03 Jun CONVICTED ELDER ABUSER ENTITLED TO CLAIM FOR PAY DESPITE BEATING UP 88 YEAR OLD CLIENT/PATIENT – DOES CRIME PAY?
An Illinois court has ruled that a caregiver, who was charged with felony criminal neglect of an elderly person, felony aggravated domestic battery and felony assault with battery of a senior, was entitled to pursue a claim to be paid (even without a contract) for her caregiving services. As part of a plea deal, the felony charges were dropped and the caregiver was convicted of a misdemeanor battery. Illinois law provides that a person cannot seek quantum meruit compensation (payment for the value of services rendered even without a contract) if the person is convicted of felony elder abuse. Since the plea deal resulted in a misdemeanor (and not felony) battery conviction, the caregiver was entitled to pursue a $1.226 million quantum meruit claim (she hadn’t been paid in seven years against her patient’s estate (the patient died a few months after she was beaten up) for fraudulent inducement and breach of contract to make a Will in the caregiver’s favor.
Some say “no good dead goes unpunished.” In this case, the caregiver was able to pursue a reward notwithstanding her malovent criminal act. So, if the intent of the law was to discourage elder abuse and neglect, then it appears the law did not go far enough in this case.
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