Safe Nursing Home Advocates

Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C.

If you or someone you love has been injured in a nursing home accident, click the button below, answer a few questions, and we will get right back to you and let you know how we can help you.  

If you or someone you love has been injured in a nursing home accident, click the button below, answer a few questions, and we will get right back to you and let you know how we can help you.  

    Resident Suffers Hip Fracture After Being Over-Sedated to Prevent Wandering At Duquoin Nursing & Rehab    

The Illinois Department of Health has cited and fined Duquoin Nursing & Rehab when a 92-year-old resident with severe dementia was given excessive doses of sedating psychiatric medications to prevent her from wandering, causing her to become unsteady and fall. The resident suffered a hip fracture requiring surgery after facility staff increased her anti-anxiety medication despite nurses' warnings that the drugs would make her more likely to fall.

The resident in question entered the nursing facility with severe dementia, anxiety disorder, and major depression. Despite significant cognitive impairment, she was initially able to walk independently around the facility and had no recent history of falls. She was prescribed anti-anxiety medication on an as-needed basis for episodes of anxiety or agitation.

The critical incident occurred when the resident escaped the facility early one morning. Security alarms activated around 6:30 AM, and staff discovered she had left the property. A staff member followed her but when police were called, the resident fled and remained missing for approximately three hours before being found in a garage behind a local business. She was taken to the hospital for evaluation and returned to the facility.

Following this incident, facility staff became concerned about preventing future wandering attempts and contacted the physician to discuss medication changes. The physician initially ordered a powerful antipsychotic medication called Risperidone at 1 milligram for one-time use. However, this medication carries serious FDA warnings that "elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis treated with antipsychotic drugs are at an increased risk of death" and is "not approved for use in patients with dementia-related psychosis."

When staff attempted to give the resident this medication, she strongly refused, stating "I am not taking that medication; I am a nurse, and you all are not doing that to me." After various failed attempts, family members arranged for a police officer friend to visit the facility. The officer convinced the resident to take the medication when she wouldn't take it for anyone else.

Almost immediately after taking the antipsychotic, staff observed alarming changes in the resident's condition. She appeared "sluggish with her eyes halfway open" and was described as being "sort of out of it" with increased confusion and slurred speech. She reported feeling "really tired" the following day.

Due to these concerning effects, the physician discontinued the antipsychotic the same day but increased the resident's anti-anxiety medication (Xanax) to three times daily at a higher dose. This occurred despite FDA warnings that elderly patients should receive "the smallest effective dose" to prevent unsteadiness and over-sedation.

Several nurses expressed serious concerns about these medication changes. One licensed practical nurse stated she "told the doctor that [the resident] would end up falling" and explained that "you cannot give those drugs to residents that ambulate because it causes them to be unsteady." Despite these professional warnings from nursing staff, the medications were continued.

The sedating effects became immediately apparent as the resident became unsteady on her feet. Staff began keeping her in a wheelchair for safety. An activity aide providing one-on-one supervision noted that before the medications, the resident "moved pretty fast" but afterward "became more sluggish" and was "mostly in a wheelchair" due to safety concerns.

On the day of the fall, the resident had been kept in a wheelchair throughout the day due to her medication-induced unsteadiness. While sitting near the nurses' station wanting to make a phone call, her supervising aide briefly left to retrieve the resident's cell phone. During this absence, the resident stood up, took a few steps, lost her balance, and fell to the floor. The aide returned just as she was falling but couldn't prevent it.

The resident landed on her right side and immediately complained of severe hip pain. She was transported to the hospital where X-rays revealed a fractured hip requiring surgical repair with hardware implantation. The facility's own incident report acknowledged that the root cause was "lack of balance and proprioception" - exactly the side effects nursing staff had warned about.

When questioned, the facility physician acknowledged the dose of antipsychotic was "a dangerous dose" for the resident and admitted he typically starts with one-quarter of that amount. He also stated "I don't usually use Benzo's in geriatrics because it can affect their gait" and when asked if the Xanax contributed to the fall, responded "Yes, it is a high probability."

