Condom Found In Nursing Home Patient's Stomach, Suit Claims
(STMW) -- A woman is suing a west suburban rehabilitation center and a hospital after doctors found a condom lodged inside a patient's stomach.
Trixie Scott filed the lawsuit Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court on behalf of L.C. Scott, who died Feb. 20, 2013, and named the Westchester Health And Rehabilitation Center and Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital as defendants.
L.C. Scott was a resident at Westchester Rehab in June 2012 when he was taken to La Grange Memorial Hospital for suspected gastro intestinal bleeding and low hemoglobin levels, the suit claims.
When Scott underwent a procedure that examined parts of his digestive tract, a doctor found a condom inside his stomach, the suit said.
"Unfortunately, it look liked it was a condom and it was about 6 to 7 inches long with hardened material inside," according to a doctor's description of the procedure in a report, cited by the suit.
The discovery of the condom means Scott was likely sexually abused, the suit claims. He had the same procedure performed in January 2010 and was clear of foreign objects, so any abuse had to have occurred between then and June 2012, when the most recent procedure was performed, the suit claims.
Since Scott was bedridden and nonverbal, and had to be fed from a tube during that time period, the suit claims he was at a greater risk for sexual abuse and that the nursing home did not take due care in preventing it from happening.
The suit also lays blame on the hospital, claiming he could have been abused there, too. Scott stayed at the hospital 14 times between January 2010 and June 2012, the suit claims, which lists the dates.
A spokeswoman for the hospital said it does not comment on pending litigation. Westchester Rehabilitation could not be reached for comment Thursday.
The two count suit claims both the nursing home and the hospital were negligent, failed to protect its residents from sexual abuse and failed to institute the proper security measures.
Trixie Scott is asking for $50,000 in damages, as well as legal fees.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
