It can be frustrating when nobody wants to take responsibility for an accident, but it can be infuriating when the victim in question is your elderly loved one whose avoidable suffering resulted in hefty bills. Despite their obligation to care for their residents, nursing homes sometimes attempt to avoid admitting fault for any accident resulting in injury. To deflect blame, these facilities may supply endless excuses until families simply get discouraged and drop the case.
A Peoria, IL nursing home injury lawyer can help you hold negligent facilities accountable for the harm caused to your loved one. At the Nursing Home Injury Center, we fight for abused and neglected nursing home residents by filing personal injury claims for compensation. Our firm will reject the lies and half-truths that nursing facilities use to avoid taking responsibility.
Pre-Existing Health Conditions As an Excuse
When a resident’s health takes a turn for the worse, the nursing home might refuse to acknowledge their culpability. Instead, they might simply blame a pre-existing condition instead of admitting any blame.
For instance, if a resident develops an infection in a nursing home, the staff might cite a poor immune system as the cause. However, many common bacterial infections in nursing homes can be prevented by following proper sanitation practices. Stage IV bedsores can also lead to serious infections when left untreated, though the nursing home may conveniently avoid mentioning what caused the infection.
At the Nursing Home Injury Center, we will not be satisfied with a surface-level explanation. We can dig deep into a resident’s medical records to challenge the nursing home’s claims. If something could have been done to treat the illness, we will argue for a proper remedy.
When Agitated Residents Are Blamed For Their Injuries
When a nursing home resident is at risk of injuring another person or him or herself, nursing home staff should use appropriate restraints – the keyword being ‘appropriate.’ Using too much force to restrain a resident can easily lead to broken bones. Moreover, if a wrist strap or belt is wrapped too tightly around the resident, the circulation of blood could be blocked, leading to swelling or muscle cramps.
Nursing home staff may also use chemical restraints to subdue residents, which carry their own risks. For example, antipsychotic drugs can have dangerous side effects when misused, including an increased risk of stroke. If a nursing home’s first resort is to use chemical restraints instead of a more practical method, the residents could suffer for it.
When Nursing Homes Downplay Injuries
Nursing home staff members may be inclined to write off scrapes and bruises as minor injuries even when all evidence points to the contrary. This is often seen in cases of physical abuse in nursing homes when staff members discipline the residents by striking them or handling them roughly. In many cases, these kinds of injuries go unreported, leaving the victims in severe pain or distress.
At the Nursing Home Injury Center, we are ready to listen to your concerns. We can take a closer look at your loved one’s injuries and investigate staff members’ actions. If the facility overlooked clear risks while running background checks on its employees, we can fight to hold them accountable in a personal injury claim.
When Old Age Is Used to Cover Up Negligence
It is all too easy for nursing homes to blame all kinds of ailments on old age. Of course, this can serve as an excuse for clear negligence. Elderly people can quickly lose weight due to malnutrition in nursing homes, which the staff may dismiss as simply a resident getting older and losing his or her appetite.
Nursing homes may also blame preventable deaths caused by medication errors or a lack of treatment on old age. Our attorneys will not accept this explanation at face value, especially if there has been a lack of transparency in the nursing home’s answers. We can review security footage and take witness testimony to build a case for a wrongful death claim, which can provide you with compensation for end-of-life expenses, funeral arrangements, and grief.
Victim Blaming By Negligent Nursing Homes
It can be massively frustrating to be told that your loved one’s injury was his or her own fault. This excuse may seem murky at best since nursing homes have a duty to keep their residents safe. When a resident wanders on the premises or somewhere off-site and gets hurt, the staff may attempt to wash their hands of the incident by blaming the resident. However, if the injury resulted from a lack of careful monitoring, you might have grounds for a personal injury claim.
At the Nursing Home Injury Center, our lawyers are ready to advocate for your loved one’s rights. We can file a personal injury claim on your behalf, arguing to hold the nursing home liable for damages based on negligence.
When Preventable Accidents Are Characterized As Unpreventable
A nursing facility may try to sweep an accident under the rug by claiming that there was nothing they could have done to prevent it. However, a closer inspection of the circumstances may reveal a clear safety risk that was not addressed by the staff. Consider a fall – one of the most common kinds of nursing home accidents. While it may not seem like anyone was at fault at first, a faulty stair railing or broken floor tile can create a tripping hazard.
Understaffing is often the real root cause behind supposedly “unpreventable” accidents. If a resident’s care plan details that multiple people are required to lift them, a staff member attempting a one-person lift could have disastrous consequences if the resident falls. At the Nursing Home Injury Center, our lawyers will pore over an accident to see what could have been done to avoid it.
Meet With a Peoria County, IL Nursing Home Neglect Lawyer
Has your loved one been injured in the care of a nursing home? If so, Nursing Home Injury Center is here to assist you. Our Peoria, IL nursing home injury lawyers can provide you with aggressive representation and skilled counsel to help you get justice for your family. When you work with our firm, you will receive individualized attention from our team of attorneys who can guide you through the process of filing a personal injury claim while carrying out an investigation on your behalf.
We are passionate about enforcing the rights of the elderly. Call our offices at 309-524-6900 to schedule a free consultation today.