Family members confirmed they noticed the resident was "sort of out of it and really sleepy" and "more drowsy than normal" after the medication changes. The investigation revealed no evidence that alternative non-drug approaches to managing wandering behavior were attempted before resorting to high-dose psychiatric medications, despite facility policies requiring such approaches. This incident demonstrated the potentially devastating consequences of inappropriate psychiatric medication use in elderly nursing home residents with dementia.

One of our core beliefs is that nursing homes are built to fail due to the business model they follow and that unnecessary accidental injuries and wrongful deaths of nursing home residents are the inevitable result.  Our experienced Chicago nursing home lawyers are ready to help you understand what happened, why, and what your rights are.  Contact us to get the help you need.                                             

To see additional Nursing Homes with Violations, click on the pins below.

Get Help Now!

To get started, complete the contact form below

Working With Us

Once you complete the contact form, you will receive a call from a member of our team getting some additional details about your case. 

You will then be scheduled for a phone call with a lawyer for an initial phone consultation. Assuming that we are both interested in working together, we will schedule a meeting, either in person or by Zoom, to go over the case in detail and sign paperwork to move forward. There is no charge for the phone calls or the initial meeting.  

There are no fees or costs for you until we get a verdict or settlement in your favor. There are no up-front fees or costs, and if we do not get a verdict or settlement, you do not owe us anything.

Get Help Now!

I am a former client of the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle.

My mother fell in her room at her nursing home and broke her leg and her ankle in the fall.  Barry had been recommended to me by a nurse that I was working with, and I am glad that I called.  It turned out that even though everyone knew that my mother was a fall risk, they never did a fall prevention plan like they were supposed to.  That is something that I never would have found out on my own, and the nursing staff never would have told me. 

I was extremely pleased with how Barry handled my Mother’s case against the nursing home. It is amazing how much investigation and work goes into a case like that. Barry worked with intensity, and always kept me up to date in every aspect of the case. I commend Barry’s passion and hard work that brought about a conclusion with a justified settlement.

I am very grateful to him for his excellent service and am happy to recommend him to others.

Marie Gresziak - Former client

About Barry Doyle

Barry Doyle is the head partner and founder of the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C.

The law firm was founded in 2004 with two commitments: (1) to aggressively and creatively represent their client’s interests and (2) to keep clients informed of the strengths and weaknesses of their cases so that they can make informed decisions about their cases, consistent with their own values, goals, and tolerance for risk.  

Mr. Doyle practices exclusively in the area of complex personal injury and wrongful death litigation, with a special emphasis on nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuits. Well over half of his professional time is devoted to the prosecution of cases against nursing homes.

He is an accomplished trial lawyer, and has been called upon by continuing legal education organizations to lecture to other lawyers about nursing home and wrongful death litigation. He has multiple publications for consumer and legal audiences. He is a past co-chair of the Tort (Personal Injury) Litigation Committee of the Young Lawyers Section of the Chicago Bar Association and is a former Adjunct Professor at Loyola University of Chicago School of Law.  He is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, and the American Association for Justice, where he is a member of the Nursing Home Litigation Group.  Mr. Doyle graduated from the University of Michigan in 1991 and from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law in 1994, with honors.

Get Help Now!

I am a former client of the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle.

and I am happy to recommend their services to anyone who has either been in an accident themselves or who has had a family member injured or killed in an accident. 

My mother was in declining health and after a hospital admission, we as a family made a decision to admit her to a nursing home.  At the time of her passing, she had developed some bed sores and we were concerned that some of the issues we had with the care that she had been getting in the nursing home caused them. 

I contacted Mr. Doyle’s office and arranged for a meeting with him.  Not only is he very easy to talk to, he understood right away what it was we were talking about and why we were upset with the nursing home.  We decided to hire him and that is a decision I am very pleased with. 

