Experienced Naperville Personal Injury Attorneys

Naperville Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

Do you suspect a loved one is the victim of nursing home abuse in Naperville, Illinois? The trusted Naperville nursing home abuse lawyers with Mathys & Schneid Personal Injury Lawyers can begin standing up for your rights starting today. We can help you collect compensation for your pain and suffering, emotional distress, medical bills, lost wages and more.

Our personal injury law firm opened its doors in 2005. Since then, we’ve obtained over $150 million for deserving personal injury victims across Illinois. And with over 74 years of combined experience practicing law, our personal injury lawyers in Naperville are confident in their ability to achieve a favorable outcome for you and your family.

If you want more information or to begin forming an attorney-client relationship, call us at 630-848-9294 or reach out online. We offer a completely free case evaluation.

Table of Contents

How Mathys & Schneid Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help With A Nursing Home Abuse Claim In Naperville
An Overview Of Nursing Home Abuse
What Kinds Of Damages Are Available To Victims Of Nursing Home Abuse In Naperville, Illinois?
How Long Do I Have To File A Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuit In Illinois?
Contact A Trusted Naperville Nursing Home Abuse Attorney For A Free Consultation

How Mathys & Schneid Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help With A Nursing Home Abuse Claim In Naperville

Placing a family member in a nursing home is difficult enough, considering it’s usually a decision made because your loved one needs extra care due to deteriorating health. But when the nursing home itself actually causes your loved one additional harm, it can be devastating for everyone involved.

If this has happened to you, you deserve compensation from the at-fault party. Mathys & Schneid Personal Injury Lawyers is here to help. Our Naperville personal injury attorneys are well-regarded; members of our team have received accolades such as a spot on the lists of America’s Top 100 Attorneys and Rising Stars by Super Lawyers for consecutive years running. We’ll be able to help with your case in the following ways once you hire us to represent you:

Internally investigating your case to collect the evidence necessary to support your claim
Hiring experts to analyze your claim and testify on your behalf if needed
Negotiating a fair settlement agreement and handling all of the paperwork and communications
Bringing your case in front of a DuPage County jury at trial if the circumstances call for it

Contact our law office in Naperville, Illinois, today to learn more about how we can help your family make it through this trying time.

An Overview Of Nursing Home Abuse

Residents of nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and other similar locations of long-term care are especially susceptible to abuse. This is due to considerations such as old age and declining cognitive capability. Unfortunately, many facilities and staff members take advantage of these factors and the people they are in charge of taking care of.

Types Of Nursing Home Abuse

Nursing home abuse and neglect can take many forms. These include:

Physical abuse. This can include physical acts such as shoving or punching as well as other types of behavior like withholding medications.
Emotional or psychological abuse. Many behaviors, including threats, verbal abuse and humiliation, can fall under this category.
Sexual abuse. Sometimes, this type of abuse is performed by a staff member at the facility, but it may also be from another resident.
Financial abuse. Examples of this type of abuse include stealing, changing the victim’s will, and opening credit cards or bank accounts under the resident’s name.
Neglect. Failing to adequately care for your loved one could constitute abuse under this category.

It’s important to note that nursing home abuse often goes unreported or unrecognized or is not taken seriously when the resident brings up what is occurring.

Signs Of Nursing Home Abuse

There are some key signs of nursing home abuse to look out for. Because the victim of abuse is often afraid to discuss what is happening, it usually falls on the victim’s loved ones to look into the situation. Keep an eye out for the following signs of abuse:

Hygiene changes
Bedsores
Unsanitary conditions
Inexplicable financial transactions
Changes in personality
Significant weight loss
Bruises, cuts and other types of marks
STDs and infections

If you notice any of the above signs – or another sign not listed – you should promptly take action to stop the abuse. Our Naperville nursing home abuse lawyers can help, even if you aren’t sure whether you want to take legal action against the facility yet.

