Can You Sue a Nursing Home in Illinois?

 Posted on April 14, 2020 in Nursing Home Abuse

Nursing home abuse

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 10% of every person over the age of 60 has experienced some form of elder abuse. Data from the CDC shows that this type of abuse can take many forms, including the following:

• Physical abuse. This occurs when a nursing home resident experiences illness, pain, or injury as a result of the intentional use of force by nursing home staff (slapping, kicking, burning, pushing, punching, etc.).
• Sexual abuse. This type of abuse includes any forced or unwanted sexual interaction with a nursing home resident.
• Emotional or psychological abuse. This abuse refers to both verbal and nonverbal behaviors aimed to inflict mental pain, dear, anguish, and distress on a nursing home resident. This can include name-calling, destruction of property, humiliation tactics, isolation, and more.
• Financial abuse. It is illegal to improperly use a nursing home resident’s finances or assets. However, nursing home staff typically has access to their residents’ personal and financial information.

Nursing home neglect

Neglect is also a form of elder abuse. In the nursing home setting, neglect includes the failure of the nursing home staff to meet a resident’s basic needs. This can include a failure to provide the following:

• Adequate and nutritious food
• Proper hydration
• A clean living area
• Proper wound and medical care
• Regular bathing

Nursing home neglect can result in a severe deterioration of a resident’s health and well-being.

What type of compensation is available?

There are various types of compensation available to victims of nursing home abuse or neglect. This can include the following economic and non-economic compensation:

• Coverage of any medical expenses incurred by a resident
• Pain and suffering damages
• Loss of enjoyment of life damages
• Relocation expenses if necessary
• Possible punitive damages against individuals or the agency responsible

The total amount of compensation will vary depending on specific factors relating to each case. For cases of either nursing home abuse or nursing home neglect, both the perpetrators of the abuse and the nursing home agency itself could be held liable for damages.

What is the statute of limitations for a nursing home lawsuit in Illinois?

Each state is responsible for setting time limits for how long victims have to file lawsuits in civil court. These time limits are called the statute of limitations. For cases against a nursing home, there may be various statutes of limitations involved.

For nursing home abuse and neglect cases that result in injuries to the nursing home resident, the statute of limitations will be two years from the date the injury occurred. For nursing home abuse or neglect cases there result in the wrongful death of a resident, the statute of limitations will be one year from the date of death or the statute of limitations attached to the underlying cause of death, whichever date is later.