The decision to place a family member in a nursing home is built on trust. You chose a facility believing your loved one would receive professional, compassionate care. But now, you have a sinking feeling that something is wrong.
Maybe it’s the unexplained bruises. Perhaps it’s a sudden change in their personality, a new fearfulness, or a noticeable decline in their hygiene. These are not small things. Your instincts are telling you that the trust you placed in that facility has been violated.
You have a right to ask hard questions and get straight answers. Under Illinois law, nursing home residents are protected by a specific set of rights, and facilities are legally required to provide a safe environment and proper care. When they fail, they must be held accountable.
If you are worried about the well-being of a loved one in a long-term care facility, your concerns deserve to be taken seriously. Call Abels & Annes, P.C. for a free, confidential consultation at (312) 924-7575. We are available 24/7 to listen to your story.
Why Choose Abels & Annes, P.C. for Your Family?
When your family is facing a crisis, you need a law firm that not only has a record of success but also provides calm, steady guidance. Our practice is built on holding institutions accountable and supporting families through difficult times.
A Record of Securing Meaningful Recoveries
Our commitment to injury victims has led to our attorneys securing millions of dollars for clients. We are members of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, groups that recognize attorneys who have achieved seven-figure verdicts and settlements.
For example, we worked as co-counsel to secure a $3,200,000 recovery for a family in a highly sensitive case of abuse.
A Focus on Personal Injury Law
Attorneys David Abels and Gary Annes have both earned a 10.0 "Superb" rating on Avvo and have been named to the Top 100 Lawyer List by Super Lawyers. This recognition stems from our deep experience in personal injury law and our focus on advocating for those who have been harmed.
We Are Here for You
We believe legal support should lighten your burden, not add to it. That’s why we ensure our services are accessible:
- Free Consultations 24/7: You can get answers whenever a question arises.
- No Fee Unless We Win: Our firm works on a contingency fee basis. You pay no attorney's fees unless we secure a financial recovery for you.
- Direct & Personal Support: We treat our clients with the same care we would want for our own families, ensuring you always have a direct line of communication.
- Convenient Chicago Office: We are located at 100 N LaSalle St, Suite 1710, Chicago, IL 60602, in the Loop, easily reached from the Clark/Lake CTA station.
What Does Accountability Look Like in a Nursing Home Case?
A nursing home abuse lawsuit serves two main purposes: it holds the negligent facility responsible for its failures and secures the financial resources your family needs to deal with the consequences. The compensation pursued covers both the clear financial costs and the deep personal harm your loved one has suffered.
Economic Damages (Direct Financial Costs)
These are the billable losses that result directly from the abuse or neglect. A successful claim can provide funds for:
- Medical Treatment: Covering all costs for emergency room care, hospitalization, surgeries, medications, and therapy required to treat the injuries.
- Future Medical Needs: Providing for ongoing care, including physical therapy or psychological counseling to help your loved one cope with the trauma.
- Relocation Expenses: The costs associated with moving your family member to a safer facility where they can receive proper care.
- Recovering Stolen Assets: In cases of financial abuse, this involves reclaiming any money or property that was wrongfully taken.
Non-Economic Damages (Personal & Emotional Harm)
This type of compensation acknowledges the profound personal suffering that has no price tag:
- Pain and Suffering: For the physical pain caused by injuries like untreated bedsores, broken bones, or infections.
- Emotional Distress: For the fear, anxiety, and depression that stem from psychological abuse, humiliation, or isolation.
- Loss of Dignity: Acknowledging the humiliation a resident feels when their basic needs for hygiene and respectful treatment are ignored.
- Loss of a Normal Life: When the harm prevents a resident from enjoying activities and relationships that were once a source of joy.
Punitive Damages
In cases where a facility's conduct was particularly reckless or intentionally harmful, Illinois law allows for punitive damages. These are not designed to compensate your family for a loss but to punish the facility for its behavior and send a clear message that such conduct will not be tolerated. Securing these damages requires showing that the facility acted with an outrageous indifference to a high risk of harm.
