A Wheeling insurance firm is being sued over allegations of negligence that cost a hospital $1 million in legal fees, according to a lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court.
Ralph Weiner and Associates LLC was a licensed insurance provider for the Admire Home Health Care Agency, a skilled nursing, physical therapy and occupational therapy clinic headquartered in Skokie and serving Chicagoland.
In 2019, just a couple months after purchasing a new liability insurance through the Wheeling firm, Admire was accused of common law negligence under the Wrongful Death Act and the Survival Act for a death that occurred in the facility in 2017, according to the complaint. When the nursing home allegedly contacted Weiner and Associates to notify its insurers of the claim against them, Admire allegedly discovered that the firm had failed to list a retroactive date on the company's new policy, providing no liability protection for the 2017 death lawsuit.
The nursing facility is accusing Weiner and Associates of one count of negligence for allegedly failing to acquire a copy of Admire's liability insurance policy from its previous provider and insuring the policy covered retroactive incidents as the facility's trusted insurance provider.
Admire is seeking damages from Wheeler and Associates for the $1 million in lost coverage plus legal fees. Admire is represented by attorney David Wentzel, of the Wentzel Law Offices, of Chicago.