Sunrise Senior Living sued for negligence

A man is suing an assisted living facility over claims its staff failed to contact medical personnel after he fell and broke his leg.

Russell Durr filed a lawsuit Nov. 6 in Cook County Circuit Court against Sunrise Senior Living Management Inc., doing business as Sunrise of Schaumburg, and Sunrise Third LLC, citing negligence, breach of assisted living act and breach of contract.

According to the complaint, Durr is a 97-year-old man who resided at Sunrise from Jan. 26, 2013 until Feb. 8, 2013 and required a walker to move around.

He claims that on Feb. 8, he advised an aide a the facility that he needed to use the restroom and required an elevated toilet seat to do so.

The complaint alleges that the aide brought Durr to the restroom and placed the elevated toilet seat on top of the toilet without properly securing it to the base. The aide, the suit states, also failed to bring Durr's walker into the restroom to allow him to maneuver himself on and off the toilet.

Durr asserts that he attempted to use the toilet, but because the elevated toilet seat was not securely fastened, he fell off and struck the floor, resulting in serious injuries including a spiral fracture in his right leg.

He is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 and is being represented by attorneys Dennis G. Walsh and Howard C. Jablecki.

Circuit Court of Cook County Case No. 2013L012289.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.