As experienced nursing home abuse lawyers in Schaumburg Illinois, we know that nursing home injuries and death can be part of providing end-of-life care for vulnerable seniors. However, not every instance is an accident. Despite what those with management, service, and ownership interests in the long-term care industry would have you believe sometimes it is simply neglect.
Some situations go beyond the norm. Some losses should never happen, and some that are inevitable are made worse or accelerated by negligence, incompetence, or malicious action on the part of responsible parties. If you believe your loss falls into one of those categories, our nursing home abuse attorneys in Schaumburg might be able to help you Claim Your Justice™. Contact us today to discuss your case.
When you have an elderly loved one in a nursing home or assisted-living facility in Illinois, it can be difficult to know when to call a lawyer about elder abuse concerns. Unfortunately, your suspicions might be well-founded. Nursing home abuse and neglect occur more frequently than you might think.
According to the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), about 10 percent of all seniors experience some form of elder abuse in their lives, and it is possible that the number is actually much higher due to underreporting. Studies suggest that, in any given year, 1 out of every 13 seniors will be the victim of some type of elder abuse.
Our primary job as nursing home injury attorneys is to help you secure maximum compensation for any injuries your loved one suffers while in long-term care. Here are some of the ways we do that:
Don’t just ignore your concerns about an elderly loved one’s safety in a nursing home or assisted-living facility. You would not be alone if your suspicions were founded in fact.
It’s completely free to speak with an experienced Illinois nursing home injury attorney, and there’s no obligation to continue. Contact us today — it’s time to Claim Your Justice™.
There’s no single definition of elder abuse. Instead, nursing home injuries can stem from a wide range of practices within the general categories of elder abuse and neglect.
A current working definition for elder abuse comes from the Elder Justice Road map, which defines elder abuse as “physical, sexual, or psychological abuse, as well as neglect, abandonment, and financial exploitation of an older person by another person or entity that occurs in any setting either in a relationship where there is an expectation of trust and/or when an older person is targeted based on age or disability.”
Taking a closer look at that definition, you can see that there are a few indicators that something is elder abuse. They include:
The reason for all of these qualifications is that, unfortunately, there are people out there who actively seek out opportunities to perpetrate this type of abuse. Categorizing and understanding their behavior helps us fight, punish, and prevent it.
Nursing home abuse can take many different forms, and it can be difficult to recognize the signs. Symptoms vary widely, and elders are often unable or even unwilling to speak up.
The responsibility lies squarely on nursing homeowners and administrators to provide a safe environment. However, you might be able to catch some of these common types of elder abuse in long-term care facilities by keeping an eye out for some of the signs.
Physical abuse takes many forms. It could be roughly grabbing a resident by the arm. It could be pushing, shoving, or punching a senior.
It sounds reprehensible, and it is. Unfortunately, it happens, and some people get away with it. Let us help you hold the people who injured your loved one accountable. It’s time to Claim Your Justice™.
Sexual abuse of seniors in nursing homes is a complex problem. Care providers, at the institutional level, have a responsibility to screen their employees in order to prevent this type of abuse. However, some abusers are very good at manipulating the system, slipping through the cracks.
These people have a warped sense of consent. Sexual abusers often target elderly people with mental or memory problems, coercing them into providing empty consent — no better than simple repetition and mimicry.
No means no, but yes does not always mean yes. Adults without the capacity to consent to sexual acts are at risk. They should receive special protection and consideration. If they do not, the entire organization could be liable.
High turnover, exhausted managers, and lax screening procedures often allow psychological or emotional abusers to join the ranks of nursing home staff. Unfortunately, this type of low-level, constant abuse is very difficult to detect. That is why it is important for long-term care facilities to be very careful about the people they hire or else pay the price for their negligent selection processes.
Financial abusers are also known as scammers or con artists. They are attracted to nursing homes, where lonely seniors often have access to retirement funds, discretionary accounts, and so on. They prey on those who suffer from cognitive impairments, or simply insert themselves inappropriately into a senior’s life with the express purpose of monetary gain.
A minor example of nursing home financial abuse would be the solicitation of gift cards, meals, or tokens. At the extremes, particularly charismatic abusers have been known to influence estate plans, secure large monetary transfers, and create other major financial problems for victims and their families.
The final category of abuse is not a positive action. Instead, it’s the failure to care for — or even pay attention to — residents of a nursing facility.
Seniors need attention, sometimes including advanced care from certified medical professionals. They need water, food, medicine, and all of the essentials of life. You count on the nursing home to provide these things.
It isn’t an easy job, but it’s the job that the long-term care facility owners pledged to do when you entrusted your loved one to their care. Neglecting that obligation is not an option. If you believe that someone lapsed in their duty and caused an injury to your loved one, we might be able to help you Claim Your Justice™.
Given that there are multiple types of nursing home abuse and neglect, it is not always easy to recognize the signs and symptoms. To reiterate, it is the responsibility of care providers to foster a loving, safe environment. It isn’t your job nor should it be. However, you might be able to catch problems early by looking for common physical signs of elder abuse or neglect.
These are all bad enough by themselves. However, the real cost of neglect and abuse is in the way it threatens futures. Specifically, seniors who experience abuse are at a severely increased risk of death.
Victims of physical violence have a 300 percent higher risk of death when compared to seniors who have not suffered injuries as a result of nursing home abuse. If you believe neglect may have contributed to the premature loss of your loved one, contact one of our attorneys as soon as possible.
Do you have concerns about an elderly loved one’s injuries? You couldn’t have prevented what happened, but you could have some power over what happens next.
You may be able to file a nursing home abuse lawsuit with the help of an experienced Schaumburg nursing home injury attorney. An advocate at our firm can help you. It’s time to Claim Your Justice™. Contact our Schaumburg nursing home abuse lawyers online or call our office at 847-434-3555 to learn more about how we can assist with your case. We represent injury victims throughout the greater Chicago area, including in Cook County, Will County, McHenry County, and Kane County.
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