Placing a beloved family member in a nursing home is never an easy decision. This new home must accommodate everything your elderly family member may need properly and should do nothing but make their life easier. Unfortunately, many nursing homes today have been known to physically abuse their patients, leaving them with severe injuries and even mental trauma. When these abusive nursing homes betray a family’s trust, they deserve to receive compensation for their unjust suffering. A skilled nursing home lawyer at Karlin, Fleisher & Falkenberg, LLC can review the facts of your loved one’s case and help guide you through the legal process.
Since 1970, the Chicago nursing home physical abuse lawyers at Karlin, Fleisher & Falkenberg, LLC have represented numerous nursing home residents in Chicago and all over the state of Illinois. Over the last 48 years, we have garnered a national reputation for our work on behalf of abused and neglected elderly people. We are members of the Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum and have received glowing testimonials for our passionate efforts in pursuing what’s right for the elders of our community.
At Karlin, Fleisher & Falkenberg, LLC, our Chicago nursing home physical abuse attorneys understand that it is aggravating to have your family member be physically abused by the people who are supposed to be accountable for their well-being. When a nursing home fails to provide the care its patients need and makes their lives worse through physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, we will demand justice. Contact us today by calling 312-346-8620, filling out our email form to reach a staff member, or clicking the grey banner to the left of your screen to chat live with a representative right now.
Do I Need a Nursing Home Physical Abuse Attorney?
After your loved one has expressed that their caretakers have inflicted abuse upon them, or after you have noticed physical signs of abuse, you may be filled with questions. One question we hope to eliminate is whether or not you need a lawyer to represent your case. Our firm is familiar with the deceitful tactics utilized by nursing homes to avoid taking responsibility for harming their patients. We know the warning signs and common red flags that guilty doctors and nurses often raise. We are deeply compassionate towards the elderly who have needlessly suffered at the hands of their caretakers. Call us if your loved one has suffered an injury, illness, or accident because of the physically abusive behavior of a nursing home. Our firm is prepared to aggressively pursue justice on your family member’s behalf.
Common Types of Physical Abuse
Due to its apparent signs, such as bruising and unexplained pain, physical abuse is one of the most easily detectable forms of nursing home abuse. Despite this, many nursing homes are not dissuaded from physically harming their patients. People grow weaker with age, and, as a result, it is easy for caretakers to overpower their patients and intentionally inflict physical harm upon them. This physical harm is concurrently amplified because of an elderly person’s frailty, and the injuries incurred will undoubtedly be more severe.
Physical abuse can take numerous forms, with some of the most common types of nursing home physical abuse including:
- Excessive Force: There is a distinct line between assisting an elderly person to walk, bathe, or stand up and exerting excessive force. Common signs of excessive force used on nursing home residents include bruised arms or wrists, internal bleeding, cuts, and severe injuries.
- Overuse of Restraints: Nursing homes sometimes utilize chemical restraints, including sedatives and drugs. Physical restraints can also be applied to neutralize the behavior of a resident. No matter the situation, it is never right to overstep one’s medical authority to alter a patient’s state to a degree that is more than necessary.
- Battery: Physical forms of abuse like slapping, kicking, or hitting are intolerable in our eyes. We take such forms of assault very seriously. The symptoms that may follow an act of battery, such as bleeding, hair loss, or depression, must be treated immediately.
- Withholding of Prescribed Medication: Patients in nursing homes have a right to the medication they have been prescribed. When a nurse, doctor, or staff member fails to provide what rightfully belongs to their patient, they act outside the law.
- Administration of Prohibited Medication: Those who are in nursing homes must be treated with care and respect. When prohibited medications are provided to a patient, legal actions must be taken against the administrator.
Many nursing home employees use the above practices in an attempt to subdue patients and make their jobs easier. However, taking care of an elderly person is no easy task, so when a caretaker tries to simplify their job through abusive behavior, the elderly patient will not be receiving the care they need.
Frequently Asked Questions
You undoubtedly have many questions if you fear that your loved one is being physically abused by their caretakers. We have attempted to answer some of the most frequently asked questions below. If you need any further information, please don’t hesitate to call us at 312-346-8620.
How do I know if my mother, father, grandmother, or grandmother is being abused?
While some elderly people may be forthright with their loved ones and inform them right away when abuse is taking place, others may be subtler in revealing their pain. It is not uncommon for elderly people to be ashamed of the abuse they are being put through, so we recommend that you approach them with sincerity and genuine concern. If you notice any change in your family member’s behavior, take note of it and ask your relative if abuse, neglect, or mistreatment is going on at their nursing home. Physical manifestations of abuse may also appear, such as hair loss, bleeding, bruising, and broken or fractured bones.
What should I do if I suspect that my loved one is suffering from physical abuse?
Do not just assume that your family member’s recent injuries are simply a result of an accidental fall. Follow up with each incident and track every injury or illness your loved one experiences. It is imperative that you document the evidence of the abuse. After ensuring the safety of your loved one, the most important thing you can do is immediately contact an experienced lawyer. They will know how to perform an investigation, catalog the evidence, and move forward to take action against the responsible parties in the nursing home.
Are nursing home abuse cases taken seriously?
The legal team at Karlin, Fleisher & Falkenberg, LLC has dedicated their careers to seeing that patients in nursing homes are treated with dignity. We track nursing homes accused of abuse vigilantly and are devoted to delivering justice to their innocent and injured victims. On our results page, we have outlined some of our major nursing home success cases. One case involved an elderly woman with cancer who won a $550,000 settlement. Another case involved a woman who died from a lack of medical care; her family received a settlement of $500,000.
Contact a Chicago Physical Abuse Attorney
If you or someone you love has suffered physical abuse from a nursing home, know that you have many legal options to begin pursuing compensation. At Karlin, Fleisher & Falkenberg, LLC, our Chicago nursing home abuse lawyers strive to protect the elderly through the use of aggressive legal action. We have successfully represented many families in nursing home abuse cases, and we will use our experience to help you build the strongest case possible. Contact our office at 312-346-8620 to learn more about how we can assist you in your nursing home abuse case today.