, these incidents of abuse — be it verbal, physical or sexual — go unreported or underreported. Residents or families of residents, sometimes do not report it because they have no choice but to keep their loved one in the care facility and fear retaliation from management and staff.

Sexual Assault Charges

There are unfortunately cases where elderly, ill residents are sexually exploited and abused in care facilities. A recent 10 news article reports that a 53-year-old nursing assistant at the El Dorado Care Facility was recently arrested after an employee walked into the victim’s room and caught the nursing assistant, Felix Panem, having sex with the female patient. The elderly patient was apparently incoherent and didn’t possess all of her faculties. Panem has pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape and one count each of elder abuse and first-degree burglary. Panem faces 10 years and four months in prison if convicted of all charges.

Elder Abuse, a Tragic Reality

My heart goes out to the family of this elderly patient, who was clearly unable to care for herself. She depended on this nursing assistant to care for her and he apparently took advantage of her vulnerability and helplessness. Despicable! If he is found to be guilty of the sexual assault, I sincerely hope and pray that he gets the punishment he deserves.

Sexual and physical abuse in nursing home and care facilities, unfortunately, is one of today’s harsh realities. According to a Government Accountability Office report in 2002, law enforcement officials are seldom called to nursing homes to immediately investigate allegations of physical or sexual abuse. About 50 percent of the notifications from nursing homes are submitted two or more days after the nursing homes learned of the alleged abuse. These delays obviously compromise the quality of evidence and hinder investigations. Some residents or their family members are even afraid to report abuse because they fear retaliation from the nursing home or its employees.

Care Facilities Should be Held Accountable

This is simply not right, in my opinion. Nursing homes should be responsible for the safety, security and well-being of their residents. They are accountable to patients and their family members for what happens to residents under their care. Nursing homes should be conducting thorough background checks of all staff members especially, nursing aides and assistants who interact with patients more so than others. These staff members should also be closely supervised. If a staff member harms a patient while he or she is under the care of the facility, the nursing home should be held liable.

The family members of this abused victim would be well-advised to contact a reputed Chicago personal injury lawyer who has successfully handled nursing home abuse cases. This care facility should be held accountable for what has happened to this helpless resident. The best personal injury law firms will always offer a free, comprehensive and confidential consultation to injured victims and their families.

Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Jay Paul Deratany has won millions for his clients. If you or someone you know has been injured in a nursing home, contact an experienced Nursing Home Negligence Attorney in Chicago today for your free initial consultation.

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Chicago Personal Injury Attorney Jay Paul Deratany has won millions for clients across Illinois. Concentrating in Brain Injury, Medical Malpractice, Birth Injury, Adoption Negligence & Accident / Injury cases, The Deratany Firm's compassionate lawyers are aggressive advocates for your rights.