In an ideal world, all nursing facilities would be staffed with caring people who are qualified for each position. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. In an industry wracked with staffing shortages, some nursing homes take shortcuts by not screening new hires. This may seem like a necessary measure to take care of a short-term problem, but the long-term consequences can be much worse. If your loved one’s health has been compromised as a result of a nursing home employee, an Illinois nursing home injury attorney can help you take legal action.
The influence of one bad employee can affect dozens of vulnerable residents at a nursing home. At Nursing Home Injury Center, we sympathize with the grief and anger that nursing home residents and their families experience from mistreatment. When you work with our team of attorneys, we will do everything we can to help you get closure, fighting for a full settlement.
Why Background Checks Are Important for Nursing Homes
Candidates for employment at a nursing home should be held to a higher standard than many other professions. Since these employees are given unrestricted access to vulnerable people, running a background check is a necessity for upholding safety standards at nursing facilities, much like when vetting new hires at a school or daycare.
If a candidate for a job has a criminal record, it should be scrutinized closely. Simply having a criminal record might not mean that the person is dangerous, but convictions of a violent or sexual nature should be red flags when hiring staff. Similarly, those entrusted with hiring new employees should closely review a candidate’s qualifications if the job involves skilled labor. When this step is overlooked out of convenience, it opens the door to abuse and neglect in the future.
What Happens When Dangerous Employees Are Not Screened?
A nursing home staff member with a prior history of violence or abuse can pose a significant safety risk to the residents at the facility. Violent staff members may take out their aggression on the vulnerable people in their care, possibly leading to physical injuries and lasting mental trauma.
When hiring managers fail to run background checks on new hires, it could lead to people with malicious intentions getting inside the facility. Sexual predators can take advantage of their employment to assault residents who may lack the ability to fight back or report the abuse to somebody else. While this is truly a horrific scenario to imagine, these incidents do happen when hiring staff are negligent in their duties.
Lack of Qualifications in Nursing Home Staff
Although hiring an unqualified employee may not seem as bad as hiring an outright dangerous employee, it can still result in harm to the residents. An unqualified nursing home employee is not an immediate cause for concern in an entry-level position or if the employee is receiving guidance and training from senior staff.
That being said, if an underqualified and undertrained staff member is entrusted with intense work, the risk of injury to nursing home residents increases. For example, an underqualified employee may not know the specific procedures required to perform a safe lift of a resident, how to dislodge a foreign object caught in a resident’s throat, or how to recognize signs of distress. When seemingly basic safety procedures are neglected, it could indicate negligent hiring practices by upper management.
Filing a Personal Injury Claim for an Abused or Neglected Nursing Home Resident
If your loved one has been injured by abusive or unqualified nursing home staff, you may have an avenue to get compensation. By filing a personal injury claim, you can hold the facility accountable for the damage done to your loved one. This may include the medical expenses associated with the abuse or neglect, as well as compensation for mental trauma.
When you find evidence of injury or illness resulting from mistreatment, you should take legal action as soon as possible. An attorney can help you collect sufficient evidence to prove your claims and help you navigate the process of holding the responsible parties accountable. In Illinois, there is a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury cases, so you only have two years from the date of the injury to file a claim against the liable party.
Wrongful Death Cases Caused by Overlooking Background Checks
In rare cases, abuse and neglect from nursing home staff can result in death. Sometimes, these gross breaches of care can be traced back to a failure to vet new hires. If you have lost someone close to you due to negligence in a nursing home, you can file a wrongful death claim to recover compensation for various damages, including a loss of companionship, your personal grief, end-of-life medical expenses, and the cost of burial or cremation arrangements.
No monetary award can ever measure up to the value of a human life. Even so, at Nursing Home Injury Center, we can fight to help you get justice and closure for the death of your loved one in a nursing home. We will do everything in our power to hold the nursing facility accountable for mistreatment and unsafe hiring practices.
How a Lawyer Can Help With Your Nursing Home Claim
Without a knowledgeable nursing home attorney at your side, you may fall victim to common pitfalls in filing your personal injury claim. The system is not designed to help injury victims easily recover compensation. The nursing home’s insurance company will likely try to deny responsibility for the incident or attempt to pay you less than what you actually deserve.
To navigate these legal challenges, you need a lawyer who can skillfully negotiate a settlement on your behalf. At Nursing Home Injury Center, we have years of trial experience, so we are not afraid to take your claim to court if needed. We will take aggressive measures to fight for a full settlement or verdict, conducting a thorough investigation into the nursing home to strengthen your case.
Speak to a Peoria County, IL Nursing Home Abuse Attorney Today
When nursing homes fail to screen new hires, the residents are put at risk of neglect and abuse. At Nursing Home Injury Center, our Peoria, IL nursing home injury lawyers are here to listen to your concerns and advocate for you. Call us at 309-524-6900 to set up a complimentary consultation.
