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Learning that your elderly relative isn’t safe and sound at their nursing home is heartbreaking. Encouraging your loved one to move into a long-term care facility or making that decision for them is hard enough. You do it believing they’ll be cared for. When you discover evidence that someone at the facility is neglecting or abusing your relative, call us right away. Our nursing home negligence attorneys know Illinois law and how to hold nursing homes responsible for their deplorable conduct. Call us at (312) 236-2900 or submit your information through our online form to schedule a free consultation.
How Staver Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C. Can Help You
Our team has decades of combined experience handling personal injury, medical malpractice, and wrongful death claims. We have the legal knowledge you need, as well as extensive experience dealing with Illinois nursing homes, medical providers, and insurers. We also know our way around the courtroom. We’re not afraid to take tough cases to trial. Our knowledge, skills, and experience help us achieve the best possible results for our clients. Review our Results, and don’t hesitate to ask us about how we’ve resolved cases that are like yours.
Nursing Homes in Illinois
All nursing homes in Illinois are licensed and regulated by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The IDPH makes sure nursing homes comply with the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act, which defines nursing home residents’ rights. It also surveys facilities that received Medicaid/Medicare to make sure they’re following federal nursing home regulations too.
When we take a nursing home negligence case, we look into the nursing home’s compliance and legal background. We will gather reports and survey results on the facility to determine if they have recent or previous regulatory violations. If the facility violated the law in the past, this could help us build a case based on negligence or a violation of your relative’s rights.
Nursing Home Negligence in Chicago
Your elderly loved one should receive excellent care at any licensed nursing home in Illinois. Unfortunately, the reality is that seniors often receive mediocre care. Or, worse yet, they are harmed by the doctors, nurses, and other staff members who should look after them. If your relative’s been hurt or passed away, and you believe it’s because of neglect or abuse at the nursing home, contact a lawyer right away.
What Is Negligence?
Someone is negligent when they don’t act as carefully as they’re supposed to and end up hurting another person. Everyone has to uphold a certain standard of conduct. Most people, most of the time, are required to act reasonably for the circumstances. When someone behaves unreasonably or carelessly, causing another person harm, then that person can hold the negligent party responsible. The injured party can demand compensation for their physical and emotional injuries through an insurance claim or lawsuit.
Medical Malpractice Is Negligence
People in certain professions, like doctors, have a more specific standard to uphold than just being reasonable. Illinois law says a doctor must have and use the knowledge, skills, and care ordinarily used by a reasonably careful doctor in the same practice area. A geriatrician has to treat patients with the same knowledge, skills, and care as another reasonably careful geriatrician. When a doctor fails to act reasonably and hurts a patient, it’s called professional negligence or medical malpractice.
Liability for Nursing Home Injuries
Always talk with an attorney about who might be liable for nursing home neglect or abuse. The party or parties for your relative’s injuries or death might not be the person who was negligent or abusive. In some cases, you can file a claim against the individual or group that hurt you or your elderly loved one. But more often than not, you file a claim against the nursing home itself. The nursing home is responsible for upholding residents’ rights and for its employees’ conduct. The business also might be negligent itself for hiring and retaining someone who didn’t have the proper training or had a history of poor performance at work.
Types of Nursing Home Negligence
At Staver Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C., we handle all types of nursing home neglect and abuse cases. Contact us right away if your loved one was hurt because of:
- Improper Restraints
- Malnutrition
- Forced Feeding
- Dehydration
- Bedsores
- Wandering Off
- Falls
- Wheelchair Accidents
- Choking
- Infections
- Prevented Visitors or Communication
- Emotional Abuse
- Physical Abuse
- Sexual Abuse
- Financial Exploitation
- Wrongful Death
Negligence vs. Abuse
There’s a difference between negligence and abuse. Negligence is not intentional misconduct. It’s behaving carelessly or irresponsibly. Abuse is intentional. Physical, sexual, psychological, and financial abuse happen when someone willfully harms or attempts to harm another person. We will help your loved one or family fight for compensation whether your relative was intentionally harmed or neglected at their long-term care facility.
