Placing your loved one in a nursing home is a difficult decision. Often, this decision occurs for the wellbeing and care of our loved one, and because they need help with daily activities or the family wants to ensure their safety and care. When you discover that your elderly loved one suffered abuse in the Illinois facility that had a responsibility to ensure their safety, you have the right to seek justice and compensation on their behalf.
A Rockford personal injury lawyer can help you with the legal aspects of your case. Contact Pintas & Mullins Law Firm to help you determine your next steps.
Physical Abuse in Nursing Homes
Physical abuse of Illinois nursing home residents may result in any of the following types of injuries:
- Dehydration and malnutrition
- Broken or fractured bones
- Choking
- Mismanagement of a medical condition
- Elopement (escape from a nursing home by a resident)
- Falls
- Complications related to feeding tubes or catheters
- Infections
- Overmedication or under medication
- Sexual abuse
- Pressure ulcers (also known as bedsores)
- Burns
- Sepsis
- Wrongful death
Additionally, elderly residents who were abused were more likely to die, according to a study by Rush University Medical Center.
Emotional Abuse in Nursing Homes
Any verbal or nonverbal behavior from the Illinois nursing home staff that results in psychological stress, fear, discomfort or distress is emotional abuse.
Emotional abuse may also include preventing an elderly resident from accessing their family and friends, destroying property, threatening physical or sexual harm, or simply yelling or berating the elderly resident. Emotional abuse can create actual physical injuries, as residents feel stressed and then fear to ask to go to the bathroom or request repositioning, resulting in bedsores or soiled clothing.
In other cases, residents in Rockford nursing homes remain afraid to ask for food and water, and in an attempt to obtain these items on their own, fall and injure themselves. Emotional abuse can also lead residents to develop depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder. A Rockford personal injury lawyer may help you receive compensation for a loved one if they were a victim of nursing home abuse in Illinois.
For a free legal consultation with a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer serving Rockford, call (800) 842-6336
Sexual Abuse in Nursing Homes
Sexual abuse is another form of abuse that occurs in nursing homes. According to an issue brief created by the National Center on Elder Abuse and The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care, female residents and those with dementia are more susceptible to sexual abuse. When elderly residents suffer from cognitive challenges, they are more at risk for sexual abuse, as they cannot understand what is happening or often remember that the abuse occurred.
Rockford Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Near Me (800) 842-6336
Financial Abuse in Nursing Homes
Financial abuse of elderly Illinois residents occurs when a person in authority or a position of control improperly uses or access a senior’s finances. In many cases, residents with dementia and other cognitive challenges may not understand the exploitation or manipulation occurring by a nursing home employee regarding their finances. In some cases, the elderly resident may alter their estate planning documents or allow a person access to their credit cards or bank accounts. A Rockford personal injury lawyer can guide you through the process of filing a nursing home abuse lawsuit.
Click to contact our Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers today
Filing a Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuit
If you are considering filing an Illinois nursing home abuse lawsuit, first make sure that your elderly loved one is out of harm’s way by removing them from the nursing home facility. Contact the nursing home management to let them know of the abuses, and provide any information needed for an official grievance. You may consider contacting the Illinois Department on Aging’s Adult Protective Services, or the police, depending on the nature of the elder abuse.
You also have the right to file a claim in court regarding elder abuse if you have enough evidence, and the actions rose to the level of elder abuse. You might benefit from hiring a Rockford personal injury lawyer for help. Pintas & Mullins Law Firm might be able to help you with the investigation, discovery process, filing appropriate legal paperwork with the court, negotiations, pretrial hearings, and other important legal matters regarding an elder abuse lawsuit.
Complete a Free Case Evaluation form now
Hiring a Rockford Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer
If you believe that your elderly loved one in a nursing home experienced physical, emotional, sexual or financial abuse, obtain as much documentation as possible, and ensure that they move to a safe location. Make sure to photograph the environment in which the nursing home abuse occurred, and also photograph any physical evidence such as bruises or injuries.
Nursing homes have legally binding requirements to ensure the safety of their elderly residents. When there is an abuse of that care, and a resident suffers injuries, filing a lawsuit may be an option. Contact Pintas & Mullins Law Firm to schedule a consultation with a Rockford personal injury lawyer. They can help you begin the process to receive possible compensation for your elderly loved one’s injuries because of elder abuse in a nursing home.
Call or text (800) 842-6336 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
