Nursing homes are supposed to provide high-quality care to their residents. This means supporting residents’ mental, physical, and social health. While many do receive the care they need, too many do not. If you’re concerned about the treatment your loved one has received, it may be time to seek guidance from a Buffalo Grove, IL nursing home abuse lawyer.
At Thomas Law Offices, we’re dedicated to providing the best legal representation possible for our clients. If you have a personal injury claim and are looking to recover compensation for your economic and noneconomic losses, we’re here to help. Our attorneys recognize that an exorbitant number of nursing homes do not provide the care our senior citizens need. Whether your loved one has suffered instances of abuse or neglect, we want to give them the best opportunity to recover.
Nursing Homes in Buffalo Grove
While there is only one nursing home, Symphony of Buffalo Grove, located with the city’s limits, there are nearly 40 facilities within a ten-mile radius. Of those 40 homes, fewer than half are considered much above average in regard to ratings. On the other side of the scale, five of the facilities are considered below average or much below average.
According to Medicare, a facility’s overall rating is based on three factors: health inspections, staffing, and quality of resident care measures. While a facility may pass health inspections, it could have an understaffing issue—which would be reflected in its rating.
Choosing the right facility for your loved one’s needs is crucial. That’s why it’s important to visit potential nursing homes and research any alleged abuse claims.
Symphony of Buffalo Grove
Located in suburban Chicago, Symphony of Buffalo Grove is a for-profit rehabilitation center that can house as many as 200 residents. Lawsuits were filed against the facility for allegedly failing to ignore patient care plans, resulting in the untimely death of a patient. The lawsuit claims the alleged neglect and under supervision of an 81-year-old female resident over the course of 15 months resulted in dehydration, malnourishment, multiple unoccupied falls, and untreated bedsores.
If you are worried about your loved one’s health and well-being in their long-term care facility, there are steps you can take to ensure they are receiving the care they need to live a high-quality life. Make sure to visit regularly, pay attention to the environment in and out of your loved one’s room, speak with staff members about your loved one’s care, and say something as soon as you have concerns.
Understanding a Patient Care Plan
To properly care for nursing home residents, the facility needs to conduct an initial health assessment by the first day of admission or before. A meeting with the future residents, family members, staff, and medical professionals should be held to develop a care plan that will serve as a guide for meeting the needs and tracking the patient’s progress.
According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, “the baseline care plan should strike a balance between conditions and risks affecting the resident’s health and safety, and what is important to him or her, within the limitations of the plan’s timeframe.”
Individualized, well-written care plans are only created when the resident, support clinicians, and family work together. The guide should be updated every three months or any time there’s a change to the person’s health. Care plans are used on a daily basis to ensure the resident and staff persons know what to do and when it should be done. Common questions that should be answered on a patient care plan include the following:
- What types of equipment or supplies are needed?
- How often will the resident require support staff?
- Does the resident have any dietary restrictions or requests?
- What medications have been prescribed?
- Which staff members are in charge of which services?
Unfortunately, as with Symphony of Buffalo Grove, residents’ care plans aren’t always followed. If you believe your family member has wrongfully suffered in their elder care home and you want to hold the facility accountable and help your loved one recover, it’s essential to understand your legal rights and options.
Legal Options for Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
If your loved one has suffered abuse or neglect in their elder care facility, you have the option of filing an injury claim on their behalf. Doing so has the potential to award financial compensation to pay for medical treatments and other expenses, hold abusers accountable for their actions, and send a message to the facility and others nearby that nursing home abuse is inexcusable.
A nursing home abuse attorney can help you get a claim started. This will involve a thorough investigation to determine just what your loved one has faced and why. Once your lawyer can prove abuse has occurred and that your loved one is owed compensation for their losses, it’s likely the nursing home and their legal team will attempt negotiations. Sometimes, negotiations can result in a full and fair settlement. Other times, however, it’s necessary to file a lawsuit in court. No matter how your situation proceeds, our lawyers will be by your side the entire time.
Get in Touch With Thomas Law Offices
If you believe your loved one has been mistreated in their long-term care facility, a Buffalo Grove nursing home abuse lawyer from Thomas Law Offices is ready to help. Our attorneys have extensive experience representing victims of nursing home abuse and neglect, and we’re prepared to support your family and ensure the negligent facility is held accountable for its actions. To learn more, contact us today.
Who We Are
Reviews
