One of the universal problems with nursing homes, assisted living facilities and long-term care facilities is that they are understaffed with competent, skilled workers. That may be a function of economics, but it has been found to be a direct link to inadequate supervision of nursing home residents. However, there is a protective umbrella to understaffing which is the exact number of nursing home personnel that are on duty each hour for the number of residents residing at the facility at the time. That means that if the nursing home fails to meet those staffing numbers, it will be subject to fines and possible licensing revocation.
But just the missing the minimum number of staff requirements is just part of the problem with nursing home abuse and neglect to it residents. Some nursing homes in Illinois have been reported to be so understaffed that residents are suffering innumerable consequences, including death. CNN had reported not so long ago that up to 90% of all nursing homes around country are considered understaffed as a matter of state or federal law.
Because of understaffing in Illinois nursing homes, it is not so difficult to the trace the cause of many deaths, prolonged and untreated illnesses, unnoticed and untreated bedsores, dehydration, malnutrition and even starvation of residents back to the fact the facility operates without meeting the required number of competent staff. There is no room for compromising the health and well-being of Illinois’ nursing home residents.
Understaffing can easily be detected, but yet some nursing home operators have been known to fudge their records in order to comply with the legal minimum requirements of staffing numbers. Those violators will be punished by license revocation and fines. But there is legal recourse to be taken against the nursing home facility in cases where a resident has suffered some kind of injury or death attributable to understaffing. Kreisman Law Offices is well-equipped and experienced with more than 40 years in the field of concentration to handle these egregious cases of resident injury, neglect or abuse.
An elderly person or an infirmed or ill person housed in a nursing home is there for the highest possible quality of care. Families and loved ones expect the staff of the facility to be looking out for the best interests of the resident. The nursing home staff is required by Illinois law to account for a resident’s whereabouts on a daily basis. A daily headcount is done each and every day and sometimes multiple times during the day to make sure that all of the residents are accounted for.
It has been known that in some nursing home neglect cases, a resident is left unattended and unsupervised. The resident could wander around the nursing home facility and end up in places that may be dangerous to them. Some residents have been known to wander out of the facility itself and walk along a busy city street or highway.
The occurrence of wanderings can happen to residents even if they are in wheelchairs or use walkers or canes in leaving the facility grounds.
Inadequate supervision at a nursing home is one of the dangers to residents in nursing homes today. Many nursing home facilities engage just enough personnel, be it nurses, CNAs and orderlies just above the minimum state requirements. Some nursing home facilities because of economic strain do not employ enough staff to meet the needs of the residents of the facility. Still other nursing homes, assisted living facilities and long-term care facilities employ enough staff, but the staff they do engage are incompetent or not trained properly, all endangering the facility’s residents.
Residents of nursing homes should not be left alone for long periods of times. They must be monitored when they are eating, sleeping, using the bathroom, taking a shower or bath and to make certain that their medications are given at the correct time and the appropriate amounts. In most nursing home facilities, the doors of the facilities are secured by personnel or even electronic devices like alarms. There are security cameras as well that are installed to make certain that residents are looked after correctly.
Inadequate supervision in a nursing home can lead to very serious injury or death to nursing home residents.
If you or someone else you know has been injured because of inadequate supervision at an Illinois nursing home, assisted living facility or long-term care facility, you may be entitled to legal recourse.
Please call us for an immediate consultation. Robert Kreisman of Kreisman Law Offices has been handling Chicago and Illinois nursing home inadequate supervision cases for more than 40 years. Kreisman Law Offices has prevailed in trials and settlements in Chicago, Illinois and surrounding communities and has successfully resolved cases for those injured or abused in nursing homes for these many years.
With our years of experience in trying and settling nursing home abuse cases, Kreisman Law Offices provides the best possible services to our clients and have achieved unsurpassed results. Our service is unmatched. Please call us 24 hours a day at 312.346.0045 or toll free 800.583.8002 for a free and immediate consultation, or complete a contact form online.