In what a 91-year-old woman's family is calling a massive violation of trust, two Illinois nursing home aides allegedly filmed themselves taunting the woman, who has dementia, and then posted the video to Snapchat. Margaret Collins' family is now suing the Abington nursing home in Glenview for more than $1 million in damages, ABC 7 reports. They say the aides knew Collins didn't like hospital gowns, and the video shows the great-grandmother flailing her arms as she attempts to push one away from her. It was captioned, "Margaret hates gowns" along with two laughing emojis. "She's waving her arms because of one reason. She doesn't have mobility to get away. That's the only option she has to protect herself," her son says.
The video was posted just before Christmas, and Collins' family says the nursing home initially cleared the workers involved and allowed them to stay on the job after a six-day suspension, WGN reports. Brayan Cortez and Jamie Montesa, who are also named in the lawsuit, have since been fired and are also now facing charges of misdemeanor disorderly conduct. CBS Chicago reports the two were romantically involved and that Cortez told police it was an "ongoing inside joke" to wave a gown toward Collins. A report from the Illinois Department of Public Health accuses the Abington of failing to implement its policy on abuse prevention. Collins is no longer living there, and her family says the incident has left her with anxiety. (More elder abuse stories.)
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