In the State of Illinois, drivers are required to have automobile insurance. The reason? If a driver causes an accident, the injuries will be covered by insurance. Makes sense right? If you are in an accident and the other driver does not have insurance — unless you get hit by a wealthy individual — more likely than not, there will be no funds available to compensate you for your injuries and you would be stuck footing all of the bills — even though you did nothing wrong! This is why failure to
have insurance while driving is a criminal offense in Illinois.
Logic would dictate, that Illinois nursing homes should be required to carry liability insurance as well. What if the nursing home injures one of its residents — or worse — a resident dies because of a nursing home’s abuse or neglect? There should be an insurance policy available to the victim to compensate him or her for their injuries.
Shockingly, Illinois does not require its nursing homes to carry liability insurance. As a result, thousands of residents do not receive compensation after their nursing homes cause them harm.
Efforts to make liability insurance mandatory for nursing homes have been continually shot down in the Illinois General Assembly:
In 2008, state Representative John Bradley, D-Marion introduced SB 3445 which would have amended the Nursing Home Care Act, and the state Mandate Act, and would have:
•required nursing homes to carry at least $1 million of coverage per year;
•allowed the Illinois Department of Public Health to revoke nursing home license for owners without the necessary coverage;
•forced disclosure of each nursing home’s policy to the public;
•forced a nursing home licensee to pay three times the actual damages, or $500, whichever is greater, and costs of attorney’s fees to a resident whose rights have been violated.
The bill was assigned to the Rules Committee, where it died.
Similarly, in 2012, another effort to mandate liability insurance for nursing homes was shot down. The recently introduced HB 5668 would have allowed the Illinois Department of Public Health to deny a license application if the applicant does not have proof of liability insurance. It would also have allowed the IDPH to suspend, revoke or renew a license if the facility fails to maintain its liability insurance. It would have also required nursing homes to carry at least $1 million of coverage per year. Again, the bill was shot down in the Rules Committee.
Want to get involved and support mandatory insurance for nursing homes? Email cat@argentolaw.com.