Common Causes of Negligence in Nursing Homes
There’s no excuse for nursing home neglect. But we know how it happens. Some of the most common reasons for neglect and abuse at senior care facilities include:
- Understaffing
- Negligent Hiring and Retention
- Inadequate Training
- Inadequate Supervision
Nursing Home Residents’ Rights
The Illinois Nursing Home Care Act outlines nursing home residents’ rights, like the right to control their finances and personal property, choose their doctor, participate in their medical care, and be free from discrimination. If an employee of a nursing home hurts your relative, talk with us about filing a claim. We don’t have to prove negligence or an intentional harmful act under the Nursing Home Care Act. Instead, we prove a staff member or administrator violated your loved one’s right and caused them physical, emotional, or financial harm.
Steps to Take if You Suspect Nursing Home Neglect or Abuse
If you’re starting to believe your loved one is being hurt at their care facility, we recommend you:
- Privately talk with your loved one about what’s going on.
- Talk with other residents and ask if they’ve witnessed or also suffered neglect or abuse.
- If your loved one has been physically or sexually assaulted, contact the police.
- Address the issues with the administration as soon as possible.
- Report the neglect or abuse to state authorities.
- Contact a nursing home negligence lawyer to discuss seeking compensation.
Filing a Lawsuit Based on Nursing Home Negligence
After your loved one is hurt at their nursing home or passed away unexpectedly, your family might suspect foul play. Bring us any evidence you have of neglect or abuse or contact us to investigate the matter on your behalf. If evidence shows the nursing home did something wrong, then we can guide you through the right legal action.
Personal Injury Lawsuit
If your loved one is still with us and suffered injuries because of neglect or abuse, we’ll file a personal injury lawsuit.
Illinois Nursing Home Care Act Lawsuit
When a nursing home violates your relative’s rights, we’ll file a lawsuit under the Nursing Home Care Act. This is different than a traditional personal injury claim based on negligence.
Wrongful Death Lawsuit
If the nursing home negligence or abuse caused your relative’s death, then we might recommend your family pursue compensation through a wrongful death lawsuit. Wrongful death claims focus on the injuries you and other surviving family members suffer, not your elderly relative’s injuries.
Survival Action
It’s possible your loved one suffered serious injuries because of neglect or abuse, and then passed away weeks or months later. During their life, your relative had a personal injury claim. The executor of their estate can file a claim, usually at the same time as a wrongful death lawsuit, for compensation for the injuries your loved one endured during their life.
Compensation for Nursing Home Injuries
Was your loved one physically, emotionally, or financially hurt at their nursing home? Our nursing home negligence lawyers are here to fight for them to receive maximum compensation. Through a personal injury lawsuit or a claim based on the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act, we can demand compensation for:
Wrongful Death Compensation
The nursing home’s neglect or abuse might have caused your loved one’s death. We can pursue compensation for your family through a wrongful death lawsuit. Damages are different between personal injury and wrongful death cases. In a wrongful death claim, the compensation is for what you and your surviving relatives have suffered, including:
- Funeral and burial costs
- Medical bills
- Lost economic support
- Lost inheritance
- Loss of consortium, companionship, or parental guidance
- Mental suffering and grief
Time Limits for Filing Lawsuits
Every state puts limits on how long you have to file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. The Illinois statute of limitations on personal injury lawsuits is two years. It’s also two years from the date of death for both wrongful death and survival actions.
Let a Chicago Nursing Home Negligence Lawyer Help You
The best way to protect your loved one and fight for justice for the harm they’ve suffered is to work with a lawyer. Staver Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C. understand how important it is to protect your elderly parents, grandparents, and other loved ones. You might not be able to take care of their daily needs, but you can make sure they’re treated well at their nursing home. When a facility neglects or abuses them, we’re here to hold that business liable under the law. Contact us through our online form or call (312) 236-2900. We offer free consultations, and there’s no fee unless we win your case.
