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Chicago Assisted Living Abuse & Neglect Lawyer

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Assisted living facilities serve a vital role in our society. They provide additional assistance to elderly adults who need a little extra help with cooking, cleaning, or other day-to-day tasks without sacrificing their independence.

Unfortunately, some assisted living facilities abuse or neglect residents. As a result, many assisted living residents suffer serious injuries or illnesses that can wreak havoc on their lives.

So what should injured residents and family members do? What are their legal options? What are their rights? Get the facts. Talk to an experienced Chicago assisted living abuse attorney at Ferrell Young, LLC. We can help you demand justice and the money you rightfully deserve.

What is assisted living abuse?

Assisted living abuse can take many different forms, including:

Physical abuse, either by assisted living staff members or fellow residents who hit or attack residents.
Sexual abuse, such as unwanted touching or sexual assault.
Psychological abuse, including humiliating, bullying, or intimidating residents, either by employees or fellow residents.
Verbal abuse, including yelling at residents, insulting them, or verbally threatening them with violence or other physical or psychological harm.
Financial exploitation, including overcharging residents, double billing for services, billing for services not performed, identity theft or sometimes even stealing from residents.

What is assisted living neglect?

Often, assisted living facilities fail to properly care for residents living in one of their units. Assisted living neglect can include:

Unsanitary living conditions, including not regularly cleaning individual assisted living units or the facility as a whole, not providing routine maintenance or failure to maintain the facility in accordance with the applicable building codes and health regulations.
Poor maintenance and security on the premises of the facility.
Medical neglect, especially if the facility is responsible for making sure that residents receive regular medical check-ups, or a resident was sick or injured and needed additional medical treatment.

What are common injuries and illnesses?

Injuries or illnesses due to abuse or neglect at an assisted living facility can cover a wide range, including:

Dangerous infections, including sepsis, urinary tract infections (UTIs) or infections related to untreated scrapes, cuts, bruises, or sores.
Broken bones, either due to physical abuse or general neglect, especially in cases involving slip and fall accidents.
Head injuries, including concussions, often due to falls.
Internal injuries, including organ damage, organ failure or internal bleeding due to being assaulted or other physical injuries.
Psychological trauma due to physical abuse, verbal abuse, or sexual abuse.
Malnutrition or dehydration due to not being given enough food or water.
Hypothermia or heat stroke due to dangerous cold or hot conditions in an assisted living facility in winter or summer.
Sexually transmitted diseases due to sexual assault.

What are warning signs of abuse or neglect?

Depending on what type of abuse or neglect is taking place at the assisted living facility, there are often many warning signs of such behavior, including:

Poor hygiene
Unexplained injuries
Sudden weight loss
Unexplained mood changes
Fearfulness of others
Dirty clothing
Unwashed bedding
Unexplained bank withdrawals in cases involving financial exploitation

You know your loved one best. If they live in an assisted living facility and something doesn’t seem right, trust your instincts. Contact our Chicago law firm and learn more about your rights and legal options.

Liability for assisted living facilities

Liability is a legal term for who’s legally responsible. In legal cases involving assisted living neglect or abuse, this simply means who’s responsible for such actions. Often, the facility is the liable party or at-fault party. This means they’re the ones legally responsible for financially compensating injury victims for their financial losses.

This might sound straightforward. But the reality is many assisted living facilities will do everything they can to avoid paying injury victims or their families the money they rightfully deserve. That’s why it’s important to have a Chicago lawyer on your side who understands how the legal system works in Illinois handling your assisted living abuse or neglect claim or lawsuit.

What should I do in response to assisted living abuse or neglect?

You need to respond as soon as possible if you suspect abuse or neglect in an assisted living facility in Chicago or elsewhere in Illinois. So what should you do?

