Photo Credit: Robert Kneschke/ Shutterstock.com If not properly maintained, Illinois nursing homes and skilled care facilities can be breeding grounds for various types of bacteria that can lead to outbreaks of serious diseases or illnesses. While most Illinois nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, and skilled care facilities take the necessary precautions…
Photo Credit: Stokkete / Shutterstock.com Earlier this month, Dixmoor police evacuated approximately 30 men from an Illinois nursing home facility that was supposed to be providing the men with mental health services. According to a local news report, the men were evacuated after one resident called the police, explaining that…
Photo Credit: designer491 / Shutterstock.com Earlier this month, the United States Supreme Court decided a case that may have a major effect on nursing home claims throughout the United States. In Kindred Nursing Centers, L.P. v. Clark, the court held that state courts cannot adopt rules that single out arbitration…
There are several different types of claims that can be filed against nursing homes for injuries caused to residents. These claims include those based on intentional abuse, medical malpractice, and general negligence. A negligence claim is a common claim against a nursing home, and it arises from a provision of care…
Although lawsuits against nursing homes may be brought for a variety of reasons, these lawsuits often require experts. Experts can help explain the standard of care the home was required to follow or the cause of a resident’s injuries. As in any negligence claim, in a claim alleging the negligence…
In a recent case, a state supreme court had to decide whether an arbitration agreement, governed by the Federal Arbitration Act and entered into by a nursing home patient and her power of attorney, was enforceable against her husband after he brought a wrongful death action. The man brought a…
Nursing home residents are protected from abuse by fellow residents under Illinois law and federal law. Illinois’ Nursing Home Care Act (NHCA) protects residents from any intentional or negligent act or omission that causes an injury to a resident. This includes abuse committed by staff members, as well as abuse committed by…
In a recent case, a court decided that a resident’s estate could not be compelled to enter arbitration, even though the deceased resident’s daughter had signed an arbitration agreement on her behalf. When the resident was admitted to a nursing home, her daughter accepted a health care proxy designation on…
Americans are living longer today than in the past, which means that many families are forced to place a loved one under the care of a nursing home. Unfortunately, not all residents receive the care they deserve at nursing homes. Some residents are not sufficiently fed or cleaned, and some…
Although concerns for nursing home residents often arise based on allegations of abuse by staff members, other residents can also be perpetrators of abuse. Of course, residents live together in one facility and will often interact, but a nursing home has an obligation to protect its patients—even from other residents.…