When you choose a nursing home for a senior loved one in Wheaton, you expect them to receive excellent care. Unfortunately, some nursing homes do not provide the high-quality standard of care you might expect, even based on positive reviews and location. Negligence can quickly worsen your loved one’s quality of life and cause permanent health problems.
If your loved one has faced negligence in a Wheaton nursing home, Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys can help you figure out what to do next. Our Wheaton nursing home negligence lawyers can discuss the facts of your case to help you determine whether you or your loved one are entitled to compensation. Contact us today to learn more.
Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help After Wheaton Nursing Home Negligence
Finding out that nursing home staff neglected your loved one can come as an immense shock, and you may have no idea what steps you need to take next. At Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys, we help Wheaton nursing home negligence victims and their families learn more about their next steps, including how to pursue compensation for their losses. Our team can help in the following ways:
WE HELP OUR CLIENTS COLLECT EVIDENCE OF NURSING HOME NEGLIGENCE IN WHEATON.
To file a negligence claim against a nursing home in Wheaton, you will need to show evidence of neglect. In other words, you must show that the nursing home staff members violated the standard of care required to help a senior maintain their overall quality of life.
Establishing negligence can be challenging since you may need to show that your loved one did not receive needed care. The experienced team at Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys can help collect evidence to establish the lack of care your loved one received.
WE HELP OUR CLIENTS UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH COMPENSATION THEY DESERVE AFTER NURSING HOME NEGLECT.
Sadly, our firm meets with many seniors who try to brush off the negligence they suffered or do not understand the full extent of the compensation they might deserve for their nursing home’s negligent acts.
Your loved one paid for care to maintain their overall quality of life through their vulnerable senior years. When a nursing home violates that standard of care, your loved one may deserve considerable compensation. We help our clients understand how much money their nursing home negligence might be worth. This knowledge puts your loved one in a position of power during negotiations.
WE NEGOTIATE OR FIGHT IN COURT TO HELP OUR CLIENTS RECOVER COMPENSATION.
At Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys, we do not fear taking on the big names in nursing homes throughout the Wheaton area. We have the resources to help our clients fight against those big-name providers and pursue compensation. Our team aggressively negotiates with insurance companies for our clients. If the party who hurt your loved one refuses to make a fair offer, our team will take them to court.
Signs of Nursing Home Negligence in Wheaton
Neglect occurs when a patient in a nursing home does not receive the care needed to maintain their quality of life. When visiting a senior loved one, look for red flags that signal neglect.
If you see any signs of neglect, take immediate steps to secure your loved one’s safety, perhaps by removing them from the nursing home. Then, contact a lawyer who can help you investigate the full extent of the neglect and ensure that your loved one receives justice. Red flags signaling neglect include:
BEDSORES
When your loved one struggles with mobility, nursing home staff may need to help them change positions or move to avoid pressure sores. While bedsores, also known as pressure ulcers, occur more frequently in senior populations due to thinner skin and greater risk of injury, nursing home staff should regularly move residents and treat any sores as soon as possible. Lack of treatment—especially if the staff tries to hide those injuries—could indicate neglect.
UNEXPLAINED OR FREQUENT INJURIES
As your loved one’s physical condition deteriorates, they may become more uncoordinated and lose balance. Or, your loved one may become easily confused, increasing the risk of injury. In a nursing home, your loved one should receive regular observation, care, and assistance to decrease the risk of serious injuries. If your loved one has frequent or unexplained injuries, including bruises, lacerations, or broken bones, it could indicate negligence on the part of caregivers in the nursing home.
MALNUTRITION OR DEHYDRATION
Nursing home staff may need to ensure that your loved one has adequate food and access to water throughout the day. Often, nursing home residents receive food and water in a communal dining hall rather than directly in their rooms. If the staff does make sure your loved one receives food and water, your loved one may become malnourished or dehydrated.
UNTREATED CONDITIONS
As seniors age, they often struggle with health conditions that require ongoing medical treatment. Usually, medication and proper management help keep those conditions under control.
When your loved one moves to a nursing home, staff members may take over management of those conditions. If your loved one’s health condition suddenly worsens after being previously stable, it could indicate that nursing home staff do not provide reasonable care for their condition.
