Latest Post | Last 10 Posts | Archives
Previous Post: *** LIVE COVERAGE ***
Next Post: Doom and gloom abounds, but a new pension idea emerges
Posted in:
* Dave McKinney and Tony Arnold at WBEZ…
A west suburban man sued the state on Thursday for negligence over its inability to contain Legionnaires’ disease at the Quincy veterans’ home, deepening a legal and political morass dogging Gov. Bruce Rauner’s re-election.
The lawsuit, filed with the Illinois Court of Claims, comes from the son of former Illinois Veterans’ Home resident Valdemar L. “Roy” Dehn, an 88-year-old Korean War veteran and ex-Chicago Tribune employee who died from Legionnaires’ last October.
Dehn’s case is the 12th lawsuit to arise from a series of Legionnaires’ outbreaks that have been linked to 14 deaths at the home since 2015. Dozens more residents and staff have been sickened from the waterborne bacteria that can cause a sometimes fatal form of pneumonia.
Dehn, who moved into the home in April 2016, had not been informed by facility staff about the earlier fatal Legionnaires’ outbreak in August 2015 when he was admitted, said his son, Matthew Dehn.
He said his father experienced kidney difficulties before succumbing to Legionnaires’ but noted he remained mentally sharp until his death.
“For a year and a half, he loved that place. And it killed him,” Dehn told WBEZ in an interview. “So, you know, I’m still very, very mad about that.
* Earlier this week, McKinney tried to get some answers on this general topic from both JB Pritzker and Gov. Rauner…
(1/1) I asked Democrat JB Pritzker whether, if elected governor, he'd drop the legal argument the state was not negligent for Legionnaires' deaths at the Quincy veterans home. In 11 lawsuits filed by victims' families, the Rauner administration is asserting it was not negligent.
— Dave McKinney (@davemckinney) July 17, 2018
(2/2) Pritzker did not directly respond to the liability question but made clear the families are due damages: "We've got to look at the facts here, but it is clear the families deserve compensation."
— Dave McKinney (@davemckinney) July 17, 2018
SB2481 is on Gov. Rauner's desk. It would raise the cap for most Court of Claims awards from $100,000 to $2 million and is retroactive to include the cases of the 11 Quincy Legionnaires' families with pending cases. The governor has not signaled what he intends to do w/the bill.
— Dave McKinney (@davemckinney) July 17, 2018
* This morning, the Pritzker campaign had this react to the latest WBEZ report…
“Bruce Rauner’s mismanagement of Legionnaires’ in Quincy has had serious and sometimes fatal consequences — 14 Veterans died, over 60 people got sick, and the state is now facing a dozen lawsuits in the wake of this epidemic,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Meanwhile, Bruce Rauner still refuses to accept any responsibility for his failure to protect Veterans, and families continue to suffer from the consequences of his negligence.”
Nothing yet on the policy aspect, however.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jul 20, 18 @ 9:21 am
Sorry, comments are closed at this time.
Previous Post: *** LIVE COVERAGE ***
Next Post: Doom and gloom abounds, but a new pension idea emerges
WordPress Mobile Edition available at alexking.org.
powered by WordPress.
Does Bruce Rauner keep an abacus of how many lives he’s ruined?
Comment by Precinct Captain Friday, Jul 20, 18 @ 9:24 am
Clearly mistakes were made in regards to the resident’s care and in communication, but I think actual negligence is debatable. I think I myself would probably call it negligence, but I am also not sure it’s a slam dunk.
Comment by Perrid Friday, Jul 20, 18 @ 9:38 am
Total failure. The commercials of him and his close pal Pence and the tragedy of these vets should be impossible to overcome by chanting Madigan’s name endlessly.
Comment by Trapped in the 'burbs Friday, Jul 20, 18 @ 9:42 am
–Clearly mistakes were made in regards to the resident’s care and in communication, but I think actual negligence is debatable.–
Do you get Green Stamps for spouting that wishy-washy nonsense? Seriously, read what you wrote, and see if you can discover a point.
The “mistakes” were quite long-running, and the rationalizations well-orchestrated, if incoherent, after the fact.
Blame it on Duckworth.
https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/the-quandary-behind-a-quincy-legionnaires-victims-death-where-the-heck-was-she/324098db-e7f0-4b67-9e5d-336908cc4b22
Comment by wordslinger Friday, Jul 20, 18 @ 9:47 am
JB in America we have due process and we don’t pre judge lawsuits before they are tried.
Comment by Lucky Pierre Friday, Jul 20, 18 @ 9:48 am
It should be noted that emails about this subject paint a picture of an Administration more concerned about spin and blame than the concern for what had happened and how to correct this problem.
Darlene Senger’s own email crystallized the Administration’s mindset.
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Jul 20, 18 @ 9:52 am
Was Bruce was staring at Pence like Pence stares at Trump with faraway eyes?
Comment by DeseDemDose Friday, Jul 20, 18 @ 11:03 am
Both Bruce and JB are going to hedge when it comes to admitting State liability, because Bruce currently and JB in the future (probably) will have to defend the State from said lawsuits. They will be careful with their wording.
That doesn’t mean they have the same opinion about it. Most likely, Bruce just sees it as collateral damage of his budget fight, and the emails support this viewpoint. JB probably sees it as totally avoidable.
It’s too bad the responsible parties can’t personally be held legally and financially liable unless they are found be be criminally negligent.
Comment by RNUG Friday, Jul 20, 18 @ 11:55 am