Photo: Courtesy Collins Family
Two nursing home aides and an Illinois nursing home are being sued after the caregivers taunted a 91-year-old woman with dementia — and then posted a disturbing video of the great-grandmother’s ordeal on Snapchat, court records show.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants violated the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act and state privacy laws; that they were negligent; and that they intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon Collins.
The incident came to light on Dec. 28, 2018, when the woman’s family learned about a Snapchat video showing Cortez shoving a hospital gown toward Collins, as his co-worker-girlfriend videotaped them and they both laughed, the lawsuit says.
The Snapchat video showing Margaret Collins being taunted.Levin & Perconti
Lying in her bed, the woman can be seen trying to fight off the gown, waving it away as it is repeatedly pushed in her face.
Staff at the nursing home knew the woman didn’t like wearing the hospital gowns and preferred wearing her own clothes, the lawsuit says.
The video was later posted on Snapchat with the caption, “Margaret hates gowns,” punctuated with two laughing/crying emojis.
“You just can’t believe you’re seeing this,” Joan Biebel, Collins’ daughter, told local station WGN 9. “You think your mom is safe and now this is going on.”
The aides were suspended after Collins’ family alerted the nursing home staff to the video, demanding that the duo stay away from their mother.
Margaret Collins, 91.Levin & Perconti
That’s when the family turned to the authorities for help, Biebel said.
“I knew immediately that we had to go to the police department. This was completely wrong,” Biebel told CBS Chicago.
Besides violating Collins’ privacy, the family says in the statement that the incident “so traumatized and upset their mother that she couldn’t sleep, grew fearful of a repeat attack, and became so panicked at night they had to hire a private caregiver to stay with her because her overall health deteriorated.”
Her children moved Collins out of the nursing home a few days later, which “severely disoriented” Collins.
“It really set her back,” Tom Collins said in the statement.
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During police questioning in January 2019, Montesa and Cortez admitted to the incident on Dec. 21, 2019, saying they are fond of Collins, who is well-liked at the nursing home, and didn’t mean her any harm, the Village of Glenview Police report says.
Montesa told police she didn’t know it was against the law to videotape someone at her residence and post it on social media without her consent, the report says.
They were both charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct. They are expected to appear in Cook County Circuit Court later this month.
It is unclear whether they have retained attorneys who can speak on their behalf.
Collins told police she didn’t think Cortez “meant any harm” in waving the gown at her, though she said, “the behavior went on a little too long.”
Still, when Cortez kept waving it, she felt “as though he may force her to put it on,” the report says.
The nursing home did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
The Abington said in a statement in part, “Recently, two employees were immediately terminated when it was determined that they violated our standards and policies,” CBS Chicago reports.
source: people.com
