Maywood Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

The decision to place a loved one in a nursing facility is a difficult choice. It requires an acknowledgment that loved ones do not have the time, or ability to care for their family member. From there family members focus on the care, treatment, and respect provided by the facility.

Under these circumstances, family members can be distraught to learn their loved one suffers at the hands of caretakers. Unfortunately, nursing home abuse happens. Although nursing facilities in Illinois have regulations. Inspections occur at least once yearly to maintain its state-issued licensure, nursing homes, like many other businesses, may take shortcuts. Those shortcuts may include staffing the facility with fewer employees than is reasonable or hiring inexperienced or incompetent staff.

Loved one abused in a nursing home? Contact an experienced Maywood nursing home abuse lawyer for guidance. A compassionate injury attorney in Maywood can be essential help when building your case.

Standard of Care

A national uniform standard of care for health facilities doesn’t exist. However, there is a standard within the state. The Illinois Nursing Home Care Act establishes nursing home residents’ rights. It also underlines the facilities’ responsibilities to protect residents  from neglect and abuse.

The Illinois Department of Public Health enforces the act. However, the discovered abuse or neglect could lead to criminal charges filed against an individual or group; if multiple people involved.

Additionally, when facilities receive federal money for medical care of residents, they must meet federal requirements. Between the care act and the federal guidelines, there is an oversight, which creates a general statewide standard.

Negligence

The most common form of abuse that gives rise to Chicago nursing home abuse claims in civil lawsuits is abuse that is caused by negligence. Negligence can be an act or omission. A nursing home staffer who fails to provide medication or check a diabetic resident’s blood sugar likely to considered negligent because of the omissions.

Similarly, courts may find negligence when a nursing home opts not to act when an employee with direct contact with residents and their medication charged with drug possession. The facility may also be deemed negligent if a resident is subsequently injured because that employee did not administer their medication. When a long-term care facility resident is the victim of neglect or abuse that results in injury or death, the resident or their family member may have a legal claim and should consult with a Maywood nursing home abuse attorney.

Nursing home staff are obligated to provide care to those who are entrusted to them, and acceptable standards of care are commonly provided in each facility’s policies and are aligned with the law. Often, when nursing home staff fails to comply with those policies, it is because of lack of training, low pay, and staffing shortages. Despite that, the facilities’ responsibilities to residents remain the same.

Consulting a Maywood Nursing Home Abuse Attorney

If your loved one has received care below the standard required of that facility, then there is legal recourse available to you. Contact an experienced Maywood nursing home abuse lawyer to protect the rights of your loved one.