Long-Term Consequences Of Nursing Home Abuse

Nursing home abuse can seriously harm the victim’s life if left undetected. These long-term consequences can include, but are not limited to, the following:

Psychological disorders such as PTSD and depression
Severe or worsened medical conditions or illnesses
Financial losses
Shortened life expectancy
Wrongful death

The earlier the abuse is detected, the better. Being proactive about how your loved one is being cared for can help ensure that they are not taken advantage of.

What Are The Common Causes Of Naperville Nursing Home Abuse And Neglect?

Nursing home abuse can result from many causes. Sometimes, the abuse is intentional on the part of a single staff member, but other times, it can be more systemic. Some of the common causes include:

Inadequate training practices
Negligent security
Unqualified employees
Understaffed facilities
Failing to adequately monitor residents who need consistent medical care
Not providing adequate living conditions

This list is not exhaustive. Call Mathys & Schneid Personal Injury Lawyers at 630-848-9294 for legal advice if you suspect your loved one is being abused at a nursing home facility in Naperville.

Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Statistics

Unfortunately, nursing home abuse and neglect in Illinois occur frequently. Nursing homes in the state are subject to regulation at both the state and federal levels.

The Illinois Department of Health is one of the state agencies regulating nursing homes in Naperville and provides data on homes violating state law each quarter. The most recent report, which corresponds to the second quarter of 2022, contains an alarming number of violations. One of these violations is for a nursing home in Naperville as well.

While these regulatory agencies work hard to ensure nursing homes and other similar facilities follow the law, they consistently issue hundreds of violations each quarter in Illinois alone.

What Kinds Of Damages Are Available To Victims Of Nursing Home Abuse In Naperville, Illinois?

Naperville nursing home abuse victims and their families can pursue two types of compensatory damages: economic and noneconomic. Punitive damages could be available as well in rare cases.

Economic damages represent the financial consequences of the abuse, such as:

Medical bills
Rehabilitation
Your lost wages while caring for your loved one
Cost of moving your family member to a new facility
Counseling
Out-of-pocket expenses

Noneconomic damages represent the consequences of the abuse that are not easily quantifiable, such as:

Pain and suffering
Emotional distress
Loss of consortium
Decreased enjoyment of life
Anxiety, PTSD or depression
Scarring or disfigurement

Punitive damages could be available in rare cases involving serious intentional abuse or abuse involving especially egregious behavior. These damages are awarded to “punish” the defendant for their conduct.

Our lawyers will work hard to fully determine the extent of your family’s damages when you hire us to take on your case.

How Long Do I Have To File A Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuit In Illinois?

Illinois’ statute of limitations establishes the deadlines for when lawsuits must be filed in the state. Be sure to file your lawsuit on time because you will forfeit your ability to pursue compensation if you file it too late.

In most instances, you’ll have two years from the date of the abuse to file your lawsuit. However, this deadline could be flexible depending on the nature of the abuse and when it began relative to the injuries your loved one has sustained.

Reach out to us if you’re not sure whether you can still file a claim in your case; we can let you know during your free initial consultation.

Contact A Trusted Naperville Nursing Home Abuse Attorney For A Free Consultation

Nursing home abuse is far more common than it might appear, considering how often cases of abuse or neglect go unreported. If you suspect that someone close to you has been or is being abused, it’s critical that you take action quickly to put an end to what is occurring.

While you focus on caring for your loved one, our Naperville nursing home abuse lawyers will go to work to obtain the compensation you and your family need to move forward as best as possible. We have the track record, expertise and resources necessary to provide you with personalized, effective legal representation. You’ll be treated like family when you choose our legal team to represent you.

In addition, our personal injury law firm works on contingency. This means it won’t cost you anything upfront to hire us – we’ll receive our payment as an agreed-upon percentage of the financial award we ultimately collect for you. When you win, we win. We’re incentivized to increase the value of your claim as much as possible.