Similarly, if your loved one develops new medical conditions arising from lack of treatment, it could also indicate nursing home negligence.
LACK OF HYGIENE
A lack of hygiene is often one of the first indications of nursing home negligence. Nursing home staff members must help seniors with basic hygiene tasks, including bathing, changing clothing, shaving, and other essentials.
If your loved one shows a significant lack of overall hygiene, it could indicate that the nursing home has failed to care for your loved one. Signs of neglect include regularly wearing dirty clothes, having dirty or greasy hair, or smelling bad.
Who Bears Liability for Nursing Home Negligence in Wheaton?
Nursing homes often bear direct liability for any negligence in the facility. Often, nursing home negligence results from organizational problems: inadequate staffing, poor supervision, or policies that do not promote the high standard of care that nursing home residents deserve. However, other entities may share liability for negligence in the nursing home. These can include:
STAFFING AGENCIES
Some nursing homes rely on staffing agencies to fill vacancies when they struggle with understaffing. Others may use staffing agencies to find new employees, especially in competitive hiring markets. However, staffing agencies must do due diligence when conducting background checks and investigating potential concerns about new staff members.
If staffing agencies send in employees with a known history of negligence or abuse, the staffing agency may be liable for dangerous or negligent actions performed by those employees.
DOCTORS
Many nursing homes have direct relationships with providers who update medication regimens and examine residents. Doctors must report any signs of negligence or abuse promptly.
A doctor who fails to report a patient suffering from neglect could be liable for further injury to that patient. In addition, doctors themselves may neglect patients if they fail to take care of the patient’s medical needs despite clear evidence of a mismanaged condition or medical need.
Does Your Loved One Have Grounds for a Wheaton Nursing Home Negligence Claim?
If you have questions about whether your loved one has suffered neglect in a Wheaton nursing home, a lawyer can explain your family’s rights and the steps you need to take to secure compensation for your loved one. Your lawyer will ask several critical questions to determine what compensation your loved one might deserve and whether your loved one has grounds for a nursing home neglect claim.
These questions include:
DID THE NURSING HOME VIOLATE THE STANDARD OF CARE EXPECTED FOR YOUR LOVED ONE’S LEVEL OF NEED?
Seniors have different needs based on their physical capability, mental acuity, and medical conditions. For example, a person with late-stage Alzheimer’s requires different care than a person who chooses to move into a nursing home primarily because she does not want to live alone. If the nursing home violates the standard of care needed by a patient, the nursing home may be liable for that neglect.
DID YOUR LOVED ONE SUFFER DAMAGES DUE TO NEGLECT IN A NURSING HOME?
Nursing home neglect can severely injure your loved one. Neglect may lead to problems with overall health, including a deterioration in existing conditions, or may cause your loved one to struggle with basic health and wellness. To file a nursing home neglect claim, you must show that your loved one suffered damage due to the neglect.
What Compensation Can You Recover for Nursing Home Neglect in Wheaton?
For many families, recovering compensation for nursing home neglect is essential. They may need the funds from a nursing home neglect claim to help pay for medical bills or final expenses. Nursing home neglect settlements vary based on your loved one’s losses. At Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys, we can help you claim all relevant damages and estimate how much your claim is worth. Typical losses included in nursing home neglect cases include:
MEDICAL COSTS
Nursing home neglect often leads to substantially increased medical costs. Your loved one may be hospitalized or require additional care to treat mismanaged conditions. You can include the cost of any increased medical expenses in a nursing home negligence claim.
RELOCATION EXPENSES
Often, following neglect in a nursing home, your loved one must relocate. Your family may choose relocation because you lack trust in the nursing home staff and its ability to care for your loved one. In other cases, neglect may cause such a deterioration in your loved one’s overall state that they require a nursing home that can provide specialized care. You can include the cost of relocation and associated increased costs from a new nursing home as part of a claim.
Contact a Wheaton Nursing Home Negligence Attorney Today
Did your loved one suffer negligence in a Wheaton nursing home? Do you have questions about your next steps after discovering nursing home negligence? With local knowledge and a national reputation, our legal team is ready to help. Contact Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys today at (630) 690-1919 for your free consultation.
