Illinois Nursing Home Neglect Lawyer

If your parent, spouse or loved one was neglected or abused in an Illinois nursing home, the facility can be held legally responsible. The Illinois Nursing Home Care Act makes nursing home owners and licensees liable when their staff injure a resident through neglect or abuse, and it lets families recover damages, costs and attorney fees when resident rights are violated. Mixan Mahony represents families across Illinois in claims involving bedsores, falls, choking, medication errors, dehydration, sexual abuse and wrongful death. There is no fee unless there is a recovery.

If you are looking for an Illinois nursing home neglect lawyer, both partners, Colleen Mixan Mikaitis and Mackenzie J. Mahony, personally oversee every case.

• Warning Signs of Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse
• How Illinois Law Protects Nursing Home Residents
• Types of Nursing Home Cases We Handle
• Who Is Responsible
• Public Records That Can Prove Neglect
• Nursing Home Cases Across Illinois
• When Neglect Leads to a Death
• What Families Can Do Right Now
• How Mixan Mahony Builds a Nursing Home Case
• FAQs

Warning Signs of Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse

Families are often the first to notice that something is wrong. Watch for:

• New or worsening pressure ulcers (bedsores), especially on the hips, heels and tailbone
• Falls, fractures and head injuries, or repeated falls with no change in the care plan
• Sudden weight loss, dehydration, soiled clothing or poor hygiene
• Unexplained bruises, cuts, burns or injuries in the genital area
• Oversedation, confusion or sudden changes after a medication change
• Infections such as sepsis, pneumonia or untreated urinary tract infections
• Choking episodes in residents who need a modified diet or supervision while eating
• Wandering or leaving the building in residents with dementia
• Fear of certain staff members, withdrawal or other sudden behavior changes

Many of these injuries trace back to the same root cause: not enough trained staff to turn residents, help them to the bathroom, supervise meals and respond to call lights.

How Illinois Law Protects Nursing Home Residents

The Nursing Home Care Act, 210 ILCS 45, is one of the strongest resident protection laws in the country. Key provisions include:

• Facility liability. Under 210 ILCS 45/3-601, the owner and licensee are liable to a resident for any intentional or negligent act or omission of their agents or employees that injures the resident.
• Damages, costs and attorney fees. Under 210 ILCS 45/3-602, the licensee must pay actual damages, costs and attorney fees to a resident whose rights under the Act are violated.
• No abuse or neglect. Under 210 ILCS 45/2-107, no owner, licensee, administrator, employee or agent may abuse or neglect a resident.
• Waivers are void. Under 210 ILCS 45/3-606, any waiver of the right to bring a claim under these sections, oral or written, is void.
• Right to a jury. Under 210 ILCS 45/3-607, any party is entitled to a jury trial, and a waiver of that right signed before suit is void.
• Protection for Medicaid. Under 210 ILCS 45/3-605, damages recovered under the Act are exempt when determining Medicaid eligibility under the Illinois Public Aid Code.
• No retaliation. Under 210 ILCS 45/2-120, a facility may not retaliate against a resident for complaining, requesting care or contacting regulators, and the resident may sue within two years of the last violation.

Types of Nursing Home Cases We Handle

• Bedsores and pressure injuries from failure to reposition, keep residents clean and treat early wounds
• Falls and fractures from poor supervision, missing alarms, unsafe transfers and understaffing
• Choking when residents on special diets are given the wrong food or left unsupervised
• Elopement and wandering by residents with dementia who leave the building unnoticed
• Medication errors and the use of sedating drugs as chemical restraints
• Dehydration and malnutrition from missed meals and fluids
• Infections and sepsis from poor wound care, catheter care and hygiene
• Physical, emotional and sexual abuse by staff or other residents

Neglect also happens outside traditional nursing homes. We handle cases involving assisted living, memory care, CILA group homes and other long-term care settings.

