Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers in Chicago, IL

Serving Chicago, Surrounding Suburbs and all Surrounding Counties of DuPage, Will & Lake.

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When you check your loved one into a Chicago-area nursing home facility, you expect your loved ones to be treated with care and respect. Nursing homes have obligations to their residents, chief among them keeping their residents safe.

Many nursing home staffers are caring, committed individuals who work hard for their elderly charges.

However, negligence and abuse are constants in too many nursing homes, as even a cursory look at the news will reveal.

Our nursing home abuse lawyers will fight for your loved ones if they've suffered a personal injury as the result of negligence or outright violence in their nursing home. Such abuse is never acceptable.

If your loved one has experienced nursing home abuse in the Chicago, Illinois area, please call the Sklare Law Group today at (312) 759-1616 for a free consultation.

What Is Nursing Home Elder Abuse?

Although nursing homes have been established to take care of the elderly in our communities, unfortunately, there are some cases where caretakers and nurses abuse their patients. According to The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), elder abuse is the “intentional act, or failure to act, by a caregiver or another person in a relationship involving an expectation of trust that causes or creates a risk of harm to an older adult.” However, elder abuse in nursing homes can also be unintentional. In simplified terms, elder abuse occurs when a person trusted with the care of an elderly patient harms, risks, or neglects the care they need. This neglect, carelessness, and abuse can lead to serious injury and even death in elderly patients.

At Sklare Law Group, we want to work with our clients to help prevent more of this from happening and help families get fairness for their elderly loved ones. If you or a family member thinks you may need representation or help when it comes to nursing home abuse, read our FAQ below to learn more.

What Rights Do Residents Of Nursing Homes Have?

The exact rights depend on what type of facility it is, and whether it is bound by federal regulations. There will also be state laws protecting the resident, and possibly municipal and insurance-based nursing home regulations.

In Medicare and/or Medicaid-certified nursing homes, residents have a right to:

  • Be informed
  • Make their own decisions
  • Have their personal information kept private
  • Be treated with dignity and respect
  • Be free from discrimination
  • Be free from abuse and neglect
  • Be free from physical or chemical restraints that are used as discipline or for the convenience of the staff
  • Make a complaint without fear of retribution
  • Get proper medical care
  • Be informed of services and fees
  • Have their representative notified
  • Manage their money
  • Have a right to their privacy and property
  • Spend time with visitors
  • Receive social services
  • Leave the nursing home
  • Involve their friends and family in their lives

Our attorneys can determine if a nursing home resident’s rights were violated or if negligence led to their injuries.

Abuse And Negligence

When we think about nursing home residents suffering injuries in their facilities, we tend to talk in terms of "abuse." And there's no doubt that outright physical abuse is depressingly common in these facilities.

However, negligence is almost as big a problem. Nursing homes are for-profit facilities, and many of them are part of massive, multi-state empires run by far-flung corporations. The profit motive is a powerful thing, and facility administrators are often incentivized to cut costs to the bone in a way that leaves residents paying the price.

In these situations, nursing home staffers aren't explicitly abusive, but they're under-paid, under-trained and lack the resources to properly care for their residents.

Specific examples of such negligence and abuse include:

None of these situations are acceptable. Nursing homes must invest the resources necessary to provide their residents with the safe, comfortable environment they deserve.

Accountability is a crucial element of this, and our nursing home abuse lawyers further the cause of accountability by holding to account those facilities that, through abuse or negligence, hurt their residents.

What Are Some Warning Signs of Nursing Home Abuse?

It can be difficult for most people to recognize the signs of elder abuse because they may simply come off as harsh parenting behavior or caretakers simply trying to get their patients to follow instructions, however, it’s important to recognize what actions, behaviors, and physical manifestations can be a sign of potential abuse, especially if you have a loved one living in a nursing home.

Specific examples of elder abuse include:

None of these situations are acceptable. Nursing homes must invest the resources necessary to provide their residents with the safe, comfortable environment they deserve.

Accountability is a crucial element of this, and our nursing home abuse lawyers further the cause of accountability by holding to account those facilities that, through abuse or negligence, hurt their residents.