The Troubling Reality of Nursing Home Care in Illinois
While many facilities provide excellent care, systemic problems plague the industry. The issue is often far worse than official numbers suggest. The National Council on Aging reports that a staggering 1 in 24 cases of elder abuse is ever reported, meaning most suffering happens in silence.
Understaffing: The Root of Most Neglect
Many instances of neglect are not born from malice but from a business model that prioritizes profits over people. Chronic understaffing is the single biggest driver of poor care. When facilities operate with skeleton crews, the staff on hand are overworked, underpaid, and burned out.
This creates a direct path to preventable harm:
- Unanswered Call Lights: A resident may wait 45 minutes or longer for help, a dangerous delay if they are in pain, need to use the restroom, or are having trouble breathing.
- Preventable Falls: Without enough staff for supervision or assistance, residents may try to get up on their own, leading to falls that cause fractures and other serious injuries.
- Bedsores: Immobile residents need to be repositioned every two hours to prevent pressure ulcers. When staff is stretched too thin, this basic task is often neglected, leading to painful, infected wounds.
- Medication Errors: An overworked nurse is more likely to make a mistake, such as giving the wrong drug, the wrong dose, or missing a medication entirely.
Recent federal data reveals a crisis in Illinois. A new rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) established minimum staffing standards for the first time. Yet as of June 2025, only 16% of Illinois nursing homes that submitted data were in full compliance. Data from ProPublica further shows that hundreds of Illinois facilities have been cited for serious deficiencies, and a majority have failed to follow proper infection control protocols.
What Is Legally Considered Nursing Home Abuse in Illinois?
The Illinois Nursing Home Care Act: A Bill of Rights for Residents
Illinois has a strong law designed to protect residents of long-term care facilities. The Illinois Nursing Home Care Act is essentially a bill of rights for residents, guaranteeing them the right to quality care, dignity, and a safe environment.
This law holds the facility's owners and operators responsible for the harmful acts of their employees. This means if a staff member's negligence or intentional act causes an injury, the facility itself can be held liable. The law ensures residents have the right to:
- Be free from abuse and neglect.
- Manage their own financial affairs.
- Refuse medical treatment.
- Remain free from unnecessary physical or chemical restraints.
- Have privacy for their personal records and communications.
Types of Abuse and Neglect
Harm in a nursing home can take many forms. Sometimes it’s a direct act of violence, but more often it’s a pattern of inaction and neglect.
- Physical Abuse: Any use of force that causes pain, from hitting and pushing to the improper use of physical restraints. Unexplained bruises, fractures, or marks on the wrists are common signs.
- Emotional Abuse: Inflicting mental anguish through yelling, humiliation, intimidation, or isolating a resident from others. This commonly results in a resident becoming withdrawn, fearful, or showing unusual behaviors like rocking or mumbling.
- Neglect: The failure to provide the basic care needed to maintain physical and mental health. This is the most common form of mistreatment and includes failing to provide food, water, hygiene, or medical care.
- Financial Exploitation: The illegal or improper use of a resident's money, property, or assets. This can range from stealing cash to pressuring a resident to change their will.
- Sexual Abuse: Any non-consensual sexual contact. This is a heinous crime that is severely underreported in long-term care facilities.
What to Look For
You know your family member better than anyone. If your gut tells you something is off, pay attention. Common warning signs include:
- Poor Hygiene: Body odor, soiled clothes or bedding, and an unkempt appearance suggest basic needs are being ignored.
- Unsanitary Conditions: A dirty room, foul smells, or soiled linens are indicators of facility-wide neglect.
- Sudden Weight Loss or Dehydration: These are serious signs that a resident is not receiving adequate nutrition or hydration.
- Bedsores (Pressure Ulcers): These painful wounds are nearly always preventable with proper care and are a powerful sign of neglect.