Who Is Responsible

Many Illinois nursing homes are run by chains or out-of-state companies, and the name on the sign may not be the company that controls staffing and budgets. Under 210 ILCS 45/1-119, when the company that owns the building is an affiliate of the operator and has significant control over day-to-day operations, it can share the liabilities the Act places on the owner. Nurse staffing agencies can also play a role when the agency nurses or aides they supply cause harm.

Ownership information is part of the facility license file. Under 210 ILCS 45/3-207, facilities must file a statement of ownership, and that information is public. We trace ownership in every case so that every responsible company is named.

Public Records That Can Prove Neglect

The Illinois Department of Public Health licenses and inspects nursing homes across the state. Under 210 ILCS 45/2-205, inspection reports, survey results and complaint investigation reports are subject to public disclosure, with protections for resident and complainant names. These records can show whether a facility was cited for the same kind of failure that hurt your loved one.

Facility staff also have a duty to report. Under 210 ILCS 45/3-610, an employee or agent who becomes aware of abuse or neglect must immediately report it to the Department and the administrator, and the administrator must notify the resident representative.

Nursing Home Cases Across Illinois

Mixan Mahony handles nursing home cases from our Chicago office throughout Illinois. Cook County cases are usually filed at the Daley Center in Chicago, and cases elsewhere are filed in the county where the facility sits or another proper venue. We regularly work with families in:

• Chicago and Cook County
• Rockford and Winnebago County, including our Rockford nursing home abuse page
• Springfield and Peoria and central Illinois, including our Springfield and Peoria nursing home page
• Joliet and Will County
• Naperville and DuPage County and Aurora and the Fox Valley
• Waukegan and Lake County
• Champaign County

We meet families in person, by phone or by video, wherever their loved one lives.

When Neglect Leads to a Death

Long-term care residents are among the most vulnerable people in Illinois, and neglect in these settings too often turns fatal. Infected bedsores can lead to sepsis, falls cause fatal head injuries and hip fractures, choking blocks the airway within minutes, and severe dehydration causes organ failure. When neglect contributes to a death, the family may bring a wrongful death claim along with a survival claim for the pain and suffering the resident endured before death.

These claims hold facilities accountable and often lead to changes that protect other residents. Families should not assume a death was natural simply because their loved one was elderly or ill. A careful review of the chart and the hospital records often shows otherwise.

What Families Can Do Right Now

• Make sure your loved one is safe, and request a hospital evaluation if injuries are serious
• Photograph wounds, bruises and the condition of the room
• Write down dates, times and the names of staff you speak with
• Report concerns in writing to the administrator and to the Illinois Department of Public Health
• Request a complete copy of the medical chart in writing
• Keep every admission document, including any arbitration agreement
• Talk with a nursing home lawyer before speaking with the facility insurer

Deadlines in nursing home cases can be complicated. Many claims must be filed within two years, but timing can depend on the type of claim, when the injury was discovered and whether the resident has died, and some claims require a medical report before filing. Talking with a lawyer early protects your options.

How Mixan Mahony Builds a Nursing Home Case

• Obtain the full chart, care plans, wound and fall records and medication administration records
• Pull state inspection and complaint reports and ownership records
• Analyze staffing schedules against the needs of the residents
• Gather hospital records from the transfer that revealed the injury
• Interview family, former staff and other witnesses
• Work with nursing, medical and administrator expert witnesses

Our partners, Colleen Mixan Mikaitis and Mackenzie J. Mahony, personally oversee every case. There is no fee unless there is a recovery.

Illinois Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect FAQs

Related Pages

• Chicago Nursing Home Negligence Lawyers
• Rockford nursing home neglect lawyer
• Springfield and Peoria nursing home neglect lawyer
• Illinois Wrongful Death Lawyer
• Assisted Living Abuse and Neglect
• Memory Care Abuse and Neglect
• CILA Abuse and Neglect

Mixan Mahony, LLC
River Point, 444 W. Lake St., Suite 1707, Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 262-3971 | Open 24 hours
Find us on Google Maps

This page provides general information, not legal advice. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.