There are a wide range of reasons Illinois families like yours make the hard decision to place a vulnerable or elderly family member in a nursing home. Perhaps one of the most common reasons this occurs is because in between working full-time, perhaps raising one’s own kids, and handling other everyday responsibilities, adding in the responsibility of caring for a close relative that needs around-the-clock or at least dedicated care can be a lot.
Families like yours take a lot of time evaluating nursing homes to ensure their relatives are placed in the best possible environment for them. However, despite their efforts, change can happen. What once was once a facility with a good reputation can experience a downturn for any number of reasons, such as an instance of neglect.
What is considered neglect in a nursing home? Below, we spell out why this type of mistreatment is talked about less often than it should be, considering how often it occurs in assisted living facilities like these.
What Qualifies as Nursing Home Neglect?
If you look up the word “neglect” in any dictionary, you’ll find that the term refers to someone failing to properly care for another individual or something (i.e., a yard). When it comes to nursing homes, residents of these facilities have certain rights. One of them is to receive a certain standard of care — which generally centers around their basic needs being taken care of.
Certain actions, such as the following, could easily be described as examples of neglect because they are representative of situations where, had a person or entity acted more reasonably, perhaps there wouldn’t have been an adverse outcome:
- A caregiver administering too much or too little of a critically important medication to a resident
- A dietary aide not taking account of allergies when serving a resident a meal
- A licensed practical nurse (LPN) not making rounds to check on a resident to see if they need anything (including to go to the restroom), leading to them attempting to get up themselves
- Facility security or reception staff not allowing a resident to have visitors
- A janitor leaves soap residue on the floor after mopping, which causes floors to be slippery
Of course, these are only a few examples of scenarios where an error in judgment of a nursing home staff member or another member of a resident’s care team can lead to preventable outcomes.
What Adverse Outcomes Can Chicago Nursing Home Neglect Cause?
As you might have guessed from reading the above or know all too well because you or your loved one has already suffered harm, neglect can give way to various adverse outcomes, such as:
- Slips and falls
- A memory care resident eloping (wandering outside unattended, perhaps in the extreme cold)
- Dehydration or malnutrition
- A resident suffering emotional distress leading to a depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosis
- Drug overdoses leading to a wrongful death
- Residents being exposed to germs and contracting contagious illnesses
- Unexpected health setbacks (if a medication is skipped or too low of a dose is provided)
- A patient soiling oneself and potentially developing bedsores and other infections (if left unattended for too long)
- A resident suffering an anaphylactic shock
While the above certainly aren’t the only adverse outcomes that can occur when a nursing home resident is neglected, they’re some of the common ones our nursing home abuse attorneys in Chicago far more often than should ever occur.
Who Can You Hold Liable for Neglecting Your Family Member in a Nursing Home?
While you may have initially assumed only a direct caregiver could be held liable for this, you may be starting to realize others can, too. Here at Thomas Law Offices, we file nursing home neglect cases against not only LPNs working at these facilities but also:
- Additional nursing home staff members, like facility administrators, nutritional aides, program coordinators, and maintenance professionals or janitors
- Third-party vendors, which may include respiratory technicians, physical therapists, pharmacists, and traveling doctors
Where To Turn When You Suspect Nursing Home Abuse or Neglect
You, in good faith, placed your beloved family member in a nursing home in Chicago because you believed they would be in better hands there than with the limited attention you could give them in your home. You now have reason to suspect their needs have been neglected, though. What should you do?
Calling the police should be your priority if you consider the neglect to be a life-threatening situation. If it’s not, though, you may be inclined to confront facility staff or call an abuse and neglect hotline, but should you?
This is when you may want to first consider consulting with a nursing home abuse lawyer in Chicago.
Why? It’s the best way to learn what the best approach for dealing with a situation like this is.
Each situation involving nursing home neglect is different. Tipping the facility off, for example, may lead to the destruction of evidence critical to building a case against them. An attorney can advise you how to best preserve evidence if they agree with you that taking legal action is warranted. Your lawyer can also aid you in navigating the legal system if you decide to move forward with filing a lawsuit.
So, if you’re looking to figure out what to do now that you have strong suspicions that wrongdoing has occurred, be sure to get in touch with us at Thomas Law Offices for a free consultation.
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