$250,000 Awarded to Family of Arlington Heights Woman Found With 57 Maggots in Ear

A Cook County judge has ordered the Lutheran Home in Arlington Heights to pay $250,000 to the family of an elderly woman who was found to have 57 maggots crawling in her ear -- an issue the family’s attorney said lead to her death, according to the Daily Herald.

Catherine McCann had been staying at the Lutheran Home, 800 W. Oakton St., for two years when family members noticed she was tugging on her ear, according to the article. The elderly woman had severe Alzheimer’s and could not speak.

Doctors were called to investigate and found the maggots in the woman’s ear in September 2012, according to the article.

The medical malpractice lawsuit filed against the retirement home stated McCann suffered severe injuries because the facility did not provide “a reasonable standard of professional care,” according to the Chicago Tribune.

The family’s legal team argued the maggots got into McCann’s ear because of an untreated ear infection and because the facility failed to administer ear drops and also said the “maggot infestation in her left ear created this geriatric cascade that lead to her death,” according to the Daily Herald.