Sunny Hill Named In Wrongful Death Suit

JOLIET, IL - A wrongful death lawsuit was filed this week against Will County government's Sunny Hill Nursing Home surrounding the April 18, 2017 of 95-year-old resident Violet Petkus.She was a resident of Sunny Hill from Aug. 4, 2015 until her death two years ago. One of the licensed practical nurses, Munsurah McCoy, was also named as a codefendant.

The lawsuit was filed by one of the former Sunny Hill resident's sons, Bruce Petkus.

"At Sunny Hill, Ms. Petkus was not provided a safe environment and she had falls. The falls had serious consequences including a head laceration and great toe fracture. The injuries at Sunny Hill precipitated Ms. Petkus' overall decline and deconditioning and directly caused hospitalization and ongoing rehabilitation needs," states one of the court exhibits furnished by the plaintiff's Chicago law firm to Will County's judicial system.

At the time of the plaintiff's mother's admission at Sunny Hill Nursing Home, the lawsuit alleges, "the nursing staff noted Ms. Petkus to be at high risk for falls. The Sunny Hill nursing staff documented that Ms. Petkus fell on October 12, 2016."

Then came April 18, 2017, a day when McCoy was one of the nurses responsible for Petkus' care, the lawsuit states. Sunny Hill is a county-run facility located on Joliet's east side, 421 Doris Ave.

"Resident on floor near bedside. Noted laceration to left forehead with active bleeding … applied pressure with clean towel. Paged RN supervisor and code E. Called 911. Transferred to St. Joe's Hospital via 911," McCoy's notes of the incident state, according to the lawsuit.

Violet Petkus was admitted into St. Joe's hospital. She was diagnosed with a C1 fracture and right humeral neck fracture.

At 1:50 a.m. on April 22, 2017, Petkus died at St. Joe's. Her death certificate identifies "complications of cervical spine fracture due to or as a consequence of a fall," her family's lawsuit states.

The lawsuit also states that on April 18, 2017, "while under the direct care of Munsurah McCoy, a licensed practical nurse at Sunny Hill, Ms. Petkus fell while attempting to transfer herself to the bathroom. She fell forward and struck her head."

The new Will County lawsuit was filed by the Chicago law firm of Kralovec, Jambois & Schwartz. The lawsuit contains an exhibit indicating Violet Petkus was born in 1921 and "was a woman with a medical history including diabetes with neuropathy, hypertension, mascular degeneration with blindness, heart disease, spinal stenosis, arthritis and falls."

The exhibit submitted by the plaintiff's lawyers informs Will County's court system that Sunny Hill and nurse McCoy "deviated from the standard of care in Ms. Petkus' case" on eight instances such as failing to provide a safe environment, failure to prevent falls and failure to prevent trauma and injury including cervical spine fracture and humerus fracture.

"The deviations and injuries at Sunny Hill caused significant pain and distress and directly caused her death," the lawsuit states.