Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

Westwood Health Care Center, a St. Louis Park nursing home, has been cited for neglect after a dementia resident fell down a flight of stairs.

The incident happened in July 2010. The injured resident was found at the top of a stairwell the day before her accident. She was fitted with an electronic wristband that automatically locks exit doors as residents approach them. A mere eight hours later, the woman wheeled away from an activity in an area of the facility not equipped with the automatic locks and fell down seven concrete stairs. She reportedly was found lying at the bottom of the flight of stairs and most likely fractured two ribs in the fall.

While the nursing home facility disagreed with the state's findings, it did take corrective measures.

A cross-over accident on Interstate 270 near Glen Carbon, Illinois has left three people in critical condition.

The accident happened around 4:30 p.m. on Interstate 270 near Route 157 on Tuesday, March 16, 2010. A man driving westbound in a Chrysler Sebring tried to pass another vehicle, lost control of his car, and crashed through median cables into oncoming eastbound traffic. The Sebring hit a Chevy Camaro head-on. The Camaro then spun around, hitting a Pontiac Grand Prix.

Three passengers in the Camaro, a 24 year old woman, a 9 year old girl, and a 15 year old boy are all in critical condition. The driver of the Camaro was uninjured. The driver of the Sebring, who suffered only minor injuries, was ticketed for improper lane usage and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.

Twenty-six year old David Null was killed on Tuesday, March 16, 2010, while riding his motorcycle to work. Reportedly, a "distracted" twenty year old female motorist is responsible for causing the accident that killed Mr. Null.

Null and the motorist were both driving east on Olive Boulevard near Craig Road when the motorist suddenly lost control of her vehicle, hit the motorcycle, and knocked Null off, killing him.

The motorist, whose name has not been released, was arrested by Creve Coeur Police and routine tests are being run to determine if she was under the influence of either drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident.

To see KMOV's coverage of the accident, click here.

A collision around 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 14, 2010 left an East St. Louis, Illinois man dead.

Eighty-nine year old Frank Anthony's car was disabled and sitting in the far right hand lane of Interstate 270 at the Chain of Rocks Bridge when a 2003 Dodge Ram slammed into it from behind. The pickup truck driver, Bryan Longworth, told police that he didn't see the Anthony's car and could not stop in time. Longworth and his children, a two year old boy and three year old girl, were uninjured in the accident.

Frank Anthony died at the scene. He had been wearing his seatbelt at the time of the collision. At this time, there is no report on why Mr. Anthony's 1991 Buick LeSabre was disabled.

A Warrenton, Missouri police officer was involved in a fatal accident around 12:15 p.m. on Sunday, March 14, 2010.

Officer Kyle Smith was responding to an emergency call with lights and sirens blaring when he collided with a car driven by Donald Wood of Warrenton, Missouri at the intersection of Highway 47 and Ash Road. Reportedly, Smith and Wood collided as Smith was passing stopped traffic in the southbound lane of Highway 47 and Wood attempted a left turn onto Ash Road from the northbound lane.

Both vehicles ran off the road. Officer Smith suffered minor injuries, but Donald Wood was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.

Dawite Derjew, 21, stole a 2006 Lexus from the Dave Mungenast dealership around 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 10, 2010. Speeding north on Lindbergh Boulevard, he lost control around Industrial Lane, crossed into oncoming traffic, and sideswiped a Ford Ranger driven by Michael Mcgaughey. He was slightly injured and was treated at DePaul Hospital.

Derjew kept going and slammed into a Ford Explorer driven by Katherine Scheiwe. Her Explorer spun out of control and hit Theodore Rogers' Chevrolet K1500. The Lexus then impacted with a Mercury Sable driven by William Wandling. Both Scheiwe and Wandling were seriously injured in the crashes and were taken to DePaul Hospital.

After the last impact, Derjew was ejected from the stolen vehicle and was found semiconscious on the pavement. He was taken to DePaul Hospital for treatment. Derjew was charged with stealing a motor vehicle, first degree property damage, and resisting arrest. His bond is currently set at $10,000.

Derjew is not new to trouble with the law. A warrant was issued for him last month for failure to appear in court on a misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession in Warrensburg, Missouri.

A sixteen year old Illinois teenager is dead and her best friends injured after a collision with a F-150 pickup truck on Monday, March 8, 2010.

The teenagers were driving east on New Lenox Road in Joliet, Illinois, headed for a sandwich shop to eat when, for reasons not yet known, the car the teenagers were driving either drove through or rolled through a stop sign and collided with the pickup truck. Sixteen year old Emily Dukovac, a front seat passenger, was killed in the collision. The driver, Alainna Haiman and another passenger, Chelsea Hamm, were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the pickup truck, Frederick Werner, was treated for minor injuries.

The Sheriff's office continues to investigate the crash. What is known at this time is that the speed limit for Cherry Hill Road, where the Ford truck was traveling, is 50 miles per hour while the speed limit for New Lenox Road is 30 miles per hour. No determination has yet been made as to how fast either vehicle was traveling at the time of the crash.

Haiman's father has stated that he believes the intersection is dangerous, blaming the location of speed limit signs and no red light or caution signs.

Forty-five year old Byron McRoberts was killed on Wednesday, March 10, 2010, when his 1999 Honda Shadow collided with a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado.

McRoberts was northbound on Interstate 270 when congestion near McDonnell Boulevard caused a traffic backup around 5:30 p.m. He was unable to stop in time and slammed into the back of the Silverado truck. McRoberts was taken to DePaul Health Center but was pronounced dead around 6:17 p.m.

Toyota was dealt a second blow recently when a New York Prius sped out of control and crashed while its owner helplessly sat in the driver's seat.

Reportedly, a fifty-six year old female driver lost control of her Prius when the accelerator pedal of her 2005 Prius "stuck" and her car hurtled out of her driveway in Harrison, New York. The car traveled across a busy street before violently crashing into a stone wall. The impact was so severe that "several boulders were hurled about 10 feet from the crash site". The woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the crash.

Reportedly, the car's floor mat was tied to the seat base using plastic ties, eliminating the floor mat problem Toyota recently announced. While the car is currently being examined at police headquarters, Toyota has not announced whether it will send a field team to New York to examine the car.

The New York Toyota incident comes on the heels of a California near-accident when a 2008 Prius accelerated beyond the driver's control while operating on a highway. The Prius, which was not subject to Toyota's recent massive recall, took nearly 23 minutes to stop and required police assistance. The driver was not injured in that incident.

A father of ten was killed on February 26, 2010 after the pickup truck he was riding in accidentally ran a red light.

Edward Kropf was the passenger in a 2002 Dodge pickup truck driven by his twin brother, Edwin Kropf. The truck went through a red light at the intersection of Kansas Expressway/Route 13 and Division Street. A 2007 Volvo tractor trailer traveling north on Kansas Expressway/Route 13 slammed into the passenger side of the pickup truck, killing Edward Kropf instantly. The violent collision forced the pickup truck into another tractor trailer carrying a load of windows. Edwin Kropf was transported to the hospital for treatment.

Springfield emergency personnel were called to the scene and worked feverishly to remove the Kropf brothers from the crash. The driver of the Volvo tractor trailer was not injured, although there was damage to his truck.

The Kropfs are Amish Mennonite farmers who raise cattle and soybeans in the Everton area.