Legal Action Against Nursing Home Negligence
Illinois has a voluminous law known as the Nursing Home Care Act, which was designed to prevent nursing homes from neglecting their residents. Nevertheless, reports of elder abuse and neglect continue, with complaints ranging from bedsores and dehydration to broken bones and wrongful death from lack of quality care. As lawyers who have dedicated their careers to helping victims of personal injury in Chicago, our attorneys at D&W Law Group are prepared to advocate for your loved one, put a stop to abuse or neglect, and help them get the care they need and the compensation they deserve.
The Variance In Nursing Home Quality
A search of Medicare’s Nursing Home Compare website reveals 185 nursing homes within 25 miles of the center of Chicago. Of these, 66 are considered either “below average” (33) or “much below average” (30), receiving only one or two stars on Medicare’s five-star rating of staffing, health inspections and other quality measures. Even if you do your research and find a highly rated facility for your loved one, instances of neglect may still occur, as high turnovers and staffing changes can transform the quality of a facility during a resident’s long-term stay.
Your Rights Under The Illinois Nursing Home Care Act
The Illinois Nursing Home Care Act prohibits both abuse and neglect. Abuse is defined as any physical or mental injury or sexual assault. Neglect includes the failure to provide or willful withholding of adequate medical care, mental health treatment, psychiatric rehabilitation, personal care, and assistance with all activities of daily living that are necessary to avoid physical harm, mental anguish or mental illness.
Nursing home residents have many rights under the Nursing Home Care Act. These include, among others, the right to:
- Manage your financial affairs
- Keep your personal property
- Keep your own doctor
- Be given respect and privacy
- No use of physical or chemical restraints or confinement as a form of punishment or for the convenience of the staff; only as ordered by a doctor and documented in the medical record
- Not be given unnecessary drugs, including excessive doses or for an excessive duration, administration without monitoring or indications for use, or in the presence of side effects that show the drug should be reduced or stopped
- Unimpeded, private and uncensored mail, phone, visitation
- Free exercise of religion
- Be discharged upon request in most instances
- File grievances or complaints
- Protection from retaliation for filing a complaint or lawsuit
A nursing home owner or licensee can be held liable to the resident for any intentional or negligent act or omission of the facility’s agents or employees which injures the resident. Injured residents can recover not only compensation for the damages they have suffered but also their attorney’s fees and costs. This provision of the law helps you to obtain high-quality legal representation while keeping the entire amount of compensation awarded to you. Our attorneys at D&W Law Group are passionate and compassionate advocates for nursing home residents and their families. Let our team be your voice and advocate on your behalf to make sure you or your loved one are treated properly with dignity, respect and adequate care.
Choose Compassionate Representation
If you or a loved one has been injured due to nursing home negligence in the greater Chicago area, call D&W Law Group in Chicagoland at 312-888-8888 or email us here for a no-cost, confidential consultation with experienced and dedicated personal injury attorneys.