Will County judge grants default judgment against Joliet nursing facility

A Will County judge granted a default judgment against Salem Village Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Joliet after the company failed to respond to a wrongful death lawsuit.

As a result of Judge John Anderson’s decision March 20, a court hearing has been tentatively scheduled for May 16 for him to assess the damages in Karen Turcic’s wrongful death lawsuit against the nursing home. Anderson may issue a ruling afterward that could lead to a conclusion of the case.

Anderson granted the default judgment in Turcic’s favor because the company that owned the nursing home failed to respond to her lawsuit, which was filed Jan. 19.

Turcic is the brother of Michael Pappas, 61, a resident of the facility who died after a Nov. 17 altercation with fellow resident William Paschall, 72.

Paschall initially was charged with the first-degree murder of Pappas. But a grand jury later indicted Paschall on a charge of aggravated battery. A preliminary result from Pappas’ autopsy listed the cause of his death as undetermined.

Salem Village Nursing and Rehabilitation Center was issued a $50,000 fine for violations over the incident involving Pappas and Paschall, according to records from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The department’s report of its investigation alleged that the Joliet facility failed to protect Pappas from physical abuse from Paschall and failed to review and revise a resident’s plan of care after Paschall exhibited physically and verbally aggressive behaviors.

Paschall spent about five months in the Will County jail until he was released April 17.

Paschall’s release was spurred by a decision from the 3rd District Appellate Court in Ottawa. The appellate court ruled that Will County Judge Dave Carlson made an error in keeping Paschall in jail because he was not charged with an offense that qualified for detention.

The appellate court said Paschall was charged with aggravated battery of a person older than 60 instead of aggravated battery resulting in great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement.

The appellate court said the Illinois General Assembly only included the latter offense among the list of forcible felonies that would make defendants eligible for detention.

In a past ruling, the appellate court said that if the Legislature had “intended to include all aggravated batteries, it would have done so.”