Salem Village Wrongful Death Lawsuit Settles For $110,000

JOLIET, IL - A wrongful death lawsuit filed on March 29 against the Salem Village Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at 1314 Rowell Avenue has reached an out of court settlement for $110,000. Court files at the Will County Courthouse indicate the settlement was reached this month in the case filed by Debra Harper Childress on behalf of her late husband, John Childress Jr. Under the terms, 33 percent of the settlement will go to the plaintiff's law firm of Kralovec, Jambois & Schwartz out of Chicago, as their attorney's fees. In addition to the $36,666 payment, the firm also receives a sum of $6,093 out of the total settlement funds for reimbursement of their costs associated with their investigation into the case.

Of the remaining $67,240, widow Debra Harper Childress will get $33,620 and her two sons Detrick Childress and John Preston Childress will each get $16,810.

According to the allegations raised in the wrongful death lawsuit, John Childress Jr. had a hemorrhagic stroke that left him requiring a tracheostomy tube for ventilation. He was admitted to Salem Village on December 4, 2014, dependent on the staff for his care. On April 4, 2015, his condition at Salem Village became grave.

"On April 4, 2015 at 4:50 p.m. an unidentified CNA found John Childress Jr. with his trach pulled out and unresponsive," the lawsuit stated. About 20 minutes later, the lawsuit states, Childress "was emergently brought to Presence St. Joseph's Medical Center in full arrest." At 5:44 p.m., he died.

"The cause of death on his death certificate was listed as acute respiratory failure, cardiac arrest, trach malfunction and mucus plugging," the lawsuit noted. (The suit, however, does not indicate the age of Childress when he died in 2015.)

Among the numerous allegations put forth in their suit, the plaintiff's lawyers accused Salem Village of failing to ensure the health and safety of John Childress Jr., failing to monitor and ensure his airway was patent, failing to develop and follow a care plan to ensure a patent airway or prevent mucus plugging and failing to properly provide tracheostomy care.

Image of Salem Village via Google Maps