Tell the assisted living facility your concerns. And if you don’t feel comfortable talking to them, contact us. We can deal with the facility on your behalf.
Contact the Illinois Department of Public Health. This state agency investigates allegations of abuse or neglect at assisted living facilities in Illinois.
If you believe a crime is being committed, contact the police. Assisted living facilities are not above the law and must be held accountable for their actions.
Write down or record what’s happening. Pictures, in particular on a cellphone (which have time and date on them) are especially useful since you have proof that something occurred at a specific time and place.
Keep all receipts or bills associated with expenses due to the assisted living facility’s abuse or neglect. This is especially important in cases involving financial exploitation.
Contact our law firm as soon as possible. Our experienced Chicago assisted living abuse attorneys can answer your legal questions, explain your options, and get right to work investigating your case.

Who investigates assisted living abuse or neglect cases in Illinois?

As explained above, the Illinois Department of Public Health investigates most allegations of abuse or neglect involving assisted living facilities throughout the state. However, depending on what happened, other state or local officials may be involved, including law enforcement agencies like the Chicago Police Department or the Illinois State Police.

But even if they’re conducting a thorough investigation, you could still be left with numerous bills for expenses due to your abuse or neglect case. That’s because such investigations only focus on whether any laws were broken. They don’t deal with whether or not you’re fairly compensated for your financial losses.

That’s our job. That’s why our Chicago assisted live abuse lawyers want to meet with you. We can conduct our own in-depth investigation and demand the money you deserve to get your life back on track.

Can I sue an assisted living facility for abuse or neglect?

Yes. You have the right to take legal action against an assisted living facility in Illinois if you believe that you or a loved one was harmed by the facility’s actions. In most cases, injury victims file an assisted living abuse lawsuit seeking damages, a legal term for financial compensation.

However, taking legal action against an assisted facility can often be very complicated. Such facilities often do everything they can to defend their actions and dismiss your lawsuit. That’s because they know there’s often a lot of money at stake. That’s why you need a lawyer on your side, working with you to build the strongest possible legal case.

When and where can I file an assisted living abuse lawsuit?

Another important consideration is when you need to file your assisted living abuse lawsuit. In Illinois, you only have two years from the date of the incident to file a lawsuit against the nursing home. This deadline is known as the statute of limitations and can be found in Illinois Compiled Statutes Chapter 210, Section 45. However, other deadlines can apply in some situations.

In addition, you may be able to choose where to file your lawsuit, depending on the location of the facility and its parent company. An attorney can explain your options and work with you to develop a legal strategy.

How much is my legal case worth?

There’s no set dollar amount for certain types of legal cases involving abuse or neglect at an assisted living facility. Similar cases might be worth very different amounts. The most important thing is that you get paid for all your injury-related expenses, especially the cost of your medical care, which can quickly add up to thousands of dollars or significantly more.

Another important consideration is future anticipated expenses. Often, a single incident can have long-term consequences years later. This is especially true if a loved one sustained a serious injury that results in a permanent disability. In such cases, you may need more advanced medical care and additional assistance with day-to-day activities.

Add up all these expenses and your injury claim or lawsuit can easily be worth thousands of dollars or significantly more. This is why it’s important to carefully consider all these important issues when deciding whether to accept a settlement offer or file a lawsuit. What might seem like a good offer at first might not even come close to covering all your actual expenses.

How can a Chicago assisted living abuse attorney help?

The stakes are high in many legal cases involving abuse or neglect at assisted living facilities in Chicago. If you sustained a serious injury or illness, you may be eligible to receive thousands of dollars or significantly more for your financial losses.

Assisted living facilities know this. That’s why many of them wage fierce legal battles. They hire investigators and attorneys to gather evidence. And they have one goal in mind – to reduce or deny your injury claim.

Our experienced Chicago assisted living abuse lawyers can level the playing field. We know the games they play. We know how the legal system works. And we’re prepared to fight for the money you deserve, whether it’s negotiating a settlement offer or filing an assisted living abuse lawsuit. You can count on us.

Take back control. Contact our law firm and schedule a free case evaluation with an experienced Chicago assisted living abuse attorney who puts your best interests first. You can reach us online or call us today. Se habla Español.