Posted on July 21, 2021 in Neglect

Neglect of nursing home residents is a common and serious problem in Illinois. Most of the incidents occur in the facilities where the residents live, perhaps because of issues like overcrowding or insufficient staffing or training. However, nursing home staff may also be responsible for the care and safety of residents while they are outside of the facility. If you or a loved one suffers an injury at any time while under the care of a nursing home, you may be entitled to compensation.

Nursing Home Employees Charged After Recent Illinois Incident

An ongoing case in Illinois illustrates a possible example of how neglect can occur when a nursing home resident is away from the facility. In February of this year, a woman died in a transport van after receiving off-site medical treatment at a hospital. Upon returning to her residential facility, the woman was left in the van overnight in below-freezing temperatures. Now, the driver and the residential care manager at the facility are both facing felony neglect charges.

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 Posted on July 13, 2021 in Nursing Home Abuse

The problems of nursing home abuse and neglect are ever-present in Chicago and throughout Illinois, and the state government has made efforts to provide a variety of resources for victims and their families. One such resource is the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, which provides many services to those living in nursing homes and similar facilities. Recently, Governor J.B. Pritzker has announced an increase in funding for the Chicago region of this program, with the goal of ensuring that it is adequately staffed to meet residents’ needs.

What Does the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program Do?

The Long-Term Care Ombudsman program is responsible for providing a variety of services that benefit nursing home residents. Regional branches of the program have been established throughout Illinois to support residents of different counties, and the services they provide are offered at no cost.

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 Posted on June 28, 2021 in Nursing Home Abuse

Headline-making stories regarding nursing home neglect and understaffing are tragically common. Residents may have a serious fall, choke on food, or miss their medication because of critical understaffing issues. The staff who are available are chronically underpaid and overworked, leading to exhaustion and sometimes fatal mistakes. 

No-Strings Attached Funding

Recent Illinois news coverage has focused on requests for an increased amount of state funding for private nursing homes. But at the same time as the Health Care Council of Illinois (HCCI) has asked for $486 million dollars, they have made it clear they want it with no strings attached. The primary lobby group for for-profit nursing facilities opposes legislation from Governor Pritzker’s administration allocating at least some of that money on hiring more staff and eliminating ward-style rooming, where many patients can share the same room. 

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 Posted on June 22, 2021 in Neglect

In the United States, it is an unfortunate reality that many nursing homes and long-term care facilities fail to provide the standard of care that their residents deserve, and that is required of them by state and federal laws. Nursing homes that fail to meet required standards can face financial, legal, and professional sanctions. However, if you or a loved one has been negatively impacted by substandard care in a nursing home, you will have a higher legal standard when it comes to holding the nursing home accountable and recovering compensation for your damages. Specifically, you will need to demonstrate negligence or neglect on behalf of the nursing home or its staff.

Causes of Insufficient Care in a Nursing Home

There are a number of reasons why the care provided to nursing home residents may fall below standards. Some of the most common include:

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 Posted on June 07, 2021 in Nursing Home Abuse

If you have reason to believe that your parent or loved one has been the victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, you need to act quickly to prevent further abuse from happening. Depending on the situation, this could mean helping them leave the nursing home, or even calling for emergency medical help. In many cases, it is also a good idea to call the Nursing Home Hotline operated by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) to file a complaint. However, you may have questions regarding how to do so and what will happen next.

The Process of Filing a Complaint

The IDPH Nursing Home Complaint Hotline can be reached at 800-252-4343, and you can also file a complaint via mail or fax by completing and sending in a form available on the IDPH website. Before you file a complaint, you should be prepared with important information about the suspected abuse or neglect.

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 Posted on May 27, 2021 in Neglect

Individuals who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities deserve to be treated with compassionate, competent care. When a nursing home or assisted living facility fails to provide reasonably skilled service and care to residents, the residents may suffer from profound mental, emotional, and physical consequences. In many cases, substandard care at a nursing home can be deadly. If your loved one was the victim of nursing home neglect, you may be able to sue the nursing home for negligence. Read on to learn about the purpose of nursing home injury lawsuits.

Holding the Facility Responsible for the Harm Your Loved One Suffered

Nursing home neglect can take many forms. Failure to provide proper medical care is one of the most dangerous forms of nursing home neglect. Medical mistakes like giving a resident the wrong medication or the wrong dose of medicine can also lead to disastrous consequences. Lack of sanitization can lead to avoidable infections and illnesses. Unkempt facilities can lead to preventable fall accidents. Inadequate resident supervision can lead to wandering and elopement, avoidable injuries, and resident-on-resident abuse. When incidents of nursing home negligence such as these lead to a resident’s injury or death, a lawsuit may hold the facility accountable for the harm the neglectful care caused the resident. Being sued also serves to discourage similar behavior from the facility in the future.

