Illinois Nursing Home Injury Attorneys

Choking

Forty to sixty percent of institutionalized older adults have identifiable signs or symptoms of a swallowing disorder. Nursing home staff must carefully monitor and supervise the food intake of residents. Unqualified or insufficient nursing home staff can lead to negligence that could result in choking.

Falls

Nursing home residents are susceptible to injuries from falls. In fact, approximately one half to three quarters of all residents suffer from a fall each year. Nursing home staff must implement fall-prevention plans and follow specific care protocols after a fall occurs.

Poor Nutrition

Of the 1.7 million nursing home residents in the United States, 35-85% are malnourished, and 30-50% have substandard body weights.

Wandering & Elopement

Wandering and elopement occurs when a nursing home resident strays into unsafe territory and may be harmed. It is the responsibility of the nursing home to implement specific procedures and practices to reduce the risks of elopement.

DEATH

Common causes of wrongful death in nursing homes include serious infection, lack of resident supervision, falls, unsanitary conditions, neglect of a resident’s basic needs, and medication errors.

Bedsores

Bedsores, also known as pressure sores or pressure ulcers, are a common sign of nursing home neglect. This is because those who are elderly, injured and ill are often forced to rely on nursing home staff for repositioning because they cannot easily move on their own.

Restraints

The Department of Health and Human Services’ definition of the inappropriate use of restraints is “chemical or physical control beyond physician’s orders or not in accordance with accepted medical practice.”

Abuse

While we trust the staff members of nursing homes and assisted living facilities to care for our elderly loved ones and keep them safe, these institutions do not always uphold their missions. For a variety of reasons, most of which are preventable, nursing home residents are neglected and abused regularly in facilities throughout Illinois and across the country.