Myers v. Heritage Enterprises, Inc.
820 N.E.2d 604, 354 Ill. App. 3d 241, 289 Ill. Dec. 828 (2004)
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Rule of Law:
Under the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act, the actions of Certified Nurse's Aides (CNAs) in providing personal care, such as transferring a resident, are subject to an ordinary negligence standard of care, not a professional negligence standard that would require expert testimony.
Facts:
- Mary Prillmayer, a 78-year-old resident at Heritage Manor nursing home, required assistance with movement.
- In August 2000, two Certified Nurse's Aides (CNAs), Penny Chapman and Carolyn Butler, attempted to move Prillmayer from her wheelchair to her bed using a Hoyer lift.
- During the transfer, Prillmayer fell approximately 18 inches, striking the bar of the lift.
- As a result of the fall, Prillmayer fractured the tibia and fibula in both of her legs.
- Prillmayer died about two weeks later from causes alleged to be unrelated to the fall.
Procedural Posture:
- Michael B. Myers, as executor of Mary Prillmayer's estate, sued Heritage Enterprises, Inc. in an Illinois trial court, alleging negligence and violation of the Nursing Home Care Act.
- The trial court initially dismissed the Nursing Home Care Act claim, ruling that the cause of action did not survive the decedent's death.
- Myers, as appellant, appealed to the intermediate appellate court, which reversed the dismissal and remanded the case.
- On remand at the trial court, Myers withdrew the common-law negligence claim, proceeding to a jury trial solely on the statutory claim.
- Over the plaintiff's objection, the trial court gave a professional negligence jury instruction.
- The jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendant, Heritage Enterprises, Inc.
- The plaintiff's post-trial motion for a new trial was denied by the trial court.
- The plaintiff, Myers, as appellant, appealed the judgment to the Illinois Appellate Court, Fourth District.
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Issue:
Does the standard of care applicable to Certified Nurse's Aides performing a patient transfer under the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act require a professional negligence jury instruction, which limits the jury's determination of negligence to expert testimony?
Opinions:
Majority - Justice Myerscough
No. The appropriate standard of care for liability under the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act is one of ordinary negligence, which does not require a professional negligence instruction or mandate expert testimony. The court reasoned that the plain language of the Act defines 'neglect' in terms of a failure to provide 'adequate medical or personal care,' where 'adequate care' is synonymous with ordinary or reasonable care. The Act defines 'personal care' to include assistance with patient movement. Furthermore, the court determined that CNAs are not 'professionals' in the legal sense that necessitates a professional negligence standard, given their minimal training requirements and the nature of their duties, which primarily involve personal, non-medical care. Therefore, instructing the jury that it could only determine the standard of care from expert testimony was an abuse of discretion that misled the jury and prejudiced the plaintiff, requiring a new trial.
Analysis:
This decision clarifies that claims arising from the personal care duties of CNAs under the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act will be adjudicated under an ordinary negligence standard. By rejecting the professional negligence standard, the court significantly lowers the evidentiary burden for plaintiffs, who are no longer required to secure expert testimony to establish a breach of duty. This precedent makes it easier and less expensive for residents or their estates to bring claims against nursing homes for injuries resulting from basic care tasks, allowing juries to use their common experience to determine what a 'reasonably careful person' would have done.
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