He got the medical records in and had them reviewed fairly quickly and explained to me what it was he saw and what the issues were in the case.  With that in mind, we started to negotiate with the insurance company and reached a settlement agreement which was satisfactory to everyone.  When it came time for me to make that decision to go ahead and accept the settlement offer, it was one that I was really comfortable making because he was so clear about explaining to me what the issues were in my mother’s case.  I felt like I was a partner in making the decision – that it wasn’t something that was being made for me. 

Going through this kind of situation is something that I wouldn’t wish on anyone, but you never know what life will bring you, and if you have to go through something like this, hiring Barry Doyle as your lawyer is a smart move – and one you can feel good about.

Joe Valdivia - Former client

Types of Cases Handled

Get Help Now!

We lost our mom in a clear case of Senior Care negligence resulting in her premature death. We spoke with 4 different attorneys before choosing Attorney Barry Doyle.

He was the 4th and we clearly made the right choice.  

From day one, Barry showed a more genuine interest in our mom's case than the other 3 lawyers/firms had combined.  

In the 2 years working with Barry thru this complex issue we found him to be honest about the pros and cons of our situation, timely in response to our questions, very knowledgeable in the law we were facing and well respected by the Judges and Adverse attorneys and Insurance Companies. 

This resulted in an overall fair resolution to our mom's passing and is very much appreciated and to be commended,

Thanks Barry for helping us put this issue to rest.

Verle McGee - Former client

Areas Served

Our office serves communities throughout the State of Illinois. We have successfully handled cases in over 40 different counties in Illinois (see MAP) and are ready to bring our expertise in handling nursing home abuse and neglect cases and our reputation as skilled advocates for families to wherever the need calls for it.  We offer free on-line video teleconferencing and on-line document signing capabilities to our clients.  The bottom line: you will never have to travel to Chicago simply to meet with us.

Get Help Now!

Barry Doyle did an amazing job with my case involving the nursing home negligence that caused the death of my father.

Barry worked tirelessly to resolve this case and move forward with a settlement without going to trial but was fully prepared had we gone this route.  He was always available and handled the emotional challenges with grace and dignity.  The settlement was very fair and  would not have happened without the leadership and experience from Barry.  I am very grateful for his work and counsel!

Bradley Ryan - Former client

A Record Of Success

We have a record of success in nursing home abuse and neglect cases of all sorts.  These are some of the cases in which we have achieved six-figure settlements through careful investigation and diligent prosecution:

Get Help Now!

I am a former client and my husband is a current client of the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle.

My father died as a result of medical malpractice and Mr. Doyle represented the interests of me, my siblings, and my mother regarding the settlement.  What I liked most about Mr. Doyle and the way that he handled things is that he did a great job explaining how things would proceed and made sure that we were all ready to testify when the time came.  When we finally had the hearing for our case, I felt like I was really ready for what would happen in that court room.   I was really pleased with the result. 

After the case for my father was over, we started to think about a case for my husband involving his hip replacement.  Once we decided that was something that we were going to move ahead with, we knew that Mr. Doyle’s office would be the one that we would call.  We just feel like he is the right choice for our family.  We felt like he did right by us the first time with my dad’s case and had confidence that he would do right by us for my husband’s case too. 

If you have been hurt in an accident, I can’t recommend Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle enough.  Good people, good lawyers.

Norma Johnson - Former client

Your Case Is Important

 Nursing home cases are important cases, not just for the family involved, but also for the families of every resident who is still in the nursing home or may have a loved one admitted to that nursing home.

For you – we can answer the questions that you have about why things happened the way that they did and what could have been done to avoid it.  Too often, we find that the seeds of failure had been planted weeks, if not months, in advance of the events which resulted in the injury to your loved one and that good luck, not good care was the reason that disaster had been avoided for so long before things finally went wrong.

Your case can help other families avoid the same pain that you have been experiencing.  There have been at least three cases we have handled where facility policies were changed or the staff was retrained in light of the things we found during the course of our lawsuit.  Moreover, we firmly believe that by holding the staff accountable for their shortcoming, change happens – and this can be all that is needed to save another family from going through what your family has experienced.

Get Help Now!

© 2022 The Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C., All Rights Reserved.

Privacy Policy