Nursing Home Law Center

01/30/2023

: What Are Some Examples of Abuse in Nursing Homes?

Abuse in a nursing home setting can lead to settlements or jury verdicts against the nursing home. It is illegal, and it is grounds for a lawsuit.

Unfortunately, most allegations of nursing home abuse go unreported because victims are not able to articulate what they have experienced or are not listened to when they come forward.

Here are some types of nursing home abuse for which you can file a lawsuit:

🏥 Financial abuse - This occurs when someone takes money or property from a nursing home resident or pressures them to include them in something like a will.
🏥 Physical abuse - This does not have to be just striking the resident. It could also include things like handling them roughly or using unnecessary restraints, both physical and chemical.
🏥 Emotional abuse - This may include things such as unfairly blaming a certain resident and singling them out from everyone else.
🏥 Verbal abuse - This includes things like berating and name calling
🏥 Sexual abuse - The nursing home may be liable when either their staff or a fellow resident sexually abuses or violates another resident.

Have you handed over care of your frail or elderly family member to a professional long-term care facility, only to find that they are victims of nursing home abuse and neglect, resulting in personal injury or wrongful death?

Let our nursing home injury lawyers help bring your case to closure. Contact our team today and schedule a free legal case review regarding your legal rights and let a nursing home abuse lawyer get to work immediately.

01/23/2023

Approximately 1220 long-term care facilities operate throughout Illinois, providing care and services to over 100,000 nursing residents, including the young, disabled, rehabilitating, and elderly.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Illinois Department of Public Health ensure that every facility is licensed, regulated, and inspected yearly.

However, over 250 (20%) provide substandard care (one star out of five) compared to all other nursing care homes nationwide. Among Illinois’ worst nursing homes, CMS will not rank 46 Illinois nursing centers because of the significant ongoing problems involving negligence and abuse, instead classifying them as a Special Focus Facility (SFF).

Do you suspect that your loved one’s caregiving facility is among Illinois nursing home violators putting residents in harm’s way?

10/13/2021

09/17/2020

: Why do nursing homes🏨 describe pressure sores according to ‘stages’?

Nursing homes and hospitals use a four stage scale to describe, monitor and treat pressure sores (also called bed sores, pressure ulcers or decubitus ulcers).

By categorizing pressure sores, according to standardized characteristics, a sense of uniformity can be established amongst all medical facilities that treat people with pressure sores.

Bed sores are categorized based on their severity (stage 1, stage 2, stage 3 or stage 4).

Immobile patients in nursing homes, hospitals, and other medical facilities are particularly at risk for developing bed sores.

Learn more about each stage of bedsores 👉https://www.nursinghomelawcenter.org/news/bed-sores/why-do-nursing-homes-describe-pressure-sores-according-to-stages/

09/14/2020

There are instances where nursing home residents are sexually abused while in the care of skilled nursing facilities.

Beyond the reprehensible nature of this transgression, it is also legally actionable.

Sexual abuse in nursing facilities is not limited only to home staff as there are others can perpetuate this act such as visitors and other residents.

Nevertheless, it is the nursing facility that can be held legally responsible no matter who the abuser is.

If a family can prove by a preponderance of the evidence that their loved one was sexually abused while at a long-term care facility, they may find a sympathetic jury that will award financial compensation for the act.

09/10/2020

: Can Physical or Chemical Restraints be Used on Patients?

There are two separate parts to this question that involve different regulations. The first question involves physical restraints and the second is chemical restraints.

When it comes to physical restraints, there is sometimes a need for them in the nursing home setting. Residents must be assessed for their risk of falls, and some residents have greater chances to injure themselves by falling out of bed or when they are transferring from their wheelchair to their bed and vice versa.

Chemical restraints may only be used in conjunction with psychiatric care and opinions. However, the drugs may only be used to help the resident when it is absolutely necessary as opposed to being used for a restraint.

In actuality, many nursing home abuse restraints for their residents. Some of these low-performing nursing homes will put residents in restraints not because they need them, but because the nursing home does not have sufficient staff to care for their residents.

Read more on physical and chemical restraints here 👉

Free Consultation - Nursing Home Law Center helps victims and their families receive compensation for their injuries in Nursing Home Injury and Nursing Home Neglect cases. Can Physical or Chemical Restraints be Used on Patients? - Nursing Home Injury Lawyer

09/07/2020

Falls are a direct cause of death for nearly 2,000 nursing home residents each year. Some falls are more minor than others. Generally, 10-20% of falls at a nursing facility will result in some sort of injury. Two to six percent of falls will cause some type of fracture such as hip fractures.

Even if a resident does not die as a direct result of the fall, it will likely have many long-term consequences if they are injured. If a resident suffers a fracture or head injuries (traumatic brain injury) in a fall, it will further lessen whatever mobility they previously had.

Skilled nursing facilities are required to assess the resident’s risk of falls at all times. You will need a lawyer to help you determine if your loved one fell as a result of the negligence of the nursing home.

Contact the nursing home abuse lawyers at the Law Center and we will let you know if we believe that you may have an actionable legal claim against the facility.

09/03/2020

Are Nursing Homes 🏨 Required to Have Specific Numbers of Staff?

The short answer to this question is that federal regulations do not require a certain minimum staff level, but state laws may require this number of staff.

Staffing is an element of the nursing home’s overall rating, and a one-star rating is certainly bad publicity for the nursing home and could play a factor in future federal regulatory decisions when it comes to the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Read more on nursing staff requirements here 👉 https://www.nursinghomelawcenter.org/are-nursing-homes-required-to-have-specific-numbers-of-staff.html

08/31/2020

While some medication errors may not be considered life-threatening, in some instances, nursing homes will either give the prescription medication incorrectly or will give residents the wrong medicine.

This negligence can cause serious injury and place their lives in danger. Even worse, skilled nursing facilities may entirely fail to give the medication to a resident, putting them in jeopardy in physical harm.

Medication mistakes that injure or kill nursing home residents are legally actionable. They may be evidence of the fact that the facility has been negligent.

If you can prove that your family member suffered injury from a facility's error, you may be entitled to financial compensation.

08/27/2020

As attorneys who represent individuals and families in nursing home negligence matters, we know that you can never plan for an incident where a loved one becomes injured or dies unexpectedly at a facility.

During these stressful times, we appreciate the need to access concise and accurate information regarding the laws and regulations applicable to their care.

The link below have information on the laws, regulations and links to state agencies that oversee nursing facilities within each state. After accessing state pages, you may then refine your information by navigating to city-specific pages.

Nursing Home Attorneys Committed to Protecting the Elderly As attorneys who represent individuals and families in nursing home negligence matters, we know that you can never plan for an incident ...

08/24/2020

Whenever your loved one is injured while under the care of someone charged with his or her safety, it is your right and duty to ask hard questions about how and why the event occurred.

Many nursing facilities will try to provide a cover story that exonerates them of blame, but you should be wary when the explanation of events does not add up.

If you have any reason at all to suspect that your loved one’s fracture was the result of negligence or abuse, contact an attorney right away. https://www.nursinghomelawcenter.org/fractures-in-nursing-homes.html