Wrongful death suit against Bloomington nursing home to be tried locally instead of federal court

Posted on September 23, 2021
Eleven residents of Bloomington Rehabilitation and Health Care Center died during a COVID outbreak early in the pandemic. (Photo courtesy Heart of Illinois ABC)

By HOI ABC

BLOOMINGTON – Relatives of a Central Illinois nursing home resident who died from COVID-19 last year can pursue their lawsuit in McLean County Court, rather than the nursing home’s preference to try the case in federal court.

Eleven residents of Bloomington Rehabilitation and Health Care Center died during a COVID outbreak early in the pandemic.

The family of one of the residents, Marlene Hill, is suing Petersen Health Operations, which runs the nursing home on South Main Street. The lawsuit alleges the nursing home was negligent in caring for Hill, who was 72 when she died in May of 2020.

U.S. District Judge Joe Billy McDade rejected the nursing home’s arguments that it acted as a “federal officer’ while caring for COVID patients, entitling it to federal court proceedings.

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