How Common Is Elder Abuse In Nursing Homes?

Nursing home abuse is fairly common, unfortunately. According to the National Center for Victims of Crime, a study found that 24.3% of patients in nursing home experience at least one instance of physical abuse while living in a nursing home. This does not include, however, the instances of emotional, verbal, and psychological abuse that can occur when nurses and caretakers are attempting to care for their patients. Insults, yelling, foul language, and verbal threats can all be classified as abuse. While emotional abuse may occur while most families are not in the room with their elderly and there may not be any clear evidence of it, it is still the most common type of abuse that occurs in nursing homes.

Why Are Neglect And Abuse Common In The Nursing Home Setting?

Nursing home abuse is fairly common. Some estimates say several million elders are victims of abuse and neglect each year. There are reasons why abuse tends to be overrepresented in the industry:

  • Understaffing
  • Burned out and overworked staff
  • Unaddressed employee stress and frustration
  • Lack of training
  • Hiring inexperienced or poorly trained staff
  • Lack of employee resources and support
  • Low employee pay
  • Inadequate management and supervision
  • The elderly tend to be a vulnerable population
  • Residents with physical or mental impairments aren’t always able to advocate for themselves

The quality of care varies by individual nursing home. Unfortunately, some of them simply do not provide the staffing, training, supervision, and employee resources that are needed to ensure quality care, and the elderly residents suffer the consequences.

Other examples of abuse within a nursing home

In general, neglect is the intentional or unintentional failure to meet the resident’s basic needs and medical needs. Neglect includes:

  • Failure to change bedding
  • Failure to change clothes
  • Failure to assist with personal hygiene and bathing
  • Failure to provide food and water, which may lead to malnourishment and dehydration
  • Failure to provide necessary medical care
  • Failure to supervise a resident prone to wandering
  • Abandonment and isolation

Serious physical harm is often the result when the services, goods, and healthcare necessary to ensure health and safety are not provided.

If A Resident Of A Nursing Home Has No Contract With The Home, Can He Or She Still Sue The Home For Improper Care?

It depends on the specifics of the situation, but generally yes, you can most likely sue a nursing home even if there isn’t a contract or agreement. It depends on the circumstances and our state laws, as well as other regulations. It takes an experienced attorney to determine if the nursing home provider is liable for you or your loved one’s injuries, trauma, or worsened condition.

Getting injured while visiting a resident at a nursing home

If you are injured on nursing home grounds, and are not a resident, you may have a premises liability claim. In these cases, a serious injury is caused by an unsafe, hazardous, or defective condition on someone’s property. Examples include:

  • Slipping and falling on a wet surface
  • Tripping on uneven or damaged floors
  • Lack of building and property maintenance
  • Unrepaired water leaks
  • Chemical spills or chemical exposure
  • Flooding
  • Elevator accidents
  • Swimming pool accidents

A premises liability claim requires more than an injury occurring at a nursing home. You must also show that someone is liable for the condition or hazard that caused your injury.

What If I Don’t Have Any Evidence of Elder Abuse? Can You Still Help?

Many times, signs of elder abuse often manifest in physical conditions on the bodies of elderly patients, however, if there is a case where clients find they can’t find any physical proof of elder abuse but have an instinct that their loved one may be a victim of abuse in their nursing home, it’s always advised to contact your attorney to find out what rights and compensations you and your family may be entitled to. Contact us here.

Client Review

"Words cannot express how it warmed my heart and family heart, that through our trails and tribulations Ron and Kelly and especially the entire staff worked, so Hard and kept us abreast about everything that was going on. I and my family will always keep you all in our prayers, and May GOD continue to bless you and your families and give you all the desires of your heart. Mentally knowing you all truly cared about me and my well being, felt great Ron you made me feel that I didn’t have to worry because you had my back. You all are truly GOD sent. ( Much love to you all)"

- T.D.

Schedule a Client Consultation

If you need an experienced nursing home abuse lawyer in the Chicagoland area of Illinois, please call the Sklare Law Group today at (312) 759-1616 for a free consultation.

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