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Senior citizens deserve respect, good care, and kind treatment. Unfortunately, they often find themselves at nursing homes that offer none of these things. Has your mother recently moved into a facility after developing dementia and developed bed sores? Has an aunt or older friend complained about difficult conditions? How can you clarify the problem, provide sensible support, and seek justice? Our Chicago nursing home abuse lawyer can help you. We have successfully represented clients abused and neglected at numerous facilities across Illinois.
Our Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers Hold Facilities Accountable For Neglect and Injury
When the rights of a patient are compromised or when a facility provides inferior care and a patient is injured, it’s time to hire an attorney experienced in nursing home abuse and neglect. Illinois residents may pursue a case for civil damages to recover financial compensation for personal injury or death. Illinois recognizes the following types of damages in nursing home cases: past and future medical expenses; disfigurement; disability; pain and suffering; and wrongful death.
By holding nursing homes accountable for their conduct, our law firm hopes to improve the care that all patients receive and recover the maximum compensation for our clients. Nursing home operators must stop abusive and negligent care. It will not be tolerated. Our attorneys have experience prosecuting complex cases against nursing facilities across the state.
We will explain the typical injuries and their signs and symptoms. We’ll discuss what you can do to advocate for nursing home victims and report wrongdoing. You can be in control of your next steps.
Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Statistics
The nursing home industry is a big business. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 1.4 million people reside in 15,600 nursing homes in the United States (in Illinois, there are more than 732 facilities caring for more than 100,000 patients). Nearly 70% of these are operated as for-profit facilities. According to Medicare data, nearly 37% of the facilities were deemed to be below average by surveyors.
While there is nothing illegal about making a profit by caring for people, a conflict arises when operators attempt to maximize profits by reducing the staffing levels and hiring inexperienced workers. These cost-cutting measures impact patient care, often causing serious injuries and deaths.
Individuals 65 and older make up about 13 percent of the total U.S. population. It is estimated that at least 2.3 million seniors will become victims of nursing home abuse. Most cases go unreported. Family members are often oblivious; victims are too afraid to come forward, or they don’t know that inadequate care constitutes abuse under federal regulations. The American Association of Justice reported that only 1 in 14 nursing home abuse cases are reported to the proper authorities and estimated that 90 percent of nursing homes are understaffed.
This problem won’t be solved overnight. The industry needs an overhaul—for starters: new hiring processes; adequate background checks; new training; stronger sanctions for abusers; and better reporting processes. As well as experienced nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers defending the rights of their victims.
If a nursing home in Illinois fails to abide by standards that have been established by federal and state law, then it may have its license revoked. In 2009, 99 nursing homes had a conditional license due to abuse complaints. Only three nursing homes had a license revoked or denied due to the abuse and inadequate care of residents. There were no nursing homes that had a license suspended as a result of abuse complaints.
Common Nursing Home Injuries
Cases that may be categorized as abuse by include: physical harm (perpetuated by staff, residents, or visitors); sexual assaults (facilities have a responsibility to screen staff and residents who have a history of aggressive behavior and sexual assault); dropped patients; medication errors (facilities must provide the correct medication and dosage as prescribed by the resident’s physician); bed rail entrapment; and untimely death.
Nursing home neglect, meanwhile, leads to situations like bedsores (when staff fail to reposition patients with limited mobility, the blood supply to tissue is interrupted and the flesh dies. An open wound may develop.); repeated falls; choking (many patients have special diets to accommodate difficulty swallowing. When staff fail to adhere to the dietary restrictions or monitor patients, they may choke on solids or liquids.); dehydration and malnutrition; and wandering (facilities must identify those prone to wandering, including dementia or Alzheimer’s patients, and implement safeguards to prevent them from leaving the safety of the facility.)
Contact Our Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers Today
Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC appreciates the feelings of anger and guilt after a loved one has suffered an injury from abuse after an admission to an Illinois nursing home. We encourage you to contact our office for a free review of your legal rights and options for pursuing a claim or lawsuit against a facility. Our attorneys are available 24-7 and we can schedule a meeting at your home or our office.
