The daughter of a mentally-ill woman is suing a West Side nursing home, claiming the staff failed to properly supervise her mother, who is now seven months pregnant and unable to care for a baby.
Tekia Daniels, 23, says she was shocked at how the facility, Monroe Pavilion Health and Treatment Center, explained to her how her 42-year-old mother became pregnant.
"They basically said, 'Ok, it was consensual. They have girlfriends and boyfriends here,'" Daniels said.
But her mother's mental condition is so severe that she's unable to make decisions for herself, says Daniels. Because she can't consent, the lawsuit contends, it's the facility's job to protect her from sexual activity and sexual advances.
"It's unbelievable that this would be allowed to happen," said Daniels' lawyer, Michael Gravlin. "Their best-case scenario is that they were negligently supervising the situation."
Gravlin says the facility violated the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act by allegedly failing to prevent an employee or resident from engaging in sexual activity with the patient.
"For it to happen in a facility of that type, who's supposed to help and protect people with these type of conditions, it's just ridiculous," said Tekia Daniels.
The facility refused to comment, saying that federal law prohibits them from talking about our patients and their personal lives.
Felicia Daniels was institutionalized in 1996 after she was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the stabbing death of her stepfather in Harvey.
The suit seeks $50,000 in damages. The baby is due the first week in January.
