Chicago Nursing Home Neglect Attorneys
Overview
Residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are vulnerable to neglect and abuse because they may not be able to remember or understand their care. Loved ones may feel powerless when they suspect nursing home neglect or nursing home care.
What is Evidence of Nursing Home Neglect or Abuse?
Evidence of neglect or abuse may include injuries of bed sores or pressure ulcers; a fall; weight loss; infections; burns; elopement or unexpected death. Neglect may be the result of not enough care; untrained or unqualified staff; improper use of medical equipment; improper maintenance of medical equipment; medication mistakes; misdiagnosis or other care.
COVID-19 Deaths Due to Nursing Home Negligence
More than 170,000 nursing home residents in the U.S. have died as a result of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, peaking at 6000 in a single week in December 2020.
Nursing homes should have implemented safeguards during the pandemic for their patients and their employees, which may have included separating COVID-19 residents from the healthy residents; providing adequate PPEs to residents and staff; providing checkpoints for all who entered the facility; halting group resident activities and restricting visitors and non-healthcare employees.
In addition to safeguards, some facilities disclosed to residents’ families when COVID-19 was present. But others did not, leaving families without the opportunity to remove their loved ones before the virus spread.
Illinois Nursing Home Regulations
Generally, nursing homes in Illinois are licensed, regulated, inspected, and/or certified by a number of public and private agencies at the state and federal levels, including the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). These agencies have separate -- yet sometimes overlapping – jurisdictions.
Nursing homes are required to meet mandatory state standards that set the minimum and essential requirements of care that must be provided to patients. Care that falls below that standard may constitute negligence.
Nursing Home Regulations Due to COVID-19
In addition to the state and federal regulations that govern nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued guidelines during the pandemic for states to follow, including upgraded COVID-19 testing for nursing home residents and employees.
The CDC has also issued more stringent guidelines that include restricting volunteers and non-essential healthcare personnel and actively screening everyone who enters a facility. The CDC also recommends facilities send ill personnel home and implement sick leave policies that are flexible and non-punitive.
How the Nursing Home Neglect Attorneys of Corboy & Demetrio Can Help
If your loved one has died due to COVID-19, the Nursing Home Neglect Attorneys of Corboy & Demetrio will investigate whether your loved one’s nursing home or long-term care facility should have done more to prevent their death.
To speak with one of our highly experienced attorneys, email us at info@corboydemetrio.com, call us at 312-346-3191, or contact us today.
We are available 24/hours a day, seven days a week. We offer free consultations and work on a contingency fee, which means you pay only if we win.