Woman Accuses Nursing Home of Neglect

Christina Cole

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An 81-year-old woman says she was the victim of neglect and abuse during her two month stay at Chicago Heights nursing home.

In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Rose Capriotti alleges she fell on her head and suffered from numerous bedsores while recovering from a stroke at the Prairie Manor Nursing home and Rehabilitation Center. Prairie Manor is operated by Care Centers Inc and operates 26 centers with over 4,200 beds in the Chicago area and Northwest Indiana.

A Prairie Manor spokeswoman declined to comment, saying the company had not received the lawsuit.

Within the first week nursing home staff sat Capriotti upright. But because her balance was affected by the stroke, she fell and hit her head, said Susan Novosad, Capriotti's attorney.

"A physician said he thinks (Capriotti) may have sustained another stroke after the April 3 fall," Novosad said. The bedsores were first noticed by the Prairie Manor staff on May 5, Novosad said. Capriotti's family was unaware of the sores until she was admitted to the hospital May 15, the lawyer said.