CHICAGO, April 25, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- The Illinois House caused a wave of criticism when it unanimously passed a bill that some say would erode years of progress in nursing home safety in the state.

House Bill 5849 would create a state team to review Type A and Type AA health violations to compare other violations across Illinois. The bill's stated goal is to achieve consistency in citing nursing homes for violations.

But nursing home resident advocates consider the bill to be a bureaucratic attack on common sense health and safety legislation. "This bill will cut right at the heart of the state's nursing reform law and put those in nursing homes at greater risk," said Chicago personal injury attorney Paul Greenberg. "The bill will make it more difficult for the state to investigate and discipline nursing homes that have been accused of violating safety and health standards. Obviously, the longer it takes for the state to act on reports of violations, the greater the chances of somebody's loved one being injured or killed because of negligent facility operators."

Rep. David Leitch of Peoria sponsored the bill and has said Illinois is tougher on nursing homes than other states. According to Leitch, the new law represents better regulation because it will be more uniform.  Nursing home resident advocates disagree, asserting that the law does nothing to protect patients.

"This law's sole purpose is to protect the companies that run nursing homes," Greenberg said. "It is not legislation designed to increase safety for nursing home residents. The result of this law is likely to be that it will become harder to hold nursing homes accountable when residents are injured."

To learn more, contact Chicago nursing home abuse attorney and Chicago personal injury lawyer Paul Greenberg, visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com or call 877-595-HURT (4878).

Media Contact: Paul Greenberg Briskman Briskman & Greenberg, 3122220010, contact@seolawfirm.com

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SOURCE Briskman Briskman & Greenberg

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