- Frequent Injuries: A pattern of falls, bruises, or other injuries demands a closer look.
When Neglect Leads to Wrongful Death
A wrongful death lawsuit can be filed when a person's death is caused by the "wrongful act, neglect, or default" of another party. In the nursing home context, this applies when a resident dies from injuries or conditions that arose from abuse or neglect.
Two distinct but related legal actions come into play:
- The Wrongful Death Act: This law allows the surviving next of kin to recover damages for their own losses. This includes compensation for grief and sorrow, loss of companionship, and the loss of financial support the deceased provided.
- The Survival Act: This action allows the estate to recover damages that the deceased person could have claimed if they had survived. This covers the pain and suffering, disability, and medical expenses the resident endured from the time of their injury until their death.
How to Protect Your Loved One and Their Case Right Now
While our firm manages the legal work, the actions you take at home provide powerful evidence and protect your loved one's rights.
- Document Everything: Keep a detailed journal. After each visit, write down your observations. Note the date, the time, your loved one's condition, any signs of neglect you saw, and the names of any staff you spoke with.
- Take Photographs: If you can do so safely and respectfully, take pictures of visible injuries like bruises or bedsores, unsanitary conditions, or anything else that seems out of place.
- Report Your Concerns Officially: You have the right to file a formal complaint with the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). You can call their 24/7 Nursing Home Hotline at 1-800-252-4343. This creates an official record of your concerns and triggers a state investigation.
- Speak with the Ombudsman: The Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program is an independent advocacy service that helps residents and their families resolve problems. They can be a valuable resource.
- Do Not Give a Recorded Statement: The nursing home's insurance company will likely ask for a recorded statement. Do not provide one without speaking to an attorney first. Their incentive is to find information they can use to minimize or deny your claim.
- Be Cautious on Social Media: Refrain from posting about your loved one's situation or your legal plans online. Insurance companies monitor social media and can use your posts against you.
Frequently Asked Questions About Nursing Home Abuse Claims
What if my loved one has dementia and can't explain what happened?
This is a very common situation. Many residents who suffer from abuse or neglect cannot communicate what they are experiencing. In these cases, we build the case using other forms of evidence, including medical records, facility staffing logs, photographs of injuries, and testimony from family members who noticed changes in their loved one's condition.
How long do we have to file a lawsuit in Illinois?
In most cases, the statute of limitations for a nursing home injury claim in Illinois is two years from the date you knew or reasonably should have known about the injury. However, it is a mistake to wait. Long before the legal deadline, evidence can be lost, witnesses' memories can fade, and it becomes much harder to build the strongest possible case. It is always best to consult with a lawyer as soon as you suspect a problem to ensure your legal rights are preserved.
Will the nursing home retaliate if we file a complaint or lawsuit?
It is illegal for a facility to retaliate against a resident or their family for filing a complaint or pursuing legal action. The Nursing Home Care Act specifically prohibits this. If any form of retaliation occurs, such as a decline in care or threats of eviction, it can become a separate basis for a lawsuit. Protecting your loved one is always the first priority.
What happens after I report the facility to the Illinois Department of Public Health?
Once you file a complaint, the IDPH is required to investigate. For serious allegations that place a resident in immediate jeopardy, an investigator must be on-site within 24 hours. For other complaints, the investigation may take several days or weeks.
An investigator will visit the facility, observe conditions, review records, and interview staff and residents. After the investigation, the IDPH will issue findings. If they substantiate your complaint, the facility may face fines or other penalties.
It's important to know that an IDPH investigation is separate from a civil lawsuit; it can provide helpful evidence, but it will not result in financial compensation for your family.
Let Us Fight for Your Family
Our attorneys at Abels & Annes, P.C. are here to offer the clear, knowledgeable guidance you need to hold the responsible facility accountable. We have the experience and resources to stand up to large nursing home corporations and their insurance providers.
Call us today at (312) 924-7575 or fill out our online form for a free, no-obligation case review.