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 Posted on May 20, 2021 in Nursing Home Abuse

Residents in a nursing home or other long-term care facility have a legal right to receive adequate care. The facility must be kept reasonably clean and safe. Staff must provide appropriate medical care and assistance with day-to-day activities like showering and eating. At no time may a resident be subject to neglect or abuse.

Sadly, not every nursing home meets these standards. When a resident is injured or killed as a result of substandard care or intentional abuse in a nursing home facility, the resident or his or her loved ones may file a nursing home injury lawsuit. Read on to learn about some of the most common types of evidence used to prove nursing home neglect or abuse in an injury or wrongful death claim.

Information About Nursing Home Staff

Staffing issues are some of the most common causes of nursing home neglect and abuse. Understaffing is rampant in U.S. nursing homes. When there are not enough staff to care for the residents, residents may suffer from skipped medication, missed meals, inadequate medical care, and insufficient assistance with daily living tasks. Staff work schedules, payroll documents, medical charts, and the nursing home staff log may all be evidence of understaffing. In addition, employment records and information about nursing home policies and procedures may demonstrate nursing home negligence in the form of substandard hiring practices.

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 Posted on May 06, 2021 in Physical Abuse

It is estimated that just under half of the U.S. population will live in a nursing home at some point in their lives. However, widespread issues like understaffing and inadequate staff training continue to plague care facilities across the country. Tragically, some nursing home residents are even intentionally harmed by the very people who are supposed to protect them. Research shows that elderly and disabled individuals living in long-term care facilities like nursing homes are at an increased risk of physical abuse as compared to those who live at home. If you suspect that your loved one was abused, do not wait to take action.

Spotting Nursing Home Resident Abuse is Often Difficult

Residents being slapped, punched, pinched, or otherwise intentionally physically harmed is a direct violation of state and federal law. No resident should have to put up with this type of mistreatment and the facilities that allow such behavior should be held accountable for these despicable actions. Unfortunately, the nature of many illnesses afflicting elderly people makes it hard to recognize when a resident is being abused. Dementia and other illnesses affecting memory and cognition can prevent residents from reporting abuse. False accusations of abuse may result from residents who become confused or paranoid due to Alzheimer’s disease and other medical conditions. Nevertheless, every allegation of abuse should be treated as if it were true and investigated thoroughly.

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 Posted on April 21, 2021 in Medication Errors

Nursing homes have a crucial responsibility to provide competent medical care. This includes ensuring that residents get the medications they need in the correct quantity at the right time. Failure to do so can lead to worsened medical conditions and even an avoidable resident death. If you or a loved one were the victim of a medication mistake in a nursing home, you might be curious about your legal options. You may be interested in holding the nursing home accountable for the error and pursuing monetary damages.

Elements of a Nursing Home Neglect Lawsuit

Most medication errors fall under the category of neglect. Nursing homes are held to high standards when it comes to medical care. Most residents are in poor health when they arrive at the facility. They may be on medications intended to alleviate pain, prevent blood clots, regulate blood pressure, treat infections, and more. Without these mediations, they may suffer severe or life-threatening consequences. Consider the story of one nursing home staff member who mistakenly gave a resident the drug vecuronium - a drug commonly used during lethal injections - instead of a common anti-anxiety medication with a similar name. The staff was charged with reckless homicide after the resident died from the medication error.  

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 Posted on April 14, 2021 in Neglect

According to the Stanford School of Medicine, about 20 percent of Americans pass away in nursing homes. While death is not uncommon in nursing homes, there are some instances in which a resident’s death is directly caused by nursing home negligence. If substandard medical care, poor living conditions, medical mistakes, neglect, or abuse causes a nursing home resident to die prematurely, the nursing home may be liable in a wrongful death lawsuit. The surviving loved ones may be entitled to compensation for economic damages such as funeral and medical costs as well as non-economic damages including their grief and loss of companionship.  

What is a Wrongful Death in a Nursing Home?

The loss of a parent, grandparent, or other loved one can be devastating regardless of the circumstances. However, some deaths are classified by Illinois law as “wrongful.” A wrongful occurs when:

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