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Illinois Nursing Homes

The Illinois Nursing Home Care Act is a protective statute for thousands of elderly and infirm Illinois individuals who are living in nursing homes or long-term care facilities. As a nursing home abuse attorney in Illinois, Robert Kreisman has more than 45 years of experience in cases involving this important law. The statute was signed into law in 2010 to protect the well-being of residents living in nursing homes. Too often in Illinois, nursing home residents face abuse, neglect and inattention by nursing home staff and ownership. These problems have led to injury and even death.

The Illinois Department of Health oversees the safety processes in place for residents of nursing homes. Any violations are investigated, and fines are assessed to nursing homes when violations occur. The fines and results of investigations for each particular Illinois nursing home can be found on the www.Medicare.gov website.

At least 100,000 Illinois individuals live in nursing homes. They are vulnerable to injury, illnesses and death. Often these residents are helpless, vulnerable and dependent on the nursing home personnel, including staff, nurses, and doctors who make rounds through nursing homes. The first priority of any nursing home must be to maintain skilled nursing care for the elderly, the infirm and the disabled who are nursing home residents. When nursing home management fails to provide for resident safety and if an injury or death occurs, relatives and friends are advised to seek counsel from an experienced Illinois nursing home abuse lawyer such as Robert Kreisman.

Nursing Home Care Declines in Illinois

There is no question that the quality of care in Illinois nursing homes has declined over the last decade. One reason nursing homes are known to have slipped in the quality of care is because the number of residents has dramatically increased to more than 100,000 in Illinois. The Baby Boomer population, once the largest segment of the U.S. population, has aged; people in this generation are moving into nursing homes. Age-related illnesses, accidents, and diseases make the care of these residents increasingly crucial. Many of the nursing homes in Illinois, particularly in the Chicago area, have adjusted to this growth by making some facilities specialty nursing homes; they specialize in memory problems, dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. Other long-term nursing homes specialize in spinal injuries, orthopedic injuries or diseases.

Recent studies on nursing home care show that residents in nursing homes suffer abuse and neglect more frequently at the hands of nursing home corporations. There are simply too many cases of nursing home residents who have died or have been abused and neglected; often the cause is understaffing. In some cases, three or four residents are packed into one room, and they do not receive adequate care and attention from staff.

The National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) reports that nursing home resident abuse is a growing problem. Not all nursing home abuse cases involve physical abuse. Some cases of abuse are psychological, sexual or financial.

Nursing Home Abuse Can Be Physical, Psychological, Sexual or Financial

Physical abuse in nursing homes is identifiable by the condition of the resident. For example, signs of abuse by way of striking, hitting, pushing, shoving, pinching or even burning a resident show up by way of bruises, lacerations and marks obvious on the resident’s body. There is also a possibility of bone fractures, skull fractures, brain injuries, open wounds, internal injuries, broken eyeglasses, missing dentures, signs of punishment or signs of restraint, evidence of medication overdose, signs of alterations in the mental state and depression. In some cases, a caregiver will refuse to permit visits by relatives, loved ones and friends. This is a red flag and a warning sign that abuse is occurring.

Sexual abuse occurs often when residents are disabled and unable to give consent to unwanted touching, sexual assault or battery, even rape, sodomy and other sexually abusive behavior. The abuser can be another resident, a nursing home worker or relatives visiting other residents.

Emotional or psychological abuse occurs when the infliction of anguish, pain or distress through verbal or nonverbal acts occurs. The signs and symptoms of such emotional or psychological abuse may be evident by the resident's behavior, emotional upset or agitation, withdrawal, non-communicative or non-responsive behavior.

Perhaps most common in cases handled by Illinois nursing home abuse lawyers at Kreisman Law Offices are the failings by nursing home personnel to take care of residents. Neglect may be evident in some of the following ways:

  • Malnutrition;
  • Untreated or unnoticed bedsores;
  • Poor hygiene;
  • Untreated or unattended health issues;
  • Unsafe conditions in the resident's living space such as lack of a "call button" in the case of an emergency;
  • Poor ventilation;
  • Heating and air conditioning problems;
  • Falls;
  • Lack of hot and cold fresh water;
  • Soiled bedding and unclean living units.
Regular Visits by Outsiders Ensures Better Care

It is critically important that families and loved ones of nursing home residents take an active role in visitations. They should report any incident in which a nursing home resident is harmed or mistreated. Too often residents are ignored because family and loved ones have not consistently visited the nursing home resident. When family members and friends regularly visit a resident of an Illinois nursing home, it is more likely that the resident will receive adequate care.

For any family that is considering placing a family member, a loved one or a friend in an Illinois nursing home, it is important to review the ratings of the very detailed website, www.Medicare.gov and search for the nursing homes that are possible choices. One will find ratings on staffing, investigative reports, penalties and general overall ratings. This website has an abundance of information on all or most Chicago area and Illinois nursing homes.

If you or a family member has been injured or died because of the carelessness, abuse or negligence of another person at an Illinois nursing home, rehabilitation center or long-term care facility, Robert Kreisman of Chicago’s Kreisman Law Offices is prepared to handle your case. Robert Kreisman has more than 45 years of experience handling Illinois nursing home abuse and neglect jury trials.

With our years of experience in trying and settling nursing home abuse injury cases, Kreisman Law Offices provides the best possible legal services to our clients and has achieved unsurpassed results. Our nursing home abuse attorneys in Illinois and staff services are unmatched. Please call us 24 hours a day at (312) 346-0045 or toll free at (800) 583-8002 for a free and immediate consultation or complete a contact form online on our website, www.robertkreisman.com.

Robert D. Kreisman has been an active member and lawyer of the Illinois and Missouri bars since 1976.

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