- The family of a nursing home patient with dementia is suing the facility after two of its employees filmed a video mocking the elderly woman.
- The video, uploaded to Snapchat last December, shows 91-year-old Margaret Collins waving away a hospital gown as the employees tossed it on top of her.
- The video featured the caption, "Margaret hates gowns" along with two laughing emojis.
- Police arrested both employees involved in the situation and charged them with disorderly conduct, court documents show.
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A viral video posted on Snapchat drew outrage this week for showing two former Illinois nursing home assistants mocking an elderly patient with dementia.
The video, uploaded last December, shows 91-year-old Margaret Collins waving away a hospital gown as the employees tossed it on top of her. The video featured the caption, "Margaret hates gowns" along with two laughing emojis.
The family of 91-year-old Margaret Collins sued the Abington of Glenview nursing home over the video last week, alleging that its staff "used their position of power and influence to harass, taunt, bully, degrade, and take advantage of Margaret."
The suspects in the video, Brayan Cortez and Jamie Montesa, were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct earlier this year, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleged that the nursing home initially suspended Cortez and Montesa for six days after the Snapchat video was posted while the facility conducted an internal investigation.
Collins now suffers from nightmares, paranoia, and anxiety, the lawsuit alleges
After "informal interviews" with staff members, the investigation found that Cortez and Montesa had "excellent reputations" and therefore disregarded the complaint and didn't report it to local or state authorities, according to the lawsuit.
Nevertheless, the lawsuit said the Glenview Police Department began investigating the incident in January and arrested both staff members involved.
The Abington of Glenview nursing home did not immediately respond to INSIDER's request for comment, but told WLS-TV in a statement that Cortez and Montesa were later fired.
"The privacy and dignity of our residents are of the utmost concern at the Abington. Recently, two employees were immediately terminated when it was determined that they violated our standards and policies," the statement said.
Collins' family's lawsuit said the incident left Collins humiliated, self-conscious, and ashamed, and that she now suffers nightmares, paranoia, anxiety, physical deterioration, and a belief that the nursing home staff are coming after her with a hospital gown.
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