Northbrook Nursing Home Sued Over Late Resident's Fall

CHICAGO — The wife of a late Glenview man says Northbrook health care facility violated the Nursing Home Care Act by neglecting to protect him from falling. Jane Ranz filed a lawsuit against Manorcare of Northbrook earlier this month in Cook County Circuit Court on behalf of her husband's estate.

John Ranz was admitted into Manorcare's skilled nursing facility on Dec. 8, 2016, according to his wife's complaint. The lawsuit alleges the company knew Mr. Ranz was at a high risk of falling, the Cook County Record reported.

The next day, Ranz fell and fractured his spine, leading to hospitalization and surgery, according to the Record. His widow's lawsuit says the Northbrook facility failed to supervise and personalize his care.

Mr. Ranz was born in Glenview and graduated from Glenbrook South High School in 1968. He owned a steel distribution company for more than 25 years, according to an obituary. He died in March 2017 at Lutheran General Hospital at the age of 66.

Mrs. Ranz filed the malpractice suit as an executor of his estate on Dec. 10. She is being represented by the law offices of Steven Malman in Chicago. According to court records, Manor Care was served in the case on Dec. 18.

Toledo-based Manorcare is the second-largest nursing room chain in the country. It was purchased by private equity firm the Carlyle Group in 2011 and declared bankruptcy in March.

The number of citations for health code violations began to rise soon after Carlyle took over, a Washington Post investigation revealed. In its final year of operations before declaring bankruptcy, the 25,000-patient chain racked up nearly 2,000 violations.

In July, Manorcare was purchased out of bankruptcy by another Toledo company, ProMedica, for $3.3 billion, according to the Toledo Blade. Rating agencies dropped its bond rating several levels the following month to just above junk bond status.