Illinois Lawyer Referrals and Legal Guidance
Signs of Nursing Home Abuse or Neglect
Findgreatlawyers.com is the leading resource for finding an Illinois nursing home abuse attorney. Our service allows you to speak with an Illinois lawyer for free. We will then recommend an independent law firm that we feel best fits your needs. All of the attorneys we recommend work on a contingency basis which means that there is no fee unless your case is successful. If you would like our help please contact us at (312) 346-5320. We are based in Chicago, but help people find lawyers throughout Illinois. For general information on the signs of nursing home abuse please read on.
The staff in nursing homes has an obligation to care for its residents. The 1987 Nursing Home Reform Act guarantees certain freedoms and rights to nursing home residents. As a resident, you are entitled to freedom from abuse and neglect, privacy, security, and other rights.
While most of the people working in nursing homes genuinely care about their residents, the homes themselves are big business. Nursing home revenues are over 55 billion dollars a year, and 10 nursing home chains control 25 percent of all the homes in the country.
If you or a family member has suffered abuse or neglect in a nursing home, you should document the incident and report it, first to the nursing home management and then to a state agency, if necessary. If there is an injury, the nursing home may be liable and you may wish to sue.
Some examples of abuse or neglect include:
- Order to assist with resident using bathroom leads to a fall and broken bone.
- Failure to put up bedrail guards results in injury.
- Failure to move patient results in bed sores.
- Failure to monitor resident leads to sexual abuse.
- Failure to give prescribed medication results in illness.
- Failure to give resident exercise results in frozen joints.
- Lack of adequate air conditioning results in heat stroke.
- Lack of adequate heat results in hypothermia.
- Failure to provide adequate liquids results in dehydration.
- Uneducated staff disregards a resident’s nutritional regimen resulting in illness.
- Unexplained financial inconsistencies such as missing money or possessions, suspicious transactions, or sudden transfers of assets.
- Signs of neglect such as unusual weight loss, poor hygiene, soiled bedding, pressure marks, or unsanitary living conditions.
- Signs of physical injury such as unexplained cuts, burns, bruises, or broken bones.
- Emotional or behavioral changes such as fear, anxiety, crying, or complaints.
If you have a family member in a nursing home, you can visit frequently and on different days at different times in order to assess the quality of care. You can also talk to nurses, doctor, and other staff, call your state agency (a division of the Department of Health), and file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Public Health. They are obligated to investigate your complaint. If they find that your complaint was valid, they may issue a citation against the nursing home, impose a fine, and require corrective action. If there is an injury, it is important that you contact us as soon as possible so that you have an experienced attorney to explain the law and to be an advocate for you.
If an injury has occurred and you are looking for an attorney or if you just have general questions about Illinois nursing home abuse please do not hesitate to contact us.
Since 2001, findgreatlawyers.com has been the leading resource for finding Illinois nursing home abuse lawyers including for those in the communities of McHenry, Gurnee, Joliet, Wheaton, Naperville, Rockford, Peoria, Orland Park, Chicago, Glenview, Northbrook, Schaumburg, Elgin, Deerfield, Aurora, Urbana and Palatine. See for yourself why access to our site is like having a lawyer in the family.