Chicago-area hospital sued over break-ins of widows' homes

BERWYN, Ill. (AP) - A suburban Chicago hospital is facing a lawsuit over an employee who obtained information about numerous widowed patients and then broke into their homes.

The lawsuit claims MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn failed to properly supervise rehabilitation tech assistant Eric Albavera, who had access to home addresses and other personal information about patients. Albavera has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleaded guilty to 18 cases of residential burglary and attempted residential burglary.

Attorney Karl Leinberger tells WLS-TV that his three clients who are suing the hospital expected the hospital to properly secure their personal information.

Authorities say Albavera befriended the hospitalized female patients and confirmed they lived alone before the burglaries.

Tenent Health, which owned MacNeal Hospital at the time of the burglaries, declined to comment.

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Information from: